MFA president reminisces on 'memorable match'

"A memorable match for various reasons." These were the words picked by a beaming Joe Mifsud, the Malta FA president, to describe the excellent result achieved by the national team in holding Turkey to a 2-2 draw in a Euro 2008 Group C qualifier last Saturday.

The joie de vivre elicited by Malta's lively display was in abundant evidence at the Centenary Hall yesterday afternoon as the MFA convened the local sporting media to congratulate and thank all those who, in some way or another, contributed to Saturday's success.

"In my policy document prior to the recently-held election for MFA president, I reaffirmed my commitment towards the national teams' sector," Dr Mifsud said.

"I promised that the association would continue to work hard to raise the performances and results of the national team as well as to pep up support from the stands during international matches.

"That target is now being attained. Saturday's qualifier against Turkey was a memorable match for various reasons," Dr Mifsud added.

"Malta gained its first ever point in a match against Turkey, we established a new record in terms of points won by our national team in qualifying and we also took another step towards reaching our objective of avoiding bottom spot in our group. Our team currently enjoys a three-point lead over Moldova.

"In the build-up to the match, there appeared to be some tension among the fans but thankfully, there were no major incidents on Saturday. We had one minor incident when a fan ran onto the pitch but this person has already been arraigned in court. Some Turkish fans ripped out seats but order was restored thanks to the prompt intervention of the police."

Dr Mifsud said the upsurge in Malta's fortunes on the international stage is not some kind of flash in the pan but the result of years of hard work and dedication by all those involved with the national team, not least the players, coach Dusan Fitzel and the other members of his technical team.

"The Turkey match has already been consigned to history," Dr Mifsud continued.

"Our next two qualifiers are away to Hungary and at home to Moldova and preparations for these commitments are already underway. The national team are now focusing on the friendly against Armenia, an opportunity for Malta to record another good result and better our position in the FIFA rankings (Malta are currently 115th)."

Louis Agius, the co-ordinator of the South End Supporters' Group, outlined the work carried out by his group and other helpers to drum up support for the national team last Saturday.

Agius said their marketing campaign, which exploited the fact that Saturday's qualifier was taking place on Victory Day, had drawn criticism from some quarters but the electric atmosphere and the generally good behaviour of the Maltese fans vindicated their efforts.

"We have managed to revive the fans' interest and enthusiasm for the national team," Agius said. "Our aim is to keep giving our support to the national team and we have already started work to ensure another positive turn-out for the home qualifier against Moldova (October 17)."