Malta's morale undimmed ahead of Moldova clash

A defeat by a two-goal margin on away soil cannot be defined as humiliating if one takes into account the dispirited outcomes of several other away matches involving our national team in recent years, not least the 0-4 debacle to Hungary in a World Cup 2006 qualifier just over two years ago.

As in any other sports contest, a defeat is always hard to take and although the Maltese cannot be faulted for effort, their display at the Ferenc Szusza Stadium was devoid of the composure and fluidity that punctuated their performance against the Turks.

On Saturday, Malta also seemed to suffer from a little bit of tiredness, both physical and psychological, bringing to mind Dusan Fitzel's complaints about the congested fixture list in the domestic league in the build-up to this qualifier.

Moreover, the absence of Gilbert Agius and Jamie Pace, two players who have forged a formidable midfield partnership for Malta in this Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, made things slightly more complicated for the coach on Saturday.

Fitzel reckoned that Agius, who is recovering from a torn thigh muscle, and Pace, who was rendered ineligible by a one-match ban, were missed but he felt his team was weak on the flanks rather than in central midfield where Roderick Briffa and George Mallia worked hard to limit the threat posed by the likes of Zoltan Gera, the Hungary captain, and Adam Vass.

"It's always difficult to replace key players," Fitzel told The Times.

"However, I felt that we coped quite well in midfield but not so on the flanks where we had problems to contain Hungary, especially on the right side.

"We gave away too many cheap balls on that side and that played into the hands of our opponents.

"On the whole, I think we weren't sharp enough. There were some periods during the game when we played good possession football but the final pass was often poor.

"We also didn't benefit from one lucky break in this game but this happens. My players did their best but our opponents were better on the day."

Fitzel also expressed concern about Malta's troubles to defend set-pieces as Hungary's two goals originated from dead-ball situations.

In last month's qualifier, Malta also conceded Turkey's equaliser from a corner late in the second half.

"It looks as if we're conceding goals from set-pieces in every game," Fitzel observed.

"But, are Maltese players not being vigilant enough?" I enquired.

"I think it has more to do with the physical stature of our opponents," Fitzel replied.

"Our players were not as robust as most of the Hungarians. It's hard for us to defend crosses and corners when facing big players.

"With regards to Hungary's second goal, it was a well-executed free-kick... impeccable."

Goalkeeper Justin Haber had no fault in either of the two Hungary goals and was undoubtedly Malta's best player. The Haidari FC shot-stopper made a string of vital saves, including three last-ditch blocks in one-on-one situations.

"Justin was excellent, he certainly surprised in a positive way," Fitzel said. "That said, he still needs to improve some areas of his game, especially when it comes to releasing the ball quickly enough to start a counter-attack."

In the 2-1 home victory over Hungary last year, Michael Mifsud and Andrè Schembri were a constant source of menace for the visitors but on Saturday, the two strikers were rarely allowed a sight of goal.

"At half-time I told Mifsud and Schembri to improve the timing of their runs as well as their understanding," Fitzel said.

"In the first half, they tended to drift too far from each other but after the break, they made an effort to move forward together.

"However, we weren't dangerous in attack against Hungary. Their defenders played exceptionally well... they were focused and always read the intentions of our players."

Nwoko's debut

Udo Nwoko, the latest addition to the national squad, was given his Malta debut by Fitzel 20 minutes into the second half of Saturday's qualifier.

It is far too early to assess Nwoko's international credentials, given that he has just been called up to the squad and barely had four full training sessions with his new international team-mates before Saturday's qualifier.

"I brought Nwoko on to give us some freshness on the right side of midfield," Fitzel said.

"I wanted to see how Nwoko would respond to the challenge of playing in a difficult match. Nwoko is an attack-minded player but he needs to help the team more in defence."

Fitzel's inquest into Malta's performance on Saturday is likely to continue for a another day or two but the Slovak-born mentor is already thinking about Wednesday's home qualifier against Moldova.

"I don't think this 2-0 defeat will affect the players' morale for Wed-nesday," he remarked.

"As I said, the team showed plenty of commitment and I'm convinced they will be motivated to gain a good result against Moldova.

"It's also a very positive thing we have no suspensions as none of the players who had a yellow card, and therefore risked suspension, received a booking against Hungary."

Besides the returning Pace, Fitzel also added Hibernians striker Andrew Cohen to his 20-man squad yesterday.