Lack of self-belief behind Malta's nervy start in Denmark loss - Fitzel

Dusan Fitzel offered a mixed assessment of Malta's showing in Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Denmark at the National Stadium. The Czech had no qualms about the legitimacy of the visitors' victory but felt his team showed their opponents too much respect at the start of the match.

"The players looked hesitant at kick-off," Fitzel said.

"It looked as though our team was just waiting to concede goals before starting to play. Our players don't believe in themselves, this is the problem. I warned them before the match that if you're not confident in your ability, then you've already lost.

"At first, we found it hard to counter them on the flanks. Nicklas Bendtner caused us a lot of problems.

"We played better in the second part of the first half but it was not enough. We had some chances but we need to improve on most aspects of our game. Most of our players find it hard to raise the pace at this level. You could see that some of them suffered from cramps after 70 minutes."

On the credit side, Fitzel was pleased to see his team press forward on quick breaks.

"We created some good counter-attacking moves," Fitzel remarked.

"There were some interesting runs from our players but the final pass was often erratic."

When it was put to Fitzel that Malta had just squandered a golden chance to take the lead before Soren Larsen put Denmark ahead, he responded: "Yes, there was a brief period when we attacked Denmark. It's a pity that Andrè Schembri missed that chance before Larsen scored their first."

Questioned about his decision to play Jonathan Caruana at right-back when the 21-year-old has been mostly used at centre-back by Hibs coach Mark Miller, Fitzel said:

"Jonathan had been excellent in training but he struggled on Saturday. Maybe he was too excited to be playing against Bendtner and the pressure affected him.

"Jonathan is still young and we need to help him become a better player."

Michael Mifsud and Andrew Cohen were at the heart of Malta's brightest moments on Saturday.

Sporting the captain's armband in the absence of Gilbert Agius, Mifsud was prominent with a series of surging runs from midfield while Cohen was equally impressive with his deft footwork.

While Mifsud has been an automatic choice for the national side for much of the past decade, Cohen's international career has been a stop-start affair. However, the Hibs forward has made a strong case for a sustained run in the team with excellent performances in Malta's last two outings.

"Cohen is a regular player for us now and he played really well against Denmark," Fitzel said.

"He has raised his game but I'm also pleased that he has improved his defending. Before, Cohen seemed only interested in driving forward and enjoy himself but he is working a lot harder for the team now."

The performances of Malta's 'small' players also drew praise from Morten Olsen, the Denmark coach.

"Malta tried to play good football," Olsen said.

"Their no. 9 (Mifsud), 10 (Cohen) and 13 (Schembri) are very quick and good at breaking on the counter."

Fitzel's decision to leave Agius and striker Terrence Scerri out of the starting line-up is likely to have been met with surprise but the Malta coach has no regrets about his selection.

"With hindsight, it's easy to say I should have done this instead of that," Fitzel said.

"However, I wouldn't change anything (about the team's approach and players' selection)."

Fitzel explained that Agius's exclusion owed to a number of factors.

"Gilbert had a slight injury in the build-up to the match," Fitzel pointed out.

"At his age, it's difficult to play two international matches in five days. I also had to think about the match against Hungary on Wednesday.

"Luke Dimech and Jamie Pace can't play against Hungary because of suspension. Gilbert is also one yellow card away from getting a one-match ban and I didn't want to risk losing another player."

Fitzel has called defender Kenneth Scicluna and midfielder Ivan Woods to replace Dimech and Pace.

Clayton Failla, of Hibs, has also been added to the squad that flew out to Budapest yesterday.

With Schembri ranked doubtful after picking up a knock against Denmark, Fitzel has decided to take 19 players to Budapest.

Hungary are in high spirits after a 1-0 win in Albania kept them top of Group One, level with Denmark on 10 points. Reports say that 20,000 tickets have already been sold for this week's match against Malta.

"No game is easy for us," Fitzel said.

"Hungary are doing well in the group, they are flying high. It's going to be another tough outing for our team."