Malta win at a canter

Finland 2
Malta 22
(0-2, 0-5, 1-7, 1-8)

Again there was no semblance of any competitive element as Malta took on Finland yesterday in a group match which had the team cantering through for a mammoth 22-2 victory and eventual qualification to the B Championships finals.

Again, the master of ceremonies was the prodigious Steve Camilleri who besides hitting seven goals, some of which were top-notch, was the nerve centre of the Maltese as he set up other goals for his team-mates.

John Soler also provided the scoring momentum with five goals, followed by Michele Stellini, on four, and Niki Lanzon with a hat-trick. Indeed, it was simply a mismatch with those present not anticipating the eventual magnitude of Malta's superiority considering their slow start.

But the team functioned better than on Friday with all the players pulling their weight admirably even in the defensive phase where Jonathan Valletta was mostly deployed.

There were only 12 players in the squad as Matthew Zammit flew back to Italy to turn out for Imperia in a league match only to return immediately for today's important encounter against Georgia which should decide the winner of the group.

Malta struggled initially to find any sort of rhythm and it was Camilleri who broke the duck with two goals in the last minutes of the first session. It was cruise control for Malta in the second session as they overpowered the Finns with nonchalance with a nap-hand of goals stretching the lead to 7-0 at mid-point.

Camilleri reached his hat-trick, with his third conversion being a back-hand of vintage quality. The others came from Lanzon (2), Pisani and Soler.

In the third quarter it was another goal-feast with Soler emulating Camilleri with a spectacular back-hand to make it 8-0. The scoring rate kept picking pace as there was only one team in the picture with goals following each other at consummate ease.

Now the crunch match is due for today against the strong team from Georgia who also qualified for the B finals. A sizeable crowd is expected at Tal-Qroqq to give the Maltese the necessary backing.

Finland: A. Asikainen, M. Vesimaki 1, V. Oura, T. Blomquist, M. Forsberg, S. Kaikkonen, P. Rasanen, K. Jernmark, J. Linnus, T. Lehtinen 1, O. Hakkinen, M. Busk, M. Seeste.

Malta: J. Cachia, N. Lanzon 3, P. Privitera, M. Meli 1, J. Soler 5, S. Camilleri 7, J. Brownrigg, J. Borg, J. Valletta, M. Pisani 2, M. Stellini 4, N. Gouder.

Other result: Ireland vs Georgia 8-24 (0-6, 1-8, 4-5, 3-5).