Gilbert Agius's second-half equaliser has put Valletta in the driving seat but coach Ton Caanen is adamant that his team will not get carried away by the 1-1 away draw in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round match against St Patrick's on Thursday.
"I will let other people fly but the players and I will keep our feet on the ground," Caanen told The Times.
"The committee and fans are delighted with this result and their joy is justified. They are right to savour every good performance by Valletta in European football.
"I want to thank Victor Sciriha, the club president, for providing us with excellent facilities in Dublin. I'm also glad that a good number of supporters made the trip to Ireland to watch this game. They are very passionate and I'm glad that the team has rewarded their efforts with this favourable result."
The outcome pleased Caanen who heaped praise on his players for a composed showing.
"Before the match, I told my team that a 0-0 or 1-1 draw would give us a good chance of qualifying," the outspoken Dutchman said.
"Scoring an away goal is almost crucial. I think this result has put us in a good position but we must realise that St Patrick's are not Keflavik.
"The return leg will be tight. I believe in my team's ability to score but St Patrick's can also score away. So we must stay focused."
Caanen's comments echoed those of St Patrick's coach Jeff Kenna who is confident that his team can find the net at the Centenary Stadium.
St Patrick's dominated large swathes of possession in the opening half and took the lead through new signing Declan O'Brien eight minutes from half-time.
The timing of the Pats' opener was viewed as a hammer blow for Valletta, given the tendency of Maltese teams to unravel after conceding against foreign opposition. But the Citizens not only refused to lie down, they turned on the style in the second period.
"My plan was aimed at preserving the players' energy so that they could cope with St Patrick's aggressive approach," Caanen said.
"I told the players that if they stay composed, they wouldn't have to run too much. I opted for a 5-2-3 to occupy most of the areas on the pitch and make it easier for my players to close the gaps.
"It was all about trying to keep the players sharp for the whole 90 minutes but to be honest, I was positively surprised with the fitness levels the team reached during the match.
"Valletta also showed great character. The players fought like lions until the end.
"Jordi (Cruyff) was a leader at the back and Luke (Dimech) and Kenneth (Scicluna) had a perfect game.
"This was another difficult test for us and I told them beforehand that this match would show how far they've come in the few weeks we've been working together.
"The team's performance in the second half was the best I've seen so far."
Caanen's positive impact on Valletta almost belies the fact that he took charge of the team just over a month ago.
He leaves nothing to chance in his preparations, especially in terms of tactics. His decision to deploy Cruyff as a sweeper suggested an ultra-defensive strategy but such notion was put to bed by Valletta's vibrant showing in the second period.
Agius's equaliser aside, Valletta had three other clearcut scoring opportunities.
"My vision is that if you play with three strikers, you will always create chances," Caanen said. "The good thing about having three mobile men up front is that it forces the opponents to keep four defenders at the back.
"My players had the belief to go forward and play attacking football. I think the 1-1 draw is a fair result but we had other chances to score.
"We played flowing, one-touch football, especially in the second half, and the move leading to Gilbert's goal was excellent. I was very pleased with Geert's performance. His clever movement helped the team a lot against St Patrick's.
"His fitness is still not 100 per cent but he's willing to give his all and played for 88 minutes here."
Priso suspended
The only damper on Valletta's performance on Thursday was the yellow card shown to Doding Priso for protests late in the first half.
Having also been booked in the second leg of the first qualifying round match against Keflavik, Priso is suspended for Thursday's second leg.
Media reports
The main newspapers in Ireland had a similar take on Thursday's encounter between St Patrick's and Valletta.
The Irish Independent led with 'O'Brien on target but Pat's face uphill task'.
"A disappointing result for St Patrick's but, at the same time, enough anecdotal evidence to believe their Europa League hopes did not evaporate at Richmond Park," Daniel McDonnell wrote.
"Kenna's men let the initiative slip away" was the headline on the Irish Times.
"A goal by Declan O'Brien on his debut gave St Patrick's the lead after 36 minutes and should have provided the platform for a bigger win, but the hosts lost their way early in the second half after conceding a soft equaliser," the match report said.
Europa League draw
Third qualifying round - July 30 and August 6.
FK Sarajevo/Spartak Trnava vs Zestafoni/Helsingborgs; Fredrikstad vs L. Poznan; Differdange/ Rijeka vs Metalist Kharkiv; Naftan/KAA Gent vs Roma; SC Vaslui vs Omonia/HB Torshavn; Aalborg/S. Sarajevo vs MFK Kosice; Goteborg vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv; PSV vs Cherno More Varna/ Iskra-Stali; M. Donetsk/MTZ-RIPO Minsk vs NK Ljubljana;
Valerenga vs PAOK; Kinyras Peyias vs Rapid Vienna/Vllaznia; FC Honka/Bangor City vs Rosenborg/Qarabag; Falkirk/Vaduz vs Slovan Liberec; St Patrick's Athletic/Valletta vs K. Sovetov Samara; FK Suduva/Randers vs Hamburg;
Dinamo Minsk/Tromso vs FK Milano/Slaven Koprivnica; Brondby/Flora vs Legia Warsaw/ Olimpi; Vojvodina vs Austria Vienna; CSKA Sofia vs FC Skonto/Derry City; Steaua Bucharest/Ujpest vs Flamurtari/Motherwell; Zilina/Dacia Chisinau vs Hajduk Split; Braga vs Elfsborg/Haladas; Aberdeen vs Sigma Olomouc/Fram Reykjavik; FK Rabotnicki/Crusaders vs Odense; Kaunas/Sevojno vs Lille;
A. Famagusta/Petrovac vs Sturm Graz/Siroki Brijeg; Fenerbahce vs Honved; Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv/Dinaburg vs Pacos de Ferreira/Zimbru Chisinau; Club Brugge vs NK Gorica/FC Lahti;
A. Bilbao vs Young Boys; KR Reykjavik/Larissa vs Basel/Santa Coloma; Tobol/Galatasaray vs Sliema Wanderers/Maccabi Netanya; Liepajas Metalurgs/ Dinamo Tbilisi vs Rudar Velenje/Red Star; Polonia Warsaw/Dogana vs NAC Breda/ Gandzasar Kapan; FK Vetra/HJK Helsinki vs Fulham.