Buttigieg bemoans inconsistency in upset to Angola

Malta's showing in the 2-1 defeat to Angola on Saturday night left John Buttigieg with mixed feelings.

After watching his team surrender a one-goal lead to the pacey Africans in Vila Real de Santo Antonio, the Malta coach admitted that his team's performance was fragmented.

"We had our good moments during the match but we were so inconsistent," he told The Times.

"We looked somewhat jaded in the opening 15 minutes but improved after we scored. Then Angola took control and it was only in the latter stages of the game that we lifted our game."

Andrew Cohen fired Malta ahead after 14 minutes but Angola relied on their physical strength and fast movement to stamp their authority on the game.

Buttigieg claimed his players found it hard to cope with Angola's better fitness.

"Angola were very strong physically and we are not accustomed to facing these kind of opponents," Buttigieg remarked.

"Also, our task was rendered more difficult by the long hours we spent travelling to Portugal.

"On the positive side, Saturday's friendly enabled some of the fringe players in the squad to gain more experience at international level."

When it was put to Buttigieg that Malta displayed a tendency to boot the ball upfield instead of trying to move forward by playing short passes, the Malta coach replied: "I don't think we resorted to long balls to create attacks. There were times when we rushed our clearances from the back, especially in the second half.

"This happened because our midfielders dropped too deep and that reduced their options to play a short pass to get the ball out of defence."

With the Angola friendly over, Malta's focus now shifts to the mammoth task of grinding out a decent result against Portugal on Wednesday.

The Maltese contingent yesterday flew from Faro, in the south of Portugal, to the northern city of Oporto via Lisbon. Upon arriving in Oporto, the squad headed for their base on the outskirts of the city.

A combination of Portugal's 3-0 win over Hungary and Sweden's 1-0 upset to Denmark on Saturday has heightened expectations ahead of Wednesday's qualifier as victory over Malta would take the hosts through to the World Cup play-offs.

Portugal's must-win scenario is no surprise for Buttigieg.

"We were expecting our final qualifier to be decisive for Portugal," Buttigieg said.

"They now have a big chance to reach the play-offs but I don't think this makes our match against them more difficult than it was before Saturday."

Manny Muscat and John Hutchinson, who play for A-League clubs Wellington Phoenix and Central Coast Mariners respectively, were in Buttigieg's first XI on Saturday.

While Muscat featured in his third consecutive international match under Buttigieg, Hutchinson was making his first appearance for Malta since the change at the helm of the national side.

Buttigieg insisted that Hutchinson's qualities can't be properly assessed after less than an hour on the field against Angola but praised the attitude of the two Australia-based players.

"One has to bear in mind that Muscat and Hutchinson are coming all the way from Australia to play for Malta," Buttigieg said.

"They are making big sacrifices. With regards to Hutchinson, I can't comment on his performance because he only spent 57 minutes on the pitch during Saturday's match.

"What I can say for sure about Muscat and Hutchinson is that their attitude is excellent."

Buttigieg was forced into his first substitution as early as the 24th minute on Saturday after Brian Said sprained a muscle in his back.

Said's injury is a cause of concern for Buttigieg as the veteran centre-half has re-established himself as a first-choice defender under the new boss.

In the event that Said is declared unfit for Wednesday's match in Guimaraes, Buttigieg is likely to draft Andrei Agius into the squad but the Malta coach wants to wait for the latest medical bulletin before making a decision.

Buttigieg said: "Brian's injury doesn't look serious but I took him off as a precaution. It was risky to keep him on the pitch.

"I still have the option of calling Andrei Agius to join the squad but I want to wait for the doctor's assessment of Said's injury before making a decision."

Pro Licence course

Buttigieg is to begin his Pro Licence coaching course in Italy next month.

At the unveiling of Buttigieg as Dusan Fitzel's successor in late July, Joe Mifsud, the MFA president, told reporters that Buttigieg and Carmel Busuttil, the assistant national coach, had agreed to undertake the Pro Licence course in the near future.

The Times has learnt that Dr Mifsud used his close ties with the Italian football federation (FIGC) to ensure that Buttigieg, who like Busuttil has a UEFA 'A' coaching badge, is on the list of candidates accepted for the next Pro Licence course.

The course is now due to commence in Coverciano in November.