Neill urges boys to finish on a high

Today, the Maltese national team wrap up their campaign in the Nations Cup Division 2B when they play hosts to bottom-placed Latvia at the Hibs Stadium (2 p.m.).

No verdicts have been reached in this group so far as current leaders Netherlands travel to Split today to meet second-placed Croatia with the visitors looking to avoid defeat that would mean promotion.

The match at Corradino has no significance for the hosts who know they have already preserved their status for another term.

However, Latvia will be all out to clinch the three points to leapfrog Sweden and avoid the drop.

Malta, currently no.51 in the world, boast a positive record against the east Europeans, winning three of the last four meetings. Last September, Malta defeated Latvia 32-19 in Riga.

Last week, Latvia beat Sweden 31-27 at home to go level on points with the Scandinavians. With the Swedes due to face Croatia in their final match, Latvia will be looking to put the pressure on their rivals with victory over Malta.

The build-up for today's match has been anything but plainsailing for the Maltese who faced arduous trips to reach the venue and then to return home following a 19-0 defeat in Amsterdam due to the chaos in air travel.

"At the moment the players are tired after almost two days of travelling to get back home," Neill told The Times.

"True, this match has little significance in terms of classification for us but we have to beat Lativa to raise our profile even further.

"Also, we shall have FIRA president Jean-Claude Baque watching us from the stands so I'm urging the boys to show how far our game has developed. Latvia are a strong and physical side but we have enough talent to give our fans another day to remember."

For Malta, Malcolm Attard will be the only player to miss out today as he is unavailable.

Standings: Netherlands (7-0-0) 21; Croatia (5-0-1) 16; Malta (3-0-4) 13; Sweden (1-0-6) 9; Latvia (1-0-6) 9.