A victory for Malta is something to relish, regardless of the pedigree of the opposition.
Liechtenstein were hammered 7-1 the last time they set foot in the National Stadium four years ago but I don’t think anybody predicted a repeat of that record victory, especially when remembering that, in the 2008 friendly, our opponents had a man sent off after only 19 minutes.
While a narrow home victory over Liechtenstein is not exactly cause for jubilation, the players and caretaker coach Robert Gatt deserve some credit for the way they approached the game, moreso considering that much of the talk in the lead-up had been on Pietro Ghedin’s likely return to the helm of the national team.
The showing was satisfactory, especially in the second half, and Gatt had good reason to be delighted with the effort put in by his players.
Gatt is a man of few words but his demeanour after the game reflected his pride and happiness at a job well done.
“I’m satisfied because we have reached the objectives we set for this game,” Gatt said. “We won the match, we saw three new players make their debut for the national team and also had our foreign-based players in the same team in the second half.”
Gatt declared himself pleased with the performances of the three debutants, namely Sliema goalkeeper Henry Bonello, Hibs schemer Bjorn Kristensen and Edmond Agius, the Valletta midfielder.
“I’m very satisfied with the players who made their debut today,” Gatt said. “Henry Bonello didn’t have much to do in the first half but he was confident. Bjorn and Edmond also played well.”
At 18, Kristensen was the youngest of three newly-capped players but he looked anything but overawed by the occasion as his composed display in the first half – he made way for Agius after half-time – justified his burgeoning reputation. “Kristensen was our youngest debutant but he really did well,” Gatt purred. “In fact, I was sorry that I had to take him off at half-time but that was my plan before the game because we wanted to give other players a chance.”
When Ghedin, or whoever is hired by the Malta FA to lead the national team, watch the dvd of this game, it’s very unlikely that Kristensen’s encouraging showing will escape their attention.
As for Gatt, he believes that Kristensen has staked his claim for a place in the senior squad. “I think he showed what he can do,” Gatt said. “It’s true that Liechtenstein are not a top-level team but this was nonetheless an international game and Kristensen showed that he can be useful to the team.”
Although Gatt had indicated before the game that his starting formation would feature some newcomers plus a host of experienced players, his decision to leave Luke Dimech on the bench was met with a few raised eyebrows.
Making a return to international football after more than two years in limbo, the 35-year-old AEK Larnaca came on at the start of the second half, replacing Steve Borg.
“I’m glad that you’ve made this question,” Gatt responded when asked about Dimech’s absence from the starting team.
“Because this squad had only been together for a short period of time, my thinking was that we should go for settled combinations. I opted for two blocks of Valletta and Hibs players. In defence, we had three Valletta players, Jonathan Caruana, Steve Borg and Roderick Briffa and, on the left of the pitch, we had three Hibs players, Clayton Failla, Kristensten and Andrew Cohen.
“I felt that this system would give us more solidity and facilitate communication.”
Andrei Agius, currently on the books of Italian Serie C1 side Latina, was shifted from his usual role in the defence to a central midfield position.
“I wanted to pair Kristensen with an experienced player and that’s one of the main reasons I played Andrei Agius in midfield,” Gatt said.
After a goalless first half, Malta fell behind inside the opening two minutes of the second period but they regrouped to turn the tide in their favour thanks to Michael Mifsud.
The Malta captain took his record tally to 32 goals in 89 appearances with a fulminating long-range drive and a typical poacher’s goal in the space of nine second-half minutes.
“The first half was balanced but Liechtenstein didn’t create much and we found it difficult to make an impact in attack,” Gatt said. “We improved in the second half. Andrè Schembri was dropping more into midfield and that helped us. Then Michael did what he does best and scored two fine goals, especially the first one.”
As the appointment of the new national coach is not expected to be finalised before April at the earliest, Gatt and Branko Nisevic will continue to train the senior squad in the coming months. Once a new appointee takes over, Gatt will slip back quietly into his important role as MFA technical director.
Given that this was the second time Gatt has taken charge of the national team on a caretaker basis, some might think that the former Hibs mentor may feel a tinge of disappointment when he steps aside, especially after watching the way his players applied themselves against Liechtenstein, but he insisted that he has no regrets.
“No, not at all,” Gatt replied when asked if he’s disappointed to be leaving the national team’s post.
“My job is that of technical director and I have a lot of work to do.”
Gatt paid tribute to everyone who contributed to Malta’s heartening result on Wednesday. “I’d like to say well done to the players because they did a good job today,” Gatt said.
“I want to thank my staff for their dedicated work. Last but not least, I want to congratulate the fans who came to support us today... they were behind the team throughout the match.”
Liechtenstein coach Hans-Peter Zaugg was distraught at his team’s upset.
“The result shows that Malta won 2-1, so they deserve it,” Zaugg said.
“This was a game between two teams of the same level. We kept possession well but individual mistakes cost us. What can you say about Michael Mifsud’s first strike... it was a Sunday goal!
“We made a terrible mistake for the second goal but before that, we had controlled Mifsud well.
“I’m disappointed because the players were really motivated to make up for the 7-1 defeat to Malta.”