[attach id=246178 size="medium"]Karl Izzo steered Malta to second place in his first tournament as national coach.[/attach]
Malta 6
Israel 6
(2-3, 1-0, 1-1, 2-2)
Malta claimed second place in Group C of the 2014 European Championships qualifying round after completing their commitments with a hard-fought 6-6 draw against Israel in Denmark yesterday.
The final game was very difficult for the Maltese side as Israel were determined to win and pip their opponents to the runner-up spot in the group.
Malta found the going tough in the early stages as Israel took a 3-1 lead midway into the first session.
However, Karl Izzo’s men staged a spirited comeback to peg back Israel and secure a point that rubberstamped Malta’s position as group runners-up with 10 points from five games, five behind runaway winners Russia who thumped Bulgaria 36-4 yesterday.
Izzo had good reason to be happy after leading Malta to a highly creditable performance in what was his first competitive tournament in charge of the national team.
“I’m very satisfied,” Izzo told The Times from Odense.
“Despite the gruelling schedule, with five games in four days, the team’s performance level was very good.
“Friday’s game against Denmark was the toughest as we had played Russia in the morning but the lads passed the test with flying colours.”
Yesterday’s game was overshadowed by some controversial refereeing decisions which undermined the Maltese team.
Izzo was dismissed in the second session, Malta captain Niki Lanzon was fouled out in the third and Matthew Zammit was excluded with substitution in the final session.
“I thought we were treated unfairly by the referees in the game against Israel,” Izzo said.
“Most of the decisions went against us, we had players fouled out and I was also given a red card.
“Notwithstanding these difficulties, the players showed great maturity. The unity and team spirit that reigned in our camp throughout the tournament saw us through.”
Steve Camilleri was again instrumental for Malta yesterday as he scored four of the team’s six goals. The other scorers were Mark Meli and Zammit.
In a statement, the ASA said the players, coaches and officials were very happy with the team’s performances in Odense. The contingent will fly back to Malta this evening on a direct flight from Billund.
Malta will resume their qualification round campaign in July when they compete in a similar tournament to that in Denmark. The group will comprise teams from Group A and Group B.
The final qualification tournament is scheduled to take place in November. The points gained in each of the three qualification tournaments will determine the top six teams from the 17 taking part in this round.
Izzo has seen enough in the last few days to believe that Malta can be one of the six qualifiers for the next round.
“I’m more confident after seeing how the team approached the games here,” Izzo said.
“We had some players missing, including John Soler and Jerome Gabaretta who were not in the squad for different reasons, but we managed to reach our target.
“If we maintain the level of commitment we’ve shown in this tournament, I believe that Malta can be among the top six nations at the end of this qualification round.
“It’s important though that we continue to prepare well and play friendly games ahead of the next competitions.”
The best six teams will advance to the second round where they will face one of the six nations that placed seventh to 12th in the 2012 European Championships in Eindhoven.
The winners of these six encounters, on a home and away basis, will join the top six teams from the 2012 Championships in the Finals, to be staged in Budapest in 2014.
Other results: Russia vs Bulgaria 36-4; Denmark vs Portugal 7-10.
Final standings: Russia 15; Malta 10; Portugal 9; Israel 7; Denmark 3; Bulgaria 0.