It was a difficult day for the Maltese national team at the Euro 2014 Qualification Round in Portugal yesterday as they suffered back-to-back defeats to Georgia and Slovakia.
In the morning match, Karl Izzo’s men were up against Georgia and lost 11-5.
Georgia paved the way to their victory with five goals without reply in the opening session.
The next three quarters were evenly balanced but the Maltese simply had too much work to do to recover as Georgia preserved their advantage.
Jordan Camilleri grabbed a brace with the other goals coming from Niki Lanzon, Matthew Zammit and Steve Camilleri.
Things didn’t get any easier in the next game as Izzo’s team could not match the strength of Slovakia who cruised to an 18-9 win.
Slovakia were quick to stamp their authority, winning the opening session 6-2 and changing ends 9-3 in the lead. There was no way back for the Maltese despite the scoring prowess of Steve Camilleri who notched six goals.
Malta started the tournament with a 9-3 win over Belarus. Today, they face hosts Portugal and wrap up their commitments with a match against Switzerland tomorrow.
Results
Malta 5
Georgia 11
(0-5, 2-1, 1-2, 2-3)
Malta 9
Slovakia 18
(2-6, 1-3, 3-4, 3-5)