Malta’s venture in the 2014 European Championship came to an end in Portugal, last Sunday.
The team finished third in the Qualification Round III Group G matches behind the strong Georgia and Slovakia, the two qualifiers from the five-team group and ranked above the Maltese.
Overall, the team finished joint seventh with Slovenia (out of 16 teams in Round III) and 19th in Euro standings
The exit from the competition was marked by three Hs – Heads Held High – a tag which should be deserved reward for the hard work put in by the ASA, coaches and players.
The boys’ overall performances reconfirmed the progress the team led by Karl Izzo has made in 2013.
The team’s 27 matches were marked by continuous progress and some excellent results were achieved
In Porto, they won against Belarus 9-3, home team Portugal 8-6 and Switzerland 10-4 and lost to Georgia and Slovakia by seven and nine-goal margins.
The handicap of having to play five matches in four days against opponents whose season is in full swing was admirably overcome.
Moreover, the introduction of a couple of players on a permanent basis to replace established ones was smooth and did not affect our chances of being competitive throughout as the 40 goals against 42 statistics indicate.
The rock-like Alan Borg Cole in goal was a safe platform as his agile saves showed.
He was complemented by captain Niki Lanzon’s ability to orchestrate his colleagues expertly while also being a regular scorer when totalling six from the five matches.
Chief striker in Portugal, Steve Camilleri, with 17 goals, and back on Malta duty after his brief sabbatical granted by RN Bogliasco, was the usual formidable scoring machine, while his brother Jordan turned out to be a revelation, vindicating the coach’s faith in his continued emerging talents as a multi-purpose player, qualities which also helped him net nine goals
Left-hander Matthew Zammit who managed five conversions, was the other bombing force with his lethal shots and constant threat on the opposing goal.
Centres Jerome Gabarretta and John Brownrigg (two goals) very often provided the reference points in the middle while Mark Meli, Timmy Sullivan, Dino Zammit (one goal), Alex Attard and James Spiteri Staines fitted well in the tactical plans where press was shifted to flexible zone whenever necessary.
“We were geared up to play as many matches as possible during the year,” Izzo told Times of Malta.
“The team’s 27 matches were marked by continuous progress and some excellent results were achieved. The only regret were the results against Belarus and Ukraine in July when we lost narrowly.
“One of the more positive results was against Portugal, despite the hosts’ home support and what I thought to be one-sided refereeing.
“Against Belarus we upped our game from the second session onwards and we then had a convincing win against Switzerland where all players were utilised and gave a good account of themselves.”
As regards his players’ performances in the cham-pionship, Izzo said: “Jordan Camilleri was top performer in Portugal, but also Steve Camilleri, Niki Lanzon, Alan Borg Cole, Matthew Zammit and John Brownrigg played extremely well.
“The team was solid in the water and close outside the pool and that was of great satisfaction to me and my assistant Anthony Farrugia.
“I am happy with what we did during this cycle and after a short rest hard work will resume in view of important competitions, namely the 8 Nations in March in Limerick and the prestigious Commonwealth championship in April.”