Another international commitment resulted in more credit heaped on Malta’s waterpolo team after the silver medal they landed at the Commonwealth Championship in Aberdeen earlier this month – a prestigious prize for the players and coaches.
Their endeavours in a seven-team competition were rewarded despite the failure to negotiate the last hurdle against a stronger England outfit made up mostly of GB players who were tuned up for the London Olympics and continued firing on valid pistons.
In Scotland, the national team may not have competed against the elite but considering our size and limited resources we did very well against far bigger countries like South Africa, New Zealand and third-placed Scotland, the last two being overwhelmed by Malta in the preliminaries. In the process we netted 99 goals and conceded 70.
Incidentally, the powerful left-hander Matthew Zammit did us proud when he topped the overall scorers’ list in the competition with a massive 28 goals in seven matches.
The San Giljan player’s confidence is back.
“I feel very happy to have topped the scorers’ list in Aberdeen despite very often being double-marked,” Zammit told Times of Malta.
“Team-mates Niki Lanzon, Jordan Camilleri, Michele Stellini and Mark Meli were also well-supervised when in offensive positions and that gave me the chance to exploit the one-on-one situations.”
“I have come a long way after a two-year suspension when many thought I would be retiring,” he added.
“With the help of all those in-volved I managed to win the ‘Most Valuable Player’ award in Limerick and now ending as top scorer in Scotland is the culmination.
“The feeling is nice. And I have to thank the ASA, my colleagues and the coaches. I now look to the future and even better pastures,” he said.
In the final reckoning England’s qualities and staying power told, with Karl Izzo’s men trying to grapple with a condensed programme with which they are not normally familiar.
The absence of team catalyst Steve Camilleri did not help, either.
But, this imponderable apart, our team has grown in stature over the last year and with several players in their prime we are expected to keep improving.
Juniors’ success
Malta is now more respected on the international scene and the excellent performance of the Malta junior team in the EU 8 Nations Tournament in Brno last week was a clear indication of the rosy future for our game.
On Sunday, the young Maltese team capped a perfect week in the Czech Republic after winning gold following a hard-fought 9-8 win over Austria in the final.
Coach Izzo, whose contract together with that of his assistant Anthony Farrugia has been extended for another two years, shared these views, saying that the recent international engagements revealed a very encouraging silver lining for the Maltese game.
“Malta’s standing in waterpolo has gone up some more notches,” Izzo said.
“Hard work, discipline and sacrifices from the players, even when taking leave from their work to train and compete, have been rewarded.
“They have all worked unselfishly and that is a good base to look towards the future.
“We need to keep up the good work done over the years by various ASA administrations including the present one.
“Our national teams cannot rest on their laurels and I am committed to pursuing further progress for our game in general.”