France 21
Malta 4

(4-0, 7-1, 5-2, 5-1)

Malta had a difficult start to their European Championships qualifiers when they were beaten by France 21-4 in Utrecht yesterday.

It was a commanding performance from the French who had already one hand on the points by the halfway mark when they opened a 10-goal lead.

The French quickly seized control in the opening session and scored four times without reply as the Maltese struggled to contain the physical power of their opponents.

Malta managed to score their first goal of the match two minutes from the end of the second session but that did little to unsettle the French who changed ends with a commanding 11-1 lead.

In the third session, the French eased off but still led 16-3.

The final quarter had little to offer as France eased home to a comfortable victory.

Matthew Zammit scored a brace yesterday for Malta with the other goals coming from Steve Camilleri and Mark Meli.

Today, Malta has another difficult assignment when they take on hosts the Netherlands who yesterday claimed a record 52-1 victory over Latvia.

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