Malta ended their commitments at the EU8 Nations Cup on a disappointing note after losing their fifth-place play-off against Austria on penalties yesterday.
In a balanced encounter, Malta trailed 6-5 going into the final session but managed to level the score after winning the last quarter 1-0.
Penalties were needed to decide the issue and Austria prevailed 4-2 after Michele Stellini and Mark Meli missed for Malta.
Ironically, Stellini and Meli had been instrumental in keeping Malta in touch with Austria during normal time after both netted a brace.
Malta’s other scorers in yesterday’s game, played in Odense, were Jerome Gabarretta and Dino Zammit.
After winning the title last year, Karl Izzo’s young team found the going tougher this time around as the likes of Steve Camilleri, Niki Lanzon, Jordan Camilleri, Matthew Zammit and John Brownrigg were sorely missed.
Successive defeats to Denmark ‘B’ (7-6) and Ireland (11-5) in their opening two games effectively ended their hopes of retaining the trophy but Malta did well to bounce back with wins over Switzerland (12-10) and the Czech Republic (19-7).
South Africa won the tournament after beating Denmark 10-8 in yesterday’s final.