Jonathan Caruana (rear) brings down Dmitri Nazarov, of Azerbaijan, during Saturday’s Euro 2016 qualifier in Baku. Photos: Paul Zammit Cutajar

As the weary Malta players embarked on another exhausting return journey from Baku via Istanbul in the early hours of yesterday, the mood was distinctly low-key.

The 2-0 defeat to Azerbaijan a few hours earlier had dampened their spirits as all those forming part of the Malta FA contingent were unified in their conviction that the national team had squandered an opportunity to add to their tally of one point in Euro 2016 Group H.

After going AWOL in a poor first half that saw the home side seize a fourth-minute lead through Cavid Huseynov, Malta regrouped after the break.

They took the game to the tetchy Azeris, crafting a string of chances in a 20-minute spell only to concede a second on the counter in stoppage time.

The contrast between Malta’s insipid display in the first half and their spirited showing in the second left many confused but the inescapable feeling was that our team just can’t afford to play so poorly for 45 minutes and expect to get something from a match.

That Malta had managed to limit the damage to just one goal by half-time was only down to Azerbaijan’s own inhibitions and weaknesses.

However, our team would stand no chance of clawing their way back into a match if they repeat that abject first-half performance against better teams.

On the other hand, their energetic showing in the second half, with key players like Roderick Briffa, Steve Borg and Rowen Muscat coming to the fore, bodes well for Malta’s chances of picking up some points from their remaining qualifiers, especially the home clash with Azerbaijan.

Pietro Ghedin, the Malta coach, admitted that his team’s tactical organisation left a lot to be desired in the opening half but he was satisfied with the second-half rally.

“Conceding a goal after just a few minutes was a blow for us,” Ghedin said.

Malta defender Steve Borg (left) closing the way for Rahid Amirguliyev, of Azerbaijan.

“Our reaction was weak. In the first half, we struggled tactically as we were not covering all the areas of the pitch. At half-time, we changed to 4-4-2 and the team played a lot better after that.”

Before the Azerbaijan game, there was consensus that the players looked more comfortable in the 5-3-2 formation adopted by Ghedin before the start of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign but that is now open to debate as Malta were transformed after switching to 4-4-2.

Ghedin now has a tactical conundrum to resolve before the next qualifier, at home to Bulgaria on June 12, but the one big positive that emerged from Saturday’s game was that the players had no problems adapting to a different tactical approach during the same game.

“We have been working on the 5-3-2 approach for a long time now,” Ghedin said.

“This system works best when you have fast and powerful players on the flanks.

“Things didn’t go according to plan here but the team did a lot better in the second half after reverting to a back four.

“A four-man defence is not new for us as we played that way for two years... the players are familiar with this module.

“Sure, 4-4-2 allows you to cover the pitch better.”

Although Ghedin was understandably disappointed after Saturday’s defeat, he believes that Malta can turn the tables on Azerbaijan in the home clash

“I have a lot of faith in my players,” Ghedin said.

“I feel that we are growing as a team but we must stop giving away silly goals like we have done here as well as in the Georgia friendly.”

Group H

Remaining matches
June 12: Croatia vs Italy; Malta vs Bulgaria; Norway vs Azerbaijan.
Sept. 3: Azerbaijan vs Croatia; Bulgaria vs Norway; Italy vs Malta.
Sept. 6: Malta vs Azerbaijan; Norway vs Croatia; Italy vs Bulgaria.
October 10: Azerbaijan vs Italy; Norway vs Malta; Croatia vs Bulgaria.
October 13: Bulgaria vs Azerbaijan; Italy vs Norway; Malta vs Croatia.