Valletta coach Paul Zammit has paid tribute to the work ethic and character of his players after the Maltese champions conjured up another spirited display against Red Star on Tuesday.
As in the home leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie last week, Valletta seized an early lead, this time through captain Jonathan Caruana, before the hosts fought back with goals from Mitchell Donald and Aleksandar Katai to advance 4-2 on aggregate.
The outcome, however, might have been different had the Whites put away the chances that came their way at the Marakana Stadium.
“There were a lot of positives,” Zammit told Times of Malta.
“And it’s not just the game but the way we have implemented this project for the past year.
“I don’t just look at the last match. After the end of the domestic championship, our aim was to compete in Europe in the best way possible.
“The squad reported for pre-season on May 25, which means that we’ve already had two months of hard work to prepare ourselves as best as we could for Europe.
“This has been one of those years when luck turned its back on us but this happens... there are periods when you get lucky breaks, others when everything seems to go against you.
“The most heartening aspect of our Champions League participation was that we were strong enough to react.
“Our showings provided a good advert for our football and journalists in Belgrade were impressed that a Maltese team can reach this level of performance. Definitely, we’ve given a good account of ourselves.”
Already without key striker Federico Falcone, injured, and defender Ryan Camilleri, suspended, Zammit had to contended with another problem in the run-up to Tuesday’s game.
With first-choice goalkeeper Henry Bonello joining Nicky Vella on the sidelines, Zammit had hoped to field new signing Dziugas Bartkus but UEFA’s decision to turn down Valletta’s request to draft the Lithuanian into the squad as emergency goalkeeper left the City coach with only Manuel Bartolo to rely on.
Despite his lack of first-team football, Bartolo provided a timely reminder of his qualities with a solid performance.
“I don’t have enough words to praise my players for their effort,” Zammit said.
“Although I don’t like to single out individuals, I still have to mention Manuel Bartolo. He knew that he was going to be the third goalkeeper with few first-team chances but he continued to train well, always making himself available for the team.
“We needed him in one of the most important games of our season. Manuel had a lot of weight on his shoulders, not only because of the importance of the game, but also because we didn’t have a reserve goalkeeper, owing to a series of unfortunate circumstances.
“However, Manuel has shown great personality with a reassuring performance. It was not easy for him playing in front of 30,000 and in a game which, in our minds, was still open and we therefore wanted to have a go at our opponents because we still believed that we could do it.”
Zammit believes that, despite the limitations of Maltese football, the country’s leading clubs have clearly upped their level of organisation and are genuinely striving to go about their business in a more professional manner.
“Results of Maltese clubs in the last two years show that standards have improved,” Zammit said.
“With the backing of the administration, my club has increased the budget for the team and the technical staff as we have brought more competent people into our set-up.
“But, locally, what chances do these clubs have of sustaining this improvement?
“This is why I keep saying that Maltese football can only improve if the level rises across the board. Progress should not be restricted to the top four or five clubs only.”
Now that Valletta’s European adventure is over, Zammit’s attention turns to domestic matters.
“The game that matters for us now is our season opener (vs Sliema Wanderers),” he said.
“In life, the biggest challenge is to consolidate what you have achieved and try to improve even further.”