There were mixed feelings about the national team’s fifth successive defeat in the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign on Sunday following the 3-1 defeat to Slovakia at the National Stadium.

The eastern European side proved a step too far for the Maltese in a match they dominated for long stretches.

Goals from Wladimir Weiss, Jan Gregus and Adam Nemec lifted Slovakia to second place with three wins and nine, four adrift of leaders England.

As for the home team, they only had an opportunistic Jean Paul Farrugia goal to show in the end for the national team to stay rock bottom and still in search of our first point in Group F.

Farrugia was red carded 11 minutes from time after a second booking as Slovakia had Nemec dismissed in stoppage time.

Despite the latest upset, coach Pietro Ghedin reckoned he can still take a few positives from his team’s commitment and wholehearted performance.

“Again, I’m very proud of my players as they gave everything they had,” the Italian said.

“We knew beforehand that Slovakia were a very strong but my players fought bravely throughout the entire match. With a bit more luck the result could have been different.

“We lost the match 3-1 but I felt that it could have easily been 2-2 instead… that’s football and we have to accept it.

“But there were positive aspects as well, particularly the new players that came in. That alone is very encouraging and bodes well for the future.”

Andre Schembri said the team had nothing to be ashamed of as everyone in the team was committed and fully focused.

“Slovakia showed their true class but we left the pitch with heads held high as we all gave more than our 100 per cent,” the Boavista striker said.

“When you look at their team they are blessed with some great players in top leagues. As for us, the majority in our team are back to their real work Monday morning to earn their living away from football.

“But, despite the problems, we still managed to produce a decent match and personally I’m satisfied with the effort we made.”

Sunday’s match again exposed the frailties that have hindered the national team in recent years, namely, lapses in concentration during key moments of the match as well as our struggles when pushing forward.

“When you are constantly on the backfoot and defending for long stretches it’s not easy to venture forward,” Schembri said.

“Slovakia enjoyed a high percentage of possession and we had to chase them for most of the time so when we’re in possession we’re not lucid enough and that makes it more difficult to create chances.

“Our goal against Slovakia came after some good high pressing which forced their defender to commit a mistake and Jean Paul Farrugia was quick to take the chance.”

Schembri reserved words of praise for young wingback Cain Attard, who earned his second cap, and said that he hoped to see more new faces introduced in the national team.

“When you see that our U-21 team had amassed so many points in the last qualifying campaign I expect more young players to make the transition to the senior side,” Schembri, 30, said.

“The average age in the national team is a little high and we need fresh young blood. Cain left a very good impression and showed that he can be an asset for the team in future.

“But there are others like Luke Montebello who can give their contribution to the national team and make competition for places more interesting.”