National coach Damian Neill wants his team to win the remaining two qualifiers from the Nations Cup Division 2A starting with the match against Sweden at the Hibs Stadium on Saturday before the trip to Croatia the following week.
Malta are currently third in the standings, eight points adrift of group leaders Sweden and three behind second-placed Lithuania.
With Croatia trailing by five points in fourth place, the national team are unlikely to face great difficulties in retaining their status but Neill is determined not to take any chances.
Addressing a media conference at the Hibs Stadium yesterday, the Malta coach said his team will be rooting for maximum spoils from the last two matches.
“Theoretically, we may consi-der our position in the group as safe,” the Malta coach said.
“However, there is still a possibility of us slipping back to fourth place if we fail to take points from our last two matches and Croatia win theirs with bonus points.
“In that case, we would have to figure in a relegation play-off with Andorra. That’s something we want to avoid. Destiny is clearly in our hands so we are looking to wrap our campaign on a high.”
Neill has a preliminary 28-man squad for these two qualifiers.
That includes two newcomers of Maltese descent – James Morris, a 19-year-old fly-half on the books of Hartpury College in England, and back rower Daniel Apsee who plays for Bridgend Athletic in Wales.
The return of Charlie Sammut is another major boost for the team as the Oxford Harlequins blind-side flanker is an influential figure in the back line.
“This is the first time in several months that we have an almost full compliment to rely on,” the Malta coach said.
“James Kirk is still out though, recovering from injury. But otherwise this squad is a fine blend of youth and experienced players.
“A very positive factor for us is the fact that there are 13 locally-based players selected and that shows the improvement of the MRFU league players.”
Danny Sacco, the team manager, made a passionate plea for the fans to fill the stadium on Saturday as support from the stands could again play a key role in Malta to clear this Sweden hurdle.
“Sweden will be formidable opponents but in the last three years we beat them twice so our chances of victory are still there,” he said.
“But we want the fans to get be-hind the team again. Their backing is crucial in difficult moments during the matchand hopefully they can carry us to another victory in this group.”
MRFU president Martin Galea said the Nations Cup was important for them to showcase the organi-sation as an evolving body before revealing that they had just succeeded in luring new sponsors.
“Our commercial partners form an integral part of the MRFU and most of our initiatives,” he said.
“Cisk Lager, Gasan Mamo, Medi-terranean Bank and the Malta International Airport have a long-standing relationship with us and this month we have succeeded in bringing on board two other sponsors in Bortex and Melita.
“They will both be of great assistance to our cause.”
Malta squad
A. Livesey, D. Cerketa, V. Stivala, H. Collins, T. Holloway, J. Howland, D. Holliday, M. Davey, M. Galea, T. Pace Moore, R. Holloway, M. Attard, C. Cassar, T. Quarandon, C. Sammut, M. Bonavia, K. Mason, J. O’Brien, D. Apsee, D. Busuttil, J. Morris, M. Camilleri, L. Watts, R. Borg, J. Cutajar, N. Gatt, O. Sacco, D. Deguara.
Fixtures
Saturday: Malta vs Sweden.
April 28: Croatia vs Malta; Latvia vs Lithuania.
May 5: Sweden vs Latvia; Lithuania vs Croatia.
Standings
Sweden (5-1-0) 24; Lithuania (3-1-2) 19; Malta (3-0-3) 16; Croatia (2-0-4) 11; Latvia (1-0-5) 7.