Malta's handsome winning margin was not the only national record set on Wednesday as striker Michael Mifsud went down in local football folklore as the first Maltese player to notch five goals in one match, taking his overall tally to 19 in 56 appearances.

After the game, national team fans, young and old, as well as local journalists reminisced on a perfect night for Malta, a unique experience which is unlikely to be repeated for a very long time.

Amid a crowd of grinning faces, bar the downbeat members of the Liechtenstein contingent, national coach Dusan Fitzel was doing his best to keep the euphoria under check in the post-match news conference.

The Czech mentor professed himself pleased with the team's performance but, as is his wont, he also commented on the negative aspects of Malta's showing.

"I'm satisfied with the team's performance but there were moments during the game when we committed mistakes," Fitzel said. "The biggest problem for our team is that the players can't keep their concentration for the whole match."

Malta's friendly against Liechtenstein was part of the national team's build-up for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers in which Fitzel's men will pit their wits against European heavyweights Portugal and Sweden, and Denmark, Hungary and Albania.

According to the national team's fixture schedule, Wednesday's warm-up was also Malta's last at home before Ronaldo, Nani and company grace the National Stadium in the first week of September.

When it was put to Fitzel that the comprehensive win over Liechtenstein, who were 14 places above Malta (134) in the latest FIFA rankings, should enrich the national team's morale ahead of their opening qualifier against Portugal, the Czech coach dismissed the notion.

"A lot of things can happen between now and September," Fitzel said.

"It's nice to obtain such a good result but it will certainly have no effect on the World Cup qualifier against Portugal. The players will now return to their clubs and their focus will immediately turn to their domestic commitments. In a month's time, this victory will be forgotten."

Mifsud's scoring prowess came to the fore again on Wednesday, the quicksilver forward showing that he has lost none of his predatory instincts and lethal finishing despite his recent goal drought for his club Coventry City.

Commenting on Mifsud's contribution, Fitzel said: "Michael had a good game but he was also lucky because he scored two goals from penalties.

"I think his performance provided a perfect example of how clubs and national teams can help each other. Mifsud scored five against Liechtenstein and that should inspire him to regain his form at club level as well."

With Malta racking up seven goals, the focus was on the team's attacking momentum but Fitzel had also made some key changes in defence with Josef Mifsud partnering Luke Dimech.

Brian Said has been an automatic choice under Fitzel but the Sliema veteran started on the bench after being recalled to the squad at the last minute to replace Aaron Xuereb. The latter had pulled out after his wife gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday.

"Usually, our team is forced to defend for long stretches but that was not the case against Liechtenstein," Fitzel said.

"I thought that Josef and Luke settled down after the first 10 minutes. They played well but there were moments when Mifsud lost his way.

"He conceded a penalty and committed a series of fouls in the second half. He needs to learn to stay focused all the time but he's young and requires more experience to achieve that. That's why these games are useful for him and the others in the squad.

"With regards to Brian Said, he is still part of the squad as are all those who were not with us for this match."

With Justin Haber granted permission to skip Wednesday's friendly to dedicate more time to his Greek team Haidari FC, Andrew Hogg was given another opportunity to stake his claim for the no.1 jersey.

The Valletta goalkeeper translated his positive domestic form onto the international stage with an assured performance which also featured a top-notch save to deny Liechtenstein captain Mario Frick from the penalty spot in the second half.

Fitzel wouldn't be drawn into discussing whether Hogg has done enough to keep his place in the team for the next match, an away friendly to Austria on May 29. He did say, however, that the young shotstopper is now on the same level as Haber.

"Justin Haber had not played for his club for several months but he has been involved in the last couple of matches. I let him to stay with Haidari because he needs to get a run of matches there," Fitzel remarked.

"Andrew Hogg has been performing well for Valletta. His form has increased the level of competition among the goalkeepers but that's something that I like. I believe that Hogg has reached the same level of performance as Haber."

Coach Zaugg bemoans 'crazy start'

Liechtenstein coach Hans-Peter Zaugg congratulated Malta for a brilliant display.

"My congratulations to Malta for a great performance and a great win," a downcast Zaugg said.

"Malta played well, they created several scoring chances. For me, the difference between the two teams today was down to fitness. It was clear that Malta were well prepared for this encounter whereas we struggled as this was our first match after three months."

Zaugg bemoaned what he described as a "crazy start" to Wednesday's match in which Malta raced into a 3-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes and Liechtenstein had defender Fabio D'Elia red-carded for shoving the goalbound Etienne Barbara.

"The start to the game was crazy," Zaugg remarked.

"Malta went ahead with a penalty but we had an excellent opportunity to equalise soon after. Had we taken that chance, I'm sure that the outcome would have been different."

National team's biggest wins

25-01-1958 - Malta vs Denmark XI: 3-0 (Friendly)
03-04-1985 - Malta vs Jordan: 3-1 (Friendly)
19-04-1994 - Malta vs Azerbaijan: 5-0 (Friendly)
06-02-2000 - Malta vs Azerbaijan: 3-0 (Rothmans Tournament)
13-02-2002 - Malta vs Moldova: 3-0 (Rothmans Tournament)
16-02-2004 - Malta vs Estonia: 5-2 (International Tournament)
26-03-2008 - Malta vs Liechtenstein: 7-1 (Friendly)