The Maltese national team chalked up their first victory in the group phase of the EuroHockey Nations Championships IV tournament after beating Finland 5-1, in Vilnius, yesterday.

Finland drew first blood on ten minutes, Mikko Fiskaali netting with a crisp volley after profiting from a defensive blunder.

But Malta hit back strongly and John Williams went close to an equaliser when he hooked a cross from the right just past the post.

Malta, who lost the opener 4-2 to hosts Lithuania on Sunday, drew level on 15 minutes when Williams pushed home from close range after a melee inside the D.

After not availing themselves of a penalty corner, Malta increased their tempo and from another penalty corner action Jonathan Borg snapped up a rebound to shoot Malta into a 2 -1 lead.

Another penalty corner on 32 minutes saw Malta open a two-goal lead. This time, Juan Sarcia hit an exquisite shot into the corner to give the team a 3-1 advantage at half-time.

The second half was dominated by Malta with first Justin Bonello and then Steve Portelli just missing the target, the latter from a difficult position.

After another batch of near misses, Pieter Bregman’s men finally scored their fourth goal through Shaun Grima.

Steve Tanti added to the tally two minutes before the final whistle to give Malta a deserved 5-1 victory.

Malta play their remaining Group B match tomorrow against Cyprus who lost to Lithuania 3-0 yesterday. The classification ties and final will be played on Friday and Saturday.