A spirited first-half showing was not enough for Malta to open their account in Group D of the 2018 European Futsal Championship Preliminary Round yesterday as Peter Pullicino’s men conceded another 6-1 defeat, this time to hosts Bulgaria.

The Maltese team, beaten 6-1 by England in their first group game on Tuesday, held their own in the opening period but were unable to convert the chances that came their way.

Jovica Milijic missed an inviting opportunity early on while Xavier Saliba failed to score from the penalty spot on 14 minutes.

Bulgaria, who lost 7-1 to Albania on Tuesday, had to wait until the 19th minute to open the score through Plamen Stoykov.

The home side then sealed their victory in the second half as Stoykov was on target three times with Martin Ivanov and Daniel Nestorov scoring the other goals. Malta’s consolation goal came through Giancarlo Sammut three minutes from time.

In yesterday’s other game, Albania inflicted a 5-1 defeat on England to maintain their perfect record and seal qualification to the next phase of the championship.

Malta face Albania in their final group match tomorrow while Bulgaria and England, both on three points, meet in the other game.

Malta’s line-up: Matthew Xerxen, Giancarlo Sammut, Jovic Milijic, Mark Zammit, Andy Mangion.

Subs: Neil Cuschieri, Carl Azzopardi, Glenn Bonello, Nicola Del Re, George Frendo, Melvin Borg, Xavier Saliba, Dylan Musu, Matthew Attard.