The gallant performances of Valletta and Birkirkara in the first qualifying round of the Europa League have given Maltese football a much-craved boost and Sliema Wanderers will be looking to maintain the feel-good factor when they host Maccabi Netanya in the first leg of their second qualifying round match today.
For the Blues, the priority is to keep the tie alive but mindful of the strength of Israeli football, Stephen Azzopardi, the Sliema coach, has refrained from setting his team a specific target.
"The level of football in Israel has improved in the last few years as reflected by the results of their national team," Azzopardi told The Times.
"Maccabi are something of an unknown proposition for us but they are one of the top teams in Israel and we have to be realistic. We can derive courage from the performances of the Maltese teams in the Europa League this season.
"Valletta did well to qualify but they were also a bit lucky to be drawn against a team whose level was, by and large, the same as theirs. Birkirkara also cut a good figure, considering the strength of their opponents.
"This improvement could be down to the fact that the teams in European competitions didn't have a long break this summer, so the physical condition is better compared to previous seasons.
"However, this scenario also has a downside as I expect teams to suffer the consequences of not having a proper break."
Azzopardi's knowledge of Maccabi is scant as the Israelis have only played a couple of warm-up matches. The Sliema mentor has been surfing the internet to gain more information and watched dvds of some of the matches Maccabi played last season.
"In terms of technique, I think they are stronger than us and that means we must be prudent in the way we approach this game," Azzopardi reckoned.
Sliema, whose success in the FA Trophy earned them a slot in the second qualifying round, had a smooth build-up for today's match after winning two and drawing one of their three matches in the pre-season Euro Cup.
Azzopardi is sweating on the fitness of new signing Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza but remains hopeful that the former Birkirkara striker will recover in time.
Sliema have been one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market so far, signing four players in the first few weeks of the close season - Clayton Failla, Josef Mifsud, Ryan Fenech and Mifsud Triganza. The Blues were expected to bring in two foreign players ahead of their encounter with Maccabi but this failed to materialise.
Azzopardi said Sliema are in no rush to sign new players.
"We have already made four major signings and after defender Steve Borg chose to join Valletta, we decided to retain a homegrown player, Clifford Gatt Baldacchino," Azzopardi said.
"I think we still need two other players to cope with the demands of a long season.
"We made enquiries about Daniel Mariano Bueno (Tarxien Rainbows) but it was not possible to sign him. Sylvano Comvalius was another player we were looking at but he has moved to Birkirkara."
Maccabi, who finished fourth in the Ligat Ha'al last season, landed in Malta on Sunday afternoon. Nati Azaria, the coach, is anticipating a stern challenge from Sliema.
"It's going to be a very difficult game for us," he said. "We have come here with a very young team with little experience in Europe."
Azaria's options received a boost yesterday after Itay Shechter, widely regarded as Netanya's best striker, joined the squad in Malta after his proposed move to Hapoel Tel Aviv fell through.
Referee: Veaceslav Banari (Moldova).
Kick-off: 5.45 p.m., Centenary Stadium.