In their final 2018 World Cup qualifier at home, a spirited Malta earned its first point of the campaign after battling out to a 1-1 draw against Lithuania at the National Stadium in Ta' Qali. 

Despite the recriminations for letting a potential win slip from their hands, the Maltese contingent was satisfied to have erased the zero from their points tally.

Although he swapped his usual central defensive role to play as an anchorman in the midfield, Andrei Agius still maintained his skill and structure aiding the team in imposing their game from the back and managing also to put himself on the score sheet with a sublime effort resulting in Malta's third goal in nine matches. 

"It is true that we could have claimed all three points against Lithuania, but overall we feel that it was a positive performance where we threatened in a very disciplined manner," Agius said to Times of Malta.

Meanwhile, Luke Gambin was handed a rare start on the flanks and was a constant threat whenever he was on the ball courtesy of his offensive traits which were creating havoc in the heart of Lithuania's defense. 

"At times we could have counter-attacked better, but it is not always possible because since we were defending deep hence becoming a lot more difficult to cover the whole ground and make the transition from defense to offense in a short time," the Luton Town midfielder underlined.

On the other side, Lithuania's goal scorer Vykintas Slivka, who currenty plays at Hibernian in Scotland, highlighted the Maltese defensive line as a strong department as it made it difficult for them to break it down.

"After conceding that goal, it was not easy for us to get the ground running and despite levelling terms the match remained difficult as Malta defended with lot of numbers in their own area," the former Juventus youth player said. 

Malta will return in action on Sunday when they face Slovakia in Trnava (kick-off: 6.00pm).

Malta players reacting after taking the lead against Lithuania yesterday. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier