For months, Malta national team followers have been craving for something to shout about after the team went into a depressing run of eight successive defeats and still in search of their first point in the 2018 World Cup qualifying Group F.

On Thursday night, it took a bold attempt by Andrei Agius to set the Ta’ Qali terraces on their feet as the Hibernians midfielder left fly a scorching drive from almost 40 yards out to give Malta the lead against Lithuania.

Agius’s strike, which was only Malta’s only third goal in the 2016-18 qualifying campaign, was a game-changing moment as it injected a huge dose of self-belief in the Maltese players, something that was conspicuous by its absence in the previous eight qualifiers.

The goal completely transformed the team who started to play with great confidence, displaying slick possession football that provided encouraging statistics.

The team enjoyed 43 per cent of ball possession that was converted into 82 per cent of passing accuracy, leaving the Lithuanians chasing shadows.

In his pre-match talk, coach Pietro Ghedin, making his final home appearance before stepping down next week, had talked up the importance of giving the team the right tactical balance and his decision to deploy Agius as anchorman in front of the back four, surely did the trick.

“I didn’t find it difficult to adapt to my new position as I am already fulfilling that role at my club Hibernians this season,” Agius told the Times of Malta.

“My partners in the midfield department, Steve Pisani and Paul Fenech, made my role easier as they kept the tempo of the game flowing with their passing, which enabled us to stretch the field and create danger from the flanks.”

On the restart, the team could not maintain the same momentum as the enforced withdrawal of striker Andre Schembri, who suffered a head injury, forced Ghedin to again reshuffle his tactical plan.

The visitors fully profited from the situation as they seized the initiative in the early minutes and went on to clinch the equaliser via Vykintas Slivka’s screamer.

While the goal did not disrupt Malta’s sharpness at the back, the opponents continued to boss the game, forcing the hosts to defend deep.

“In the second half, we retreated back 10 to 15 metres and while we made it difficult for our opponents to break us down, we struggled to move out with the ball,” Agius said.

“In addition, a bit of anxiety creeped into our minds considering that we had lost all the previous games, therefore we had to battle till the end to at least chalk up our first point.

“On the whole, it was a satisfactory display with both teams creating dangerous opportunities – actually it was a match decided by two fantastic moments.”

Ghedin’s tactical switch from the customary 3-5-2 formation to 4-1-4-1 which transformed into a 4-1-2-3 when in possession, not only provided added cover to the Maltese defence but also gave the opportunity to the midfield players to offer support to the forwards.

Winger Luke Gambin, making a rare start on the left flank before switching to the right following Schembri’s departure, again gave a glimpse of his qualities as his change of speed and tactical nous added a new dimension to our attacking play.

It’s therefore difficult to understand how sometimes the Luton Town midfielder is not involved more by his team-mates when pushing forward.

“It was a positive result as we started the game really well with a fast tempo and also forged ahead through a lovely goal from (Andrei) Agius,” Gambin said.

“Being a fast player, I tried to use my qualities to create space as much as possible but it was not always easy to threaten because when you defend deep, sometimes it’s difficult to be at the right place at the right time.”

Gambin admitted that Lithuania’s equaliser was a psychological blow to the Maltese players who then focused more on keeping their defensive structure.

“In the second half, the game became more difficult because we defended so deep that we struggled to get out of our half,” he said.

“Moreover, we needed to calm the storm after the Lithuania goal and remain compact. But in the end we were just happy take a point from the match which hopefully will serve us in good stead ahead of Sunday’s match against Slovakia.”

The win might have eluded our national team yet again but surely the team provided enough

evidence against Lithuania to provide the national team lovers optimistic of a bright future under a new leadership.

Fenech in, Muscat out

The Malta national team left the islands yesterday on its way to Trnava to start its preparations for tomorrow’s final World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.

Coach Ghedin has dropped Zach Muscat from his 20-man squad as the Arezzo defender must serve a one-match suspension.

Muscat was replaced by Balzan midfielder Ryan Fenech who skipped the Lithuania match through suspension.

Schembri and Steve Borg, who also suffered a head injury on Thursday, were both certified fit to travel with the rest of the squad.

Bjorn Kristensen, Michael Mifsud and Jean Paul Farrugia miss out due to injury. 

MALTA SQUAD

Goalkeepers: H. Bonello (Valletta), A. Hogg (Hibernians).

Defenders: A. Agius (Hibs), C. Attard (Birkirkara), S. Borg (Valletta, R. Camilleri (Valletta), C. Failla (Hibs), S. Magri (Ebbsfleet  United), D. Zerafa (Ħamrun), J. Zerafa (Valletta).

Midfielders: C. Borg (Floriana), P. Fenech (Balzan), R. Fenech (Balzan), L. Gambin (Luton), S. Pisani (Floriana), J. Bezzina (Hibs).

Forwards: S. Arab (Ħamrun), L. Micallef (Ħamrun), A. Effiong (Balzan), A. Schembri (Apollon Limassol).