Hats off to our national football teams after the two results they obtained the past few days which provided all local enthusiasts with some satisfaction after several disappointments.
The 2-1 win obtained by the Under 21 side against Hungary was followed by a highly respectable 1-1 draw away to Azerbaijan by the seniors national team. And these after the latter had lost 3-1 against Kosovo on Thursday.
The two positive results provided the players with room for some euphoria and I would be the first to say that it was right to see their happiness on the fields of play - at the Centenary Stadium on Friday and at Baku Olympic Stadium on Sunday.
They all deserve praise for their feats, but let us also not forget two gentlemen who have contributed a lot towards the acquisition of such results - coaches Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia and Silvio Vella.
Farrugia has always been known as a man who gets what he wants, though not always. I did not agree with him after the Kosovo game that we might have snatched a draw had Michael Mifsud not been sent off. Our opponents lived in another street on that day and we must all admit that it could have been a lot worse had it not been for the woodwork and the outstanding Andrew Hogg.
On that day, Farrugia - as most or all of us - must have been angry with the national team skipper for having committed such a useless foul in midfield, just a few minutes after having received the first yellow card. Mifsud, with so much experience, should have kept his calm.
On the other hand, Vella was less euphoric after his team's richly deserved win against the Magyars. But that performance and the result only confirmed that Vella prepared his boys well for the match.
I still remember him explaining to us before the game that in the away match, Malta were unlucky to lose through a very late winner for Hungary. This time, Malta turned the tables on their opponents, Beerman scoring our winner in added time.
These were two very encouraging results and as Farrugia said, the road is still long to see the fruit of the work being done to get Maltese football back to where it belongs.
It will not be easy, however, in the knowledge that the national coach, like the previous two coaches before him - Ghedin and Saintfiet - has a very limited number of players to select for national team duty.
It is a fact that each Premier League team is able to field seven foreigners at any one time during a competitive match. That leaves 56 spaces available for the locals to try and convince the national coach to select them for national team duty. And I do not believe that they are all good enough to be selected.
But despite the limitations, I feel there is a number of players from the Under 21 side who are knocking on the door of the national team. Players like Guillaumier, Borg, Beerman, Zammit, Nwoko, Sansone and Degabriele (not to mention all the others), convinced me last Friday that they are ready to join Mbong, Corbolan and Grech in the national squad. And let us not forget that in two months' time, other players like Ryan Camenzuli, Llewelyn Cremona and Luke Montebello will be back in action following their suspension by UEFA.
Now we have to look forward with optimism. We start all over again today with the final UEFA Under 21 Group 6 qualifier against Cyprus. And next month, the national team will again be in action twice at home, against Kosovo and Faroe Islands.
The two teams need support from all quarters if they are to continue on the right track. Not only, but the players must also keep their feet to the ground.