Malta’s adventure at the European Nations Hockey Challenge continued yesterday but this time round they suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of a fitter Azerbaijan side that played a stronger game than the locals.

The Maltese took some time to settle down as Azerbaijan choked the midfield and applied pressure in all parts of the ground. They created a good number of chances and were rewarded when Mubariz Mirzayev put them ahead. For Malta the best chance came from a short corner hit well saved by Vijay Mammadov.

The second half saw a slightly improved Malta side but Azerbaijan remained quicker and faster on the ball. They doubled the score through Mahammad Mammadov but a few minutes from the end Malta were handed a life line when they were awarded a penalty but Michael Caruana Smith missed a twice taken penalty. Azerbaijan took the ball up to the other end and Farid Shahbazov closed the score at 3-0.

In the first game of the day Denmark trounced Cyprus to the tune of nine goals to nil.

Today will see the final two games of the first stage with Azerbaijan taking on Cyprus at 3pm and Malta facing Denmark at 5.30pm.