Malta will have to concentrate more on defence against Moldova

Fitzel: ‘We must keep our feet to the ground’

HENRY BRINCAT

The European Championship qualifying round resumes this evening in Chisinau, where Malta will be facing Group C’s bottom-placed team Moldova.

At present Malta is occupying joint fifth place along with Hungary. They both have three points, but Malta has played just three matches as against Hungary’s four.

In the last competitive match, Malta beat Hungary 2-1 in a memorable match at Ta’ Qali and one sincerely hopes that the enthusiasm on that day will again be transmitted on the Chisinau pitch this evening.

On that memorable evening at Ta’ Qali, Andre Schembri’s two goals gave Malta a splendid 2-1 win and the Marsaxlokk striker will be looking forward to repeat the dose if he is selected to play by coach Dusan Fitzel.

The coach from the Czech Republic is well aware of the difficulty of this evening’s task. “Among other factors, the change of coach by Moldova is another obstacle as we do not have a clear idea yet about the shape of the team. We only know that they have played one friendly against Romania since the new coach took over and they lost 2-0. In any case, it is not going to be easy facing such an opponent on home soil and in front of their supporters. But after our win against Hungary, we have to be very cautious and alert if we are to get something positive. We have to keep our feet to the ground,” he said before the squad departed for Chisinau.

Schembri had been injured in a friendly against Lithuania in mid-November and only returned to action early this month. However, he has been declared one hundred per cent fit to play and he is likely to partner Coventry City striker Michael Mifsud this evening.

Fitzel was concerned about some players in the squad who have travelled despite still being unfit. One of them, goalkeeper Justin Haber, returned to action on Wednesday and now seems certain to be named as starting goalkeeper, even if Andrew Hogg and Mario Muscat have also made the trip.

Fitzel will certainly be missing his injured flank defenders Ian Ciantar and Steve Wellman. I expect Roderick Briffa and Ian Azzopardi to take their places with the experienced Brian Said and Luke Dimech, as usual, occupying the central berths.

Fitzel might be expecting Moldova to attack right from the start and he will have to rely mainly on his midfielders to try and contain the Moldovans and keep them far away from our goal.

Kevin Sammut and Gilbert Agius, among the list of unfit players before the team’s departure, are now back to full fitness and both should be included in the side. The other two starting midfielders should be Jamie Pace and George Mallia.

And it is obvious that both Michael Mifsud and his partner in attack will have to help out in midfield and defence as the occasion warrants.

Fitzel made it clear that players in his squad will have to play the role they are asked of them. Also in the squad is Marsaxlokk’s striker Daniel Bogdanovic who is the leading local league top scorer with 25 goals. He has been recalled to the squad after a long absence. “Scoring 25 goals in 22 matches is something fantastic. But a player today needs to do anything on the pitch, not just score goals,” said Fitzel. This could have been an indication that Fitzel might give Bogdanovic the chance to return to the team, even if in the form of a second half substitute, according to the circumstances.

The starting line-up should not differ much from the following:

Justin Haber, Roderick Briffa, Brian Said, Luke Dimech, Ian Azzopardi; Kevin Sammut, Gilbert Agius, Jamie Pace, George Mallia; Michael Mifsud, Andre Schembri

The other players in the squad are A. Hogg, M. Muscat, K. Scicluna, J. Mifsud, G. Sciberras, R. Bajada, E. Barbara, I. Woods and D. Bogdanovic. Two of them have to be dropped.

Live on Melita Cable

Today’s Moldova-Malta match is being screened live on Melita Cable’s Melita Sports 2 and Sports Channel 48 starting with a preview at 5.45pm. The match kicks off at 6pm.

Malta’s Under 21 defeated 2-0

In an impressive Indoor Sheriff FC Sports complex the Maltese under 21 did not manage to obtain a positive result against a spirited Moldova side, losing 2-0 with both goals arriving in the first half.

Maxim Costrov and Mihail Turcan netted for the home side.

The match was initially scheduled to be played at the outdoor stadium but due to strong wind conditions the match officials decided to move the fixture to the indoor artificial pitch rather than the 18,000 capacity stadium

During the second half Miller experimented with team tactics and opted to a more attacking 4-4-2 formation which saw an improvement. On the 68th minute Dyson Falzon missed a sitter after an excellent one touch collective move.

After the match Mark Miller said he was satisfied by the second half performance but he showed no hesitation in remarking the fact that he is still very upset with this Under 21 team which has not scored yet.

The game was played in front of a crowd of 700 fans.

Malta Under 21: Miguel Montfort, Edmond Agius (Edward Herrara 46'), Steven Bezzina, Andrei Agius (Ryan Camilleri 63'), Tyronne Farrugia, Jonathan Caruana, Matthew Bartolo (Justin Grioli 84'), Paul Fenech, Ian Zammit (Andrew Scerri 88'), Ryan Fenech (Stephen Meilak 46'), Dyson Falzon