National coach Dusan Fitzel, from the Czech Republic, was obviously a happy man on Wednesday evening after his boys crushed Liechtenstein under a seven-goal avalanche in the friendly at Ta' Qali.

The coach was very happy for his boys who turned in such a confident and majestic performance, but was cautious when asked about the future of the team which includes friendly matches against Austria (May) and Estonia (August) and then the first competitive World Cup qualifier against Portugal in September.

Fitzel said after Wednesday's match that he thought the turning point came on the third goal. "The penalty award and its conversion as well as the sending off of D'Elia was all in our favour. When Michael Mifsud scored from the spot we were already 3-0 ahead and it was only the 19th minute," he said.

Fitzel admitted that the Malta team had already been creating a good number of chances before the third goal, but he insisted that it was that third goal which gave them the confidence they showed throughout the 90 minutes.

He said he pitied Liechtenstein. "Sometimes, this happens also to us. When one feels rattled it is difficult to maintain any sort of rhythm. This is what I believe happened to our opponents especially after also having a man sent off," added Fitzel.

The coach praised Michael Mifsud on his five-goal feat. "The fact that he had been in a scoring crisis at Coventry did not in any way effect his performance. In fact, this match served as a big booster for the Malta striker. He now goes back to his club with greater confidence after such a magnificent performance. In this match he showed all his great striking skills," added the Malta coach.

Fitzel also praised Etienne Barbara while criticising his club Sliema for suspending him. "I worked with him over two days and I felt confident he could respond as he did in this match. I cannot understand why he has been suspended by his club, but I had to give him his chance even if he is not playing for the Wanderers.

"As to whether Andrew Hogg will soon become the number one, ahead of the unavailable Justin Haber, I can say that Hogg is improving and is close to Haber at present.

"As for the defence, we made a number of mistakes and in that sector we have to work harder to rectify them. For example, Josef Mifsud played alongside Luke Dimech now. He had already flanked Brian Said in the past. But on Wednesday night, he showed he is still inexperienced even committing the penalty and some other unnecessary fouls. However, it is thanks to such matches that such players as Mifsud will improve by gaining valuable experience. Moreover those who believed that Brian Said is on the way out were given a clear answer by the experienced defender," said Fitzel.

Asked what beckons the Malta team, now that he has led it obtain a record number of points in a qualifying group and after this, the best ever victory at international level, the coach said he was optimistic, but could not really speak about the future, especially the match against Portugal in September which is the first in the forthcoming World Cup qualifying group. "I do not know whether I will be here in the next three months, let alone for the match against Portugal. Several things can happen till then, but I am sure we will continue working in the right direction. What I am sure of is that we will do our utmost in the hope of obtaining more positive results."

Liechtenstein coach Hans Peter Zuagg congratulated Fitzel and his team for the great victory. What had happened to his team, he was asked, for which he replied. "I must say that Malta were very well prepared for the match. They were faster, they were more aggressive, they played much better than we did. In fact, I think they played some excellent football and richly deserved their victory,"

Zuagg also said he did not think the pattern of the match might have changed had Liechtenstein not missed an easy chance soon after Malta drew first blood. "On a day like this, I think Malta would have won anyway, perhaps not by such a scoreline. However, we need to work hard to erase the memory of this heavy defeat and to regain the respect earned in the past few years."

Journalists accompanying the Liechtenstein squad could not explain what had happened to their side on Wednesday evening. One of them just said "It was unbelievable. Though the second penalty was a gift from the referee, it was no excuse for the very poor performance by our side, especially the defence