Forget all the controversy about ill intentioned comments made by an Italian restaurant owner yesterday – the Maltese national football team put in a great performance in Modena during Wednesday night’s qualifying match.

When Malta went behind after five minutes, many began to wonder if a thrashing was going to be the order of the day. Far from it.

It became evident to the commentators (baseball anyone?) that Malta were not going to cave in. The commentators praised Malta for being aggressive, despite playing with a lone striker, and for being structured and strong in defence.

The team played football. In the end , we lost by a two goal margin, but it was no walk in the park for Italy. Sure, Pirlo had his moments of magic, and there were a few times where goalie Hogg had to come to the rescue. But also, there were some crunching tackles put in by Malta’s lads, particularly Luke Dimech.

Bogdanovich’s hold-up play was also excellent and Mifsud, as ever, was a pain the defence’s collective behind. The moment of the night had to be when Briffa’s outside of the boot shot drew a good save from Buffon, who acknowledged the effort by turning to his defenders and gesticulating that putting it out for a corner was the best that he could do. The Italian commentators also pointed out that although small in stature, the Maltese players were tough, up for it and skillful. This really was one of the best performances Malta has put in for quite some time.

A special mention also needs to go out to the Maltese supporters who made the journey to watch the match, Apparently, they only numbered 100 or so, tucked away in a corner behind the goal. But that corner was awash with red and white and you could hear the noise and chants that came out of there to spur the team on.

Despite the loss, it was a great performance and a sense of national pride. It surely beats the times when Maltese commentators got excited because Italy were awarded a penalty against Malta in the 1980s, which was shameful. It is good to see a sense of national pride and it is good to see the people of Malta getting behind the team. That’s all supporters want – a good attempt to play the beautiful game and plenty of heart.