National coach Pietro Ghedin was in a tranquil mood on Tuesday night when addressing journalists at the end of the match against Bulgaria.
He said: “Today I am not angry. Instead, I am very happy with what I’ve seen, even if there was that goalkeeping mistake which provided our opponents with the first goal.
“However, the performance, especially in the second half, confirmed that we have a good team and we can give any opponent a tough game. I am happy not only because of the performance of the players, but also because of the great support of the public which I thank wholeheartedly. We are creating a lot of enthusiasm among the fans. But we also need some luck in future so as to be able to register more positive results. In fact, I think the only thing missing tonight was the result – unfortunately the only negative thing on the night.”
Ghedin went on to say that it is not fair to tell the fans that they can start dreaming about the future. “We are still a small nation, but we are improving, no doubt about that. And I firmly believe we are able to do better in future. We also need to be more courageous, but we have to remain united, especially on the field of play.”
The Italian mentor added that he felt sorry for the players in the dressing room. “They were sad and disappointed because of the result. But they are aware that they were unlucky once again. We must not forget that we hit the posts twice and also went close through some scoring chances which we created,” he said.
Ghedin admitted that the first half was difficult. “We were under a lot of pressure from one of the best 10 teams in Europe. We suffered a lot on the two flanks where they had two world class players who caused a lot of damage to us. Failla and Camilleri were not 100 per cent fit and we had to struggle. But in the second half, when I made the necessary changes, we managed to keep Popov at bay and we improved beyond consideration. Once again I reiterate that I am only disappointed with the negative result. We did not deserve it,” he said.
Asked about Bulgaria’ first goal, Ghedin said he would not put the blame on anyone. “Haber was unlucky on that occasion. Otherwise he had a great performance and inspired his team-mates, especially in the second half.
“We wished to give the fans something to shout about. Once again we failed, but I must say that we have never been lucky in this difficult group’s matches,” he added.
Finally, Ghedin was asked what he thought was the reason why our strikers are passing through a period where they cannot find the net of their opponents. “So long as any player of the team scores, I do not bother. But I think it is also a question of being unlucky on most occasions,” he said.
Bulgaria coach Penev Lyuboslav said after the match that Bulgaria played a good first half which they domianted, but then his side was forced to retreat in defence after the second goal as Malta pushed to get back into the match.
He added: “When you do not score goals you concede and that is what happened to us after the second goal. But complements to Malta. They played a good match and put us under considerable pressure. They did not deserve to lose.
“As to the situation in the group, we still lead the pack chasing the second place. When we are playing at the same time, I do not bother about the results of the others. We came here for the three points and we took them. That is what is more important. If we continue winning, then we will make sure of that second place which might eventually mean qualification for the playoffs.”