What a night for Maltese football. Local club Birkirkara FC taking on the Premiership’s mighty West Ham United and beating them one nil, watched by a crowd that packed the National Stadium to the rafters.
Expectations were high. After losing by a solitary goal in London, Birkirkara thought they might have what it takes to get a home win and push them through to the third qualifying round of the Europa League, which would bring with it some much needed television revenue. In the end, it was not to be, because although Birkirkara did the job and won, they did not do enough and the match was taken to penalties. West Ham, in the end, did the job, winning by five goals to three.
But what is there to digest in all of this? The first thing to note is that the standard of Maltese football is improving. Teams are getting better and better and a few foreign stars are also coming here to close out the twilight of their careers, like Fabrizio Miccoli, who netted the winning goal after about only 15 minutes of play.
The diminutive striker might have piled on a few pounds, but he is still a class act, and the way West Ham captain Mark Noble reacted by making fun of his weight ought to make Birkirkara and Miccoli even more proud, letting the football do the talking.
While Miccoli got the goal, each and every player in the Birkirkara side played their part in the victory. The heat was searing and Birkirkara’s players showed that another aspect of Maltese football is improving – conditioning. All too often, Maltese players have been found wanting in that department, but not on Thursday night. Even as extra time dragged on, all the team kept making runs, pushing forward where they could. It was only when Birkirkara were reduced to 10 men that legs began to feel like lead.
Another very important fact in Thursday night’s spectacle was the all important 12th man. Although many supporters were Karkarizi, the whole country got behind the stripes. Even those who were not at the stadium itself were there in spirit in old man bars, pubs and in their living rooms. We hope that there will be more of the same come next year, and we also hope that the Maltese national side can also get a lift out of such performances. Malta might be minnows in the footballing world, but we are still capable of the odd positive result. We will not say upset, because the world of football has changed and everyone has a chance. You only have to look at some of the sides that get into the World Cup and the performances that they produce to see that anything is possible. More training, more foreign players, more dedication and displays of pride such as those seen last night are what Malta’s football need a good dose of.