MALTA............... 7

ROMANIA......... 13

(2-3), (2-3), (2-4), (1-3)

Before this qualification group, it was expected that the game against Portugal would be the decisive one due to the strength of Romania. In the end the prediction proved to be true as Romania ended up group winners after defeating Malta 13-7.

Although the Romanians were the better team and they would still ended up as winners, the red card to Stevie Camilleri halfway through the game, had a major impact on the final outcome. Matthew Zammit also had to finish the game earlier than his team-mates after the third personal foul and another red card at the beginning of the last session.

It took Romania half a session to take the advantage from a goal by Andrei Prioteasa and after Stevie Camilleri tapped in to equalise, Romania gained a 3-1 advantage. Matthew Zammit reduced the margin from man-up and could have equalised but a man-up late in the session was missed.

Karl Izzo's team improved in the second session and reacted following another two goals by Romania. Malta's chief scorer Stevie Camilleri scored twice consecutively and again missed to equalise from a man-up situation, conceding few seconds later as Romania headed into the third session 6-4 ahead. Few seconds before the end of the session, Camilleri was shown marching orders in a controversial decision that left many surprised.

This decision could have impacted the morale of the players but in the third session they still tried to play their game, while Romania kept being the superior team, taking also an 8-4 lead.

Matthew Zammit cut the deficit with a goal from man-up and after Dino Zammit had a penalty saved, Jordan Camilleri scored to put Malta back in the game. Romania restored their four-goal cushion with two goals in the last two minutes.

Kechagias Athanasios's team controlled the proceedings in the last eight minutes as Malta failed to score early in the session to stay in the game. Despite the defeat, those present clapped the team in the final seconds, a clear sign of appreciation for the effort shown by the players.

Now, the team led by Karl Izzo will focus on the necessary preparation for the European Championship finals which will be held in Budapest next January.

Malta: N. Grixti, J. Gabarretta, M. Spiteri Staines, G. Pace, Da. Zammit, M. Zammit (2), S. Camilleri (3), J. Camilleri (1), J. Abela (1), A. Cousin, B. Plumpton, Di. Zammit, A. Borg Cole

Rumanija: M. Tic, L. Vancsik, T. Negrean (3), M. Gheorghe (4), V. Antipa, A. Prioteasa (2), V. Georgescu, T. Fulea (1), V. Dragomirescu (1), N. Oanta (2), A. Ghiban, I. Szabo, S. Abrudan

Referees: Ruben Garcia (Switzerland), Sebastien Dervieux (France)