Malta finished second in Group 4D of the UEFA Women's Friendly Mini-Tournament which was played at the Centenary Stadium this week.
In their final match, the locals lost a decider to Bulgaria 1-0 to settle for the runners-up spot in the four-team competition.
Bulgaria and Malta approached this match with a perfect record from two matches.
Pierre Brincat's team had beaten Latvia 4-0 and Luxembourg 1-0 in their previous matches.
Against Bulgaria, the hosts took off in lively fashion, imposing their play on a superior Bulgarian team who had some talented players in their squad.
The Maltese created the early chances but the eastern Europeans remained calm and never lost composure.
Dorianne Theuma made a very good run from three quarters of the pitch before bursting into the Bulgarian box. She tried to surprise the keeper with a grounder but Naydenova did well to stop the ball with her leg.
A corner by Rachel Cuschieri on 17 minutes found Rebecca D'Agostino at the far post but she headed inches wide. This was another clear scoring opportunity for the Maltese.
However, Bulgaria struck in their first real foray inside the Malta half on 24 minutes.
Silvija Radoyska released Lilyana Kostova with a clever pass and the latter hit home what proved to be the winner.
Bulgaria, who had scored nine goals in their first two matches, opted for prudence for the rest of the match, keeping the Maltese players at bay and away from their goal.
On 70 minutes, a calibrated Theuma free-kick failed to trouble the Bulgarian defence who held tight for victory.
"We looked more compact today and I was rather impressed with the girls as they coped well against a very good team. The Bulgarians left a good impression here," coach Brincat was quoted as saying.
"All in all, I am satisfied. Second place is good enough for me and the team also had two victories and two clean sheets. The players deserve credit for the commitment shown. They were also encouraged by the fans who came to our matches."
Malta: S. Costantino; R. Chircop; C. Fenech; N. Pace; M. Debono; M. Azzopardi; R. Cuschieri (C. Camilleri); Y. Carabott; R. D'Agostino (C. Zammit); D. Theuma; K. Saliba (E. Xuereb).
Subs not used: M. Zahra; O. Bedingfield; G. Zahra.
Results: Malta vs Latvia 4-0; Bulgaria vs Luxembourg 5-0; Malta vs Luxembourg 1-0; Bulgaria vs Latvia 4-0; Luxembourg vs Latvia 0-1; Malta vs Bulgaria 0-1.