Six months on from his debut, Alfred Effiong has already established himself as a key player for the national team.

While his jaw-dropping strike in the friendly against Lithuania in June earned Effiong international recognition, his second-half goal in the Euro 2016 Group H qualifier against Azerbaijan on Sunday carried more significance as it enabled Malta to garner a point.

His electric display on Sunday followed an equally impressive showing in the 1-0 defeat to Italy where Effiong was applauded off the pitch by the Florence crowd when he made way for Michael Mifsud in the dying stages.

Effiong was pleased that his efforts helped Malta secure a second point in Group H after their 2-2 draw against Azerbaijan but, as is his wont, he paid tribute to his team-mates, the technical staff, namely coach Pietro Ghedin, assistant Ray Farrugia, Luca Pagani, the physical trainer, Charles Sciberras, the goalkeepers’ coach, and the medical team.

“I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied with what I’ve done, I’m more pleased for the whole team really and all the technical staff because we worked hard before these games,” Effiong told Times of Malta.

“I believe that we deserved three points from the last two qualifiers but this is football.

“I’m glad with our performances because everyone can see the improvement of the national team.

“We will continue to work with this pace in order to improve further.”

Sunday’s game capped a hectic two-week period for Effiong who completed a move to Balzan from Qormi on the last day of the transfer window before joining up with the Malta squad for the Italy and Azerbaijan qualifiers.

“Everything happened in a very short space of time,” Effiong said of his switch to Balzan.

“I thought I was going to start the season with Qormi but then Balzan showed an interest and I joined them.

“I’m settling well at my new club as the coach (Oliver Spiteri) and the players have made feel at home straightaway.

“With the national team, the first game (against Italy) was a bit disappointing. The boys really worked hard during the match and we didn’t deserve to lose 1-0.

“It was not easy against Azerbaijan as it was our second game in less than four days but I felt we did very well, especially in the second half.”

Set out in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Effiong on the right wing and Mifsud as lone striker, Malta looked tired and confused in the opening 45 minutes of Sunday’s qualifier against Azerbaijan at Ta’ Qali but improved immeasurably after the half-time break when Ghedin switched to 4-4-2.

“I wouldn’t put our first-half difficulties down to the tactical aspect,” Effiong reckoned.

“It had to do more with tiredness and the high humidity. After the qualifier against Italy, we only had two days to recover.

“The Italy match was a big occasion for us and, as I’ve already said, the players fought until the very end.

“True, we struggled in the first half against Azerbaijan.

“When we entered the dressing room at half-time, we knew that there was no going back.

“We had to roll up our sleeves and fight to try and gain something from the game.

“And we did it.

“The team showed great character as we went ahead after coming back from a goal down.

“Credit to goalkeeper (Andrew) Hogg because he kept us in the game against Azerbaijan. That superb save in the second half was the turning point of the match. It left me open-mouthed.

“Everybody did their part.”

Hogg produced a point-blank save midway into the second half, fisting Ruslan Gurbanov’s fierce close-range drive on to the crossbar when the score was 1-1.

Having set up Mifsud for his record-extending 40th national team goal 10 minutes into the second half, Effiong hit the second 19 minutes from the end.

Fastening on to Andrè Schembri’s through-ball, Effiong held off Badavi Huseynov’s challenge before spearing a shot into the far corner.

As the ball soared into the net, Effiong wheeled away in celebration, gesturing for the Maltese fans to ramp up their support before dropping to his knees as his team-mates rushed to congratulate him.

Effiong revealed that a text message he received from a guy known as the Maltese Falcon, an Englishman who is a fervent supporter of Malta, had reinforced his determination to punish Azerbaijan.

“Before the game... there’s a supporter, known as the Maltese Falcon, who sent me a message before the game. He reminded me of what the Azerbaijan fans did to me when we played them in Baku.

“When we played away, I was racially abused by a section of their fans. They made noises and called me names but I didn’t give much notice at the time. When I scored against them at the National Stadium, I was very emotional.

“It was a fantastic feeling.”

Effiong’s impact on the national team has been such that it looks like he’s been part of the squad for several years not just six months.

The Nigerian-born striker admitted that his experience and understanding of local football made it easier for him to integrate into the Malta team.

“I’ve been living in Malta for a long time... Malta is my home now,” Effiong said.

“I played with and against most of the players in the squad. They are great lads and I must also say that the coach (Ghedin) and his staff are fantastic.

“It’s like a big family and I felt at ease from the first day I trained with the squad.”

Although Effiong always believed that he had what it takes to make the grade at international level, his instant impact has exceeded his own expectations.

“I never thought that I would do so well in such a short period of time,” Effiong reflected.

“There are some really great players in the squad.

“I used to follow the national team even when I was not part of it.

“Even at that time, I was eager to work hard and prove my worth whenever I’d get the chance to play for Malta.”

Great honour

While the Maltese team has benefited from Effiong’s availability, the Balzan speedster has no regrets about his decision to pledge his international future to his adoptive nation.

“This is not about me... it’s a massive honour to play for Malta,” Effiong said.

“Representing this country in international football is great.”

Malta’s remaining two European Championship qualifiers are away to second-placed Norway on October 10 and at home to Croatia three days later.

Although, on paper, Malta face a tall order to add to their two-point tally in Group H, Effiong is optimistic.

“I’m very pleased with the team,” Effiong said.

“The supporters have also been fantastic. They’ve really been close to the team in the last two games, especially during the difficult moments.

“I’m convinced that our performance against Italy has shown that we’re no pushovers.

“We can give every team a tough game, we can be a hard nut to crack.

“I honestly believe that, on the back of our showings of late, we can aspire to get a win from our remaining two championship qualifiers.”

On a personal level, Effiong is determined to keep the momentum going.

“I know that I have to work extra hard to maintain my form and improve,” Effiong said.

“You can never say that you have reached the top because you can always do better.

“You need a lot of commitment and determination to keep your career on track.”

Group H

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Italy	8	5	3	0	11	5	18
Norway	8	5	1	2	10	8	16
Croatia (-1)	8	4	3	1	16	5	14
Bulgaria	8	2	2	4	7	9	8
Azerbaijan	8	1	3	4	6	13	6
Malta	8	0	2	6	3	13	2

Remaining matches

October 10
Azerbaijan vs Italy
Norway vs Malta
Croatia vs Bulgaria

October 13
Bulgaria vs Azerbaijan
Italy vs Norway
Malta vs Croatia