As one of the trailblazers in women’s football in Malta, Rebecca D’Agostino was overjoyed on Tuesday after the national team wrote a new chapter in the history of the local game by booking a place in the qualifying round of the 2015 World Cup on the back of their top position in a four-team mini-tournament.
A day after Maltese football was rocked by the news that four male players had been handed life bans for match-fixing, the women provided a much-needed boost as they followed up their 1-1 draw with Albania and 6-0 thrashing of Luxembourg with a 2-0 victory over Latvia at a buzzing Centenary Stadium.
“It was a memorable experience,” D’Agostino told The Times.
“Tuesday was a special day for all of us. It was the day when the dedication and hard work of the coach, the technical staff and players bore fruit.
“This project started 10 years ago when the national team was formed and I’ve been there from the very beginning.”
The experience of D’Agostino and the other members of the old guard was crucial for Malta to come this far but she insisted that the progress achieved is down to several factors.
“There are more young players coming through,” the Mosta defender said.
“When we started, we used to play in the streets but now everything is more organised and we also have nurseries for girls.
“There has been greater emphasis at youth level and we had three 15-year-olds in our squad for this tournament.”
Malta’s draw in their opening game against Albania, identified by coach Pierre Brincat as the toughest team in the group, strengthened the girls’ self-belief ahead of their matches against Luxembourg and Latvia.
“After the draw in our opening match, we knew that we could do it because Albania were the strongest team but we were still anxious because football can be unpredictable,” D’Agostino said.
The Malta captain paid tribute to the fans who roared the team on to victory on Tuesday.
“The supporters were our 12th player,” she said.
“It’s really great to play in front of so many fans and their encouragement from the stands was an added source of motivation.”
Malta, Albania, Faroe Islands and Montenegro will join the 38-top ranked nations in the qualifying round draw next Tuesday. Although sterner tests await Malta, D’Agostino is confident that they can cut a good figure.
“It’s important that we keep our feet on the ground,” D’Agostino said.
“The teams in the next round are very strong whereas those we played here are on the same level as us.
“We can be drawn against the likes of Germany and England, two of the top teams in the world, in the next round but if we stay on the right track, we can gain other positive results.”