Camilleri's boys face England 'C' in warm-up match

Malta U-21 coach Edwin Camilleri will continue to experiment with his new squad this evening when the national team plays against England 'C' in a friendly at the Hibs Ground (kick-off: 18.30).

Last week, Camilleri saw his relatively inexperienced team producing a gutsy performance in a 0-1 upset to Denmark in another friendly at home, conceding the visitors' goal seven minutes from time.

On that occasion, Camilleri gave debut to some promising players to keep in line with his policy of developing raw talent besides widening his selection options.

Today, he is likely to continue with that process as a few members in his squad will be unavailable following their involvement in last night's Premier League matches.

"These are the kind of matches where we can gauge the true potential in some of our new players. Against England C we'll probably have new additions," Camilleri said.

"I told the lads they did well against Denmark but I also made it clear that there's loads of work to do to make this squad competitive. Next month, we'll be playing Slovenia in our first championship qualifier. That will be a different proposition so we have to look ahead and prepare in earnest."

England C, composed of semi-professionals from outside the Football League, are managed by Paul Fairclough, formerly Barnet coach. None of the 16 players in his squad have ever been called up for the selection before.

Last autumn, England C figured in two matches. They were beaten 6-2 by Bosnia 'B' in a friendly before drawing 2-2 with Italy to book their place in the final of the International Challenge Trophy against Belgium next May.