The Malta national team yesterday left Oslo on their way to Bucharest for the second act of this month’s Euro 2020 qualifiers with mixed emotions following Thursday’s 2-0 defeat to Norway at the Ulleval Stadium.

It was a night where we saw the national team primarily focus all their energies in trying to limit the threat posed by the towering and robust Norwegian side but that was still not yet enough to avoid yet another defeat.

For much of the opening 30 minutes of the match, the Maltese players produced a solid defensive display that almost completely annulled the attacking threat of the home side, with goalkeeper Henry Bonello rarely called into action as the visitors looked comfortable in soaking up the pressure.

But that all changed on 33 minutes when Sander Berge was allowed time and space to connect with Even Hovland’s headed pass and steer the ball past Bonello.

That goal left Ray Farrugia’s men deflated and unable to produce any sort of response as suddenly the Norwegians stepped up their game by several notches.

They laid siege to the Malta goal and after seeing a Stefan Johansen’s shot coming off the bar they all but killed off the match courtesy of a Joshua King penalty after the visitors’ defence failed to contend with another high ball in their area.

Paul Fenech admitted that poor defensive mistakes had spoilt all the good work put in by him and his team-mates.

“We approached the game with a clear tactical game plan,” the Balzan midfielder said.

“Our main focus was to be tactically disciplined and I think that bar for the ten-minute spell in the first half, where we conceded the two goals, we had fulfilled our task.

“Both Norway’s goals came from identical throw-in situations where we failed to cut out their diagonal ball towards the area and in the end paid dearly for that.”

A major concern for Ray Farrugia and his technical staff will be seeing his players unable to push themselves out of their half with the ball at their feet.

In fact, for long spells, particularly in the first half, the team were guilty of throwing away possession with some wayward passing.

“It’s true, our offensive game was very poor today,” Fenech said.

“We didn’t make good use of the ball when in possession or we will continue to suffer. There were two or three openings where we could have done better and that is something we need to improve on.

“Honestly, it was not easy as Norway put a lot of pressure on us. They may not have the same glamour of Sweden but personally I think they are not too far away.

“They made good use of their physical power in the two deciding incidents of the match and that was that. Personally, I felt that they were lucky to be awarded the penalty. I don’t think that Kyrian Nwoko’s challenge on their player warranted a penalty – personally it was a soft decision. But today referees’ interpretations have changed and you have to get on with it.”

The former Birkirkara midfielder said that  the main difference between the two teams was the contrasting intensity both sets of players are used to play in week in week out.

“I don’t want to make any form of excuses but it’s clear that we were playing against a group of players who are used to play on a much higher level of football week in week out,” Fenech said.

“When you play every weekend at such a high tempo it’s natural that your levels of performance constantly improve. Today, we were up against a world class player in the making in Martin Odegaard. Honestly, I have been playing at this level for a very long time and I rarely met a player like him. His technical ability is top notch. He can dribble and knows when to pass the ball but most of all he is very good in his decision making.”

Dunstan Vella was one shining light in Thursday’s match as the young midfielder made his full debut for the senior national team.

Fenech had only words of praise for his young team-mate and he has no doubt that the Hibernians midfielder has a bright future ahead of him in the national team.

“Dunstan should be really happy with himself today as he played a very good match,” Fenech said.

“Against Norway, he really showed that he belongs on the international stage as he put in an accomplished display. I had no problem playing alongside him. We communicated very well  and he fulfilled all his responsibilities.

“He has definitely shown that he will be a very important member of the national team for years to come.”

Malta have already turned their sights on tomorrow’s match against Romania where they are bracing themselves to a completely different challenge.

The Romanians, who suffered a 2-1 defeat to Spain on Thursday, will be desperate for the three points to close the gap on second-placed Sweden. Malta have already had a taste of what to expect tomorrow when last June they were completely outplayed but the pacey Romanians who cruised to a 4-0 win at the National Stadium.

“Romania will be a completely different kettle of fish than Norway,” Fenech said.

“They are not strong from a physical point of view but their technical and speed of play is outstanding as we experienced at the National Stadium in June.

“Now, we will start preparing for this match but it will be important that we remain tactically disciplined throughout the 90 minutes if we are harbouring hopes of taking at least a point.

“The only way that we can hurt them is through counter attacks but obviously we need to do better in our transition play than we did against Norway.

“It’s going to be difficult but we need to give it a go.”