Malta gained their first ever point in the UEFA Futsal EURO qualifiers following a 1-1 draw with Greece in a hard-fought and balanced match at the National Sport School.
It was another energetic and lively performance from the Maltese team who led for most of the second half only for Greece to score a late equaliser after a spell of sustained pressure.
Malta coach Zeljko Anicic made use of two lines of play with Jovica Milijic, George Frendo, Mark Zammit and Firas Aboulezz all standing out. Equally impressive were Carl Azzopardi, Giancarlo Sammut, Andy Mangion and Marwan Telissi. Goalkeeper Stefan Vella also had a brilliant match.
The match was a close affair with the two teams cancelling each other out in the first half. The first clear-cut opportunity came two minutes from the end of the opening half when Vella had to stretch to keep out Antonios Manos’s strong shot from the distance. Malta replied through a swerving Azzopardi shot but Greek keeper Dimitris Zervas saved.
Eighteen seconds into the second half, Malta forged ahead. Azzopardi intercepted a ball from the Greek defence and hit home.
Greece staged a strong reaction but the Maltese were resolute. The Greek side had to wait until five minutes from time to level matters when Dimitrios Karmis scored from a tight angle.
After the match, Malta coach Zeljko Anicic paid tribute to his players for their great effort in a difficult match against higher-ranked opponents, adding that the result was fair.
Malta conclude their commitments on Saturday with a tough match against group leaders Poland who made it two wins from two matches in Group C after easing past Sweden, winning 6-0.
MALTA STARTING FIVE
Stefan Vella, Carl Azzopardi, Giancarlo Sammut, Mark Zammit, Andy Mangion.
SUBSTITUTES
Clint Mifsud, Karl Sciortino, Dylan Musu, Jovica Milijic, George Frendo, Melvin Borg, Firas Aboulezz, Andrè Ciancio, Marwan Telissi.
GREECE STARTING FIVE
Dimitris Zervas, Spyridon Kondyiatos, Dimitrios Karavidas, Kostas Malovits, Charalampos Stavrakopoulos.
SUBSTITUTES
Efhimios Michalitsis, Petro Katevtsian, Dimitrios Karmis, Takis Artinos, Giannis Delaportas, Vasilis Asimakopoulos, Antonios Manos, Panagiotis Paouris, Marios Ntatis.
REFEREES
Igor Puzovic (BIH), Balasz Farkas (HUN), Ales Mocnik Peric (SVN).
REMAINING FIXTURES
Venue: National School of Sport, Pembroke
Saturday, 1st February, 2020
16.00 – Greece vs Sweden
19.00 – Malta vs Poland