Courtesy: Di-ve.com

First win for Futsal national team

by di-ve sports


Sunday, April 29, 2007

It was another historic day for Maltese football, as the Futsal national team registered its first ever win in a competitive match. Under the guidance of Czech coach Michal Striz, the Maltese had an impressive debut in the "Torneo del Mediterraneo" which is currently underway in Catania, Sicily. The national team is competing against a selection of Sicilian and Italian Futsal clubs in the first edition of the tournament.

After a shaky start to their first match on Saturday night, Malta went 1-0 up thanks to a goal by Noel Bray against Polisportiva Universal Misterbianco. The Sicilians were quick to equalise. However, a much improved Malta side stepped up their game and dominated play in the second half, with goals from Tyron Borg (2), John Cutajar and Nebojsa Mijailovic leading to a deserved 5-1 victory.

Malta's next opponents were Rapresentativa Emilia Romagna. After going 1-0 down early on in the match, the Maltese fought back to lead 3-1 with goals from Noel Bray, Tyron Borg, and John Cutajar. However, a series of controversial refereeing decisions and what was widely regarded as an excessive amount of stoppage time saw the Italians come from behind to equalise in the dying seconds, frustrating the Maltese who had been on the brink of confirming qualification from the group stages.

The Maltese will play their final group match on Sunday evening. They will face Ficarazzi 2000, with a semi-final place at stake.

The Malta squad is made up of:
Benny Gialanze, Bjorn Vassallo; Nicholas Bilocca, Noel Bray. Tyron Borg, Paul Bugeja, Roderick Caruana, John Cutajar, Timothy Ellis, Mark Ellul Sullivan, Jeanbert Gatt, Robert Magro, Nebojsa Mijialovic, Jonathan Sammut, and Rene Sciberras.
Coach -- Michael Striz
Assistant coach -- Mark Marlow
Masseur -- Donald Spiteri
Kit manager -- Jonathan Pisani



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com