Malta held by Lithuania

Malta continued with their steady improvement on day two of the four-team invitational tournament being played on the island by drawing 1-1 with Lithuania on Monday. 

Experimental side
Maltese national coach Sigi Held fielded a totally experimental first eleven, with regulars Mario Muscat, Joe Brincat, Daniel Theuma and team captain David Carabott were all rested. Despite the missing players, the newcomers who took over performed well. Goalkeeper Saviour Darmanin, Ian Ciantar, William Camenzuli, Jonathan Holland and Daniel Bogdanovic all showed their class from the start.

Dedura on target
Despite enjoying most of the play during the first half, the Malta defence conceded after 33 minutes. A well-flighted corner from the right was smashed into the back of the net by Lithuania defender Ignas Dedura, who plays his club football for FC Skonto, to put the Lithuanians ahead.

Agius free-kick
Malta's fightback was rewarded five minutes into the second half, when Gilbert Agius, a striker with Italian side SC Pisa, flighted a free-kick beyond Lithuania goalkeeper Edwardas Kurskis' desperate reach. Stenhousemiur FC defender Simon Vella then came to Malta's rescue in the 69th minute when he cleared Ricardas Beniusis' effort off the line.

Win for Moldova
Viktor Pasulko's Moldovan side registered their first win of the tournament with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Jordan. Well orchestrated in midfield by captain Oleg Sischin, Moldova were never in danger of losing the match and dominated a first half in which they managed to score twice through striker Alexandru Golban in the 19th and 40th minutes.

Classy play
Jordan came back with a bang in the second half, but despite some classy midfield play, they never really threatened the Moldova goal, which was well marshalled by goalkeeper Alexei Imurco.

Malta top
Malta top the tournament table with four points together with Lithuania. Malta meet Moldova in their final game of the tournament, whilst Lithuania meet Jordan.