Malta triumph on home ground

Hosts Malta and Lithuania both triumphed on the first day of a friendly tournament on the island.

Malta tournament begins
Lithuania emerged as 1-0 winners against Moldova thanks to a 33rd-minute goal from Ricardas Beniusis while Malta delighted supporters at the Ta'qali stadium by winning 2-1 against Jordan.

Understrength sides
Beniusis's goal was the highlight of a slightly stale encounter with both coaches taking the opportunity to field fringe players as they try to assess their squads ahead of the qualification campaign for EURO 2004™.

Held opts for youth
Malta coach Sigi Held also experimented and his decision to test some of the island’s most talented young players paid off against Jordan. The home side took the lead after just eight minutes as Michael Mifsud danced through the Jordanian defence, rounded the goalkeeper and passed the ball into an empty net.

Jordan strike back
Jordan struck back in the second half after Badran Al-Shagran was felled in the penalty area by Jeffrey Chetcuti, and Abdullah Abuzeaia scored with a perfectly executed penalty kick to the right of Mario Mifsud on 57 minutes.

Brincat on target
However, on a day dominated by young players, it was one of Malta’s oldest who secured the win. Joe Brincat, playing his 98th international game for his country, scored the winning goal on 63 minutes. Brincat advanced from the left and into the Jordan penalty area to beat Ahmed Al-Khazaleh with a dipping shot.