GERMANY 20
MALTA 21
(1-2, 4-2, 4-4, 2-3, 9-10)
The Malta U-18 waterpolo national team are through to the knock-out stages of the European Championships with a thrilling 21-20 penalty shoot-out victory over Germany in Oradea, Romania.
Jonathan Valletta’s boys again showed that they mean business with an accomplished performance against one of the top sides in European waterpolo to ensure they finish among the top 12 sides in the competition.
It’s difficult to single out one protagonist for the Maltese side, as all players in their squad produced in key moments of the match.
Jayden Cutajar and Julian Chircop again stood out for Malta when finding the net four times throughout the match.
On the other hand, goalkeepers Zack Dzanovic and Andreas Micallef took centre stage in the penalty shoot-out as they managed to keep out three penalties that proved crucial in Malta’s dramatic victory.
“I am really proud of my players as we managed to record Malta’s first-ever win over Germany in any age-group and that is all down to the players’ hard work and dedication,” coach Jonathan Valletta told the Times of Malta.
“We knew that Germany were a very strong side. Two years ago we faced them in another age-group and lost 14-9 but this time we were determined to change the trend.
“This result takes further significance when one considers the limited time of preparation the team had for this tournament. Due to their league commitments, I only had all the players training with me just two days before the competition, and that is not ideal.
“We studied a lot of Germany’s strengths and weaknesses, and the players did very well to follow our tactical instructions to perfection. We managed to take out of the match, Germany’s star player Arne Hoffman, who was dismissed with a substitution, and that was a huge blow for them.
“But overall, the players showed great heart and they truly deserve all the praise they receive after this victory.”
Valletta said that the job is still not done for Malta as they need to beat Georgia to ensure a place in the Top 12.
“Georgia is a team we are capable of defeating, but we need to prove it on the pitch,” Valletta said.
“I expect my players to deliver another strong performance, as if we lose against Georgia, this win against Germany would have been achieved for nothing.
“So I want my players to keep their focus and ensure they give their best possible performance.”
There was little separating either side throughout the match, with the Maltese taking a slim 2-1 advantage at the end of the first session, courtesy of goals from Chircop and Cutajar.
In the second session, the Germans tried to fight back and managed to turn the result in their favour when taking the session 4-2 and heading into the half-time interval 5-4 ahead.
Malta’s goals in the session again came from Cutajar and Chircop.
The third session reflected the great balance that existed as the two sides shared four goals. Malta’s scorers in the quarter were Miguel Cassar, Enrico Mallia, Cutajar and Sean Mifsud as they headed into the last session 9-8 behind.
Malta needed to come out on top in the final session and they managed to save the match courtesy of goals from Cutajar and a brace from Chircop for a final 11-11 draw and send the match in a penalty shoot-out.
Here, momentum swung from one end to the other, with Dzanovic saving Noel Palata’s effort while Germany’s Eric Heinrich kept out Chircop’s shot.
The real drama came in the last four penalties as the Germans missed twice as Tobias Scherrieble fired wide while Nikolao Patsiavouridis saw his shot saved by Micallef with Chircop netting the penalty that handed the win to Malta.
On Wednesday, Malta plays their final group match against Georgia, where a win would ensure top spot in the group and a more favourable draw in the knockout stages.