The Maltese national team have unfortunately lost against their Nations League competitors Estonia. What made the loss worse for all Maltese football fans was the fact that it came out of a mistake in the dying minutes of the game. The match was played in Ta’ Qali in front of an impressive number of Maltese supporters.
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The match started in the best possible way for the Maltese players with them being awarded a penalty in the opening minutes. The penalty was given because of a handball made by the Estonian defender. Unfortunately Maltese star player Teddy Teuma missed the chance to give Malta the lead. The game got worse for Teuma as only 5 minutes after his penalty miss, he lost the ball to Estonia captain Vassiljev who managed to score from a powerful shot outside the box.
The second half was much better for Malta. The players seemed more up for it and attacked more to score a much needed equalizer. Hibernians attacker Jurgen Degabriele was the man of the hour for Malta, as he sent the Maltese fans crazy in the 56th minute after he directly scored from a corner. The match was destined to end in a draw until the 94th minute when Estonian attacker Henri Anier capitalized on numerous defensive mistakes made by the Maltese team to score the winner.
The loss now means that Malta will have to beat Estonia in Estonia, next September, to get promoted to league C of the Nations League. There next game is next Sunday against familiar opposition in San Marino. They will be hoping to bounce back after a disappointing match.
#MaltaDaily