Watch: Bold Malta display leaves cause for optimism

  For months, Malta national team followers have been craving for something to shout about after the team went into a depressing run of eight successive defeats and still in search of their first point in the 2018 World Cup qualifying Group F. On Thursday night, it took a bold attempt by Andrei Agius to set the Ta’ Qali terraces on their feet as the Hibernians midfielder left fly a scorching drive from almost 40 yards out to give Malta the lead against Lithuania. Agius’s strike, which was only Malta’s only third goal in the 2016-18 qualifying campaign, was a game-changing moment as it injected a huge dose of self-belief in the Maltese players, something that was conspicuous by its absence in the previous eight qualifiers. The goal completely transformed the team who started to play with great confidence, displaying slick possession football that provided encouraging statistics. The team enjoyed 43 per cent of ball possession that was converted into 82 per cent of passing accuracy, leaving the Lithuanians chasing shadows. In his pre-match talk, coach Pietro Ghedin, making his final home appearance before stepping down next week, had talked up the importance of giving the team the...