MALTA           14

SLOVENIA    13

(3-4, 5-4, 3-3, 3-2)

The Malta waterpolo national team rewrote history in Belgrade when they finished 13th overall with a hard-fought 14-13 win over Slovenia to secure their best-ever placing in a European Championship finals.

It was another display of character from Milan Cirovic’s men, who once more managed to keep their composure throughout the match and fend off a spirited challenge from Slovenia, finishing with three wins out of three in the positional play-offs and being rewarded with a 13th-place finish.

Ivan Nagaev and Liam Galea were the catalysts of Malta’s victory on Sunday as the former hit the target five times while Galea scored four goals.

Stevie Camilleri produced another captain performance when notching a hat-trick, with the other goals coming from Alec Fenech and Matthew Zammit.

The result was achieved in the light of a Times of Malta report that several players were being under investigation for alleged match-fixing in the tournament opener against Montenegro.

But still, the players deserve credit for shutting out all the outside noise and deliver the goods when it was needed most in the most crucial part of the competition.

Malta started brightly as they quickly surged ahead after Ivan Nagaev successfully converted the first man-up of the match.

The Slovenians pulled level through an angled drive by Enej Potocnik.

But Malta’s response was immediate as Liam Galea restored their lead with a powerful drive before Stevie Camilleri made it 3-1 with a central shot that gave no chance to the Slovenian goalkeeper

Vukash Stefanovic pulled Slovenia back on level terms with two identical strikes from a close angle.

Malta suddenly started to lose their efficiency in front of goal and the Slovenians made the most as Enej Potocnik made it 4-3 to put his team in charge at the end of the opening session.

The Maltese started well in the second session with Liam Galea pulling them level with a fine strike from a distance.

Potocnik restored Slovenia’s advantage but the Maltese made the most from a man-up set as Stevie Camilleri made it five-all.

Ivan Nagaev finally came to the fore with less than five minutes with a thumping drive that put the team 6-5 ahead.

Stefanovic’s prowess from the distance again punished the Maltese to restore parity but Alec Fenech hit a thunderous drive to restore the lead for Cirovic’s men.

Slovenia continued to look prolific through long-distance shots with Potocnik making it seven-all.

The match continue to be a tit-for-tat affair with Matija Canc restoring Slovenia’s lead but Liam Galea ensured both teams changed ends level at eight-all.

Nikolai Zammit showed great awareness to steal the ball after his shot hit the upright, and the San Ġiljna player set up his club team-mate Matthew Zammit to put Malta 9-8 ahead.

But Slovenia quickly hit back to restore parity through Nace Stromajer.

The teams continued to trade goals with further goals from Stevie Camilleri and Nagaev, ensuring the teams started the final session at 11-goals apiece.

Nagaev put Malta back in front, and Liam Galea handed the team a crucial two-goal cushion – 13-11.

But the Slovenians refused to lie down and Stromajer kept them within touching distance.

Nagaev made it 14-12 with a six-metre shot before Jasa Kadivec tried to keep alive Slovenia’s hopes but the Maltese defended well in the closing stages to ensure they secured an historic 13th-place finish.