Martalog and Mitrofan lift Republic of Moldova past Malta

The Republic of Moldova have secured their first win at the 2023 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship. They shrugged off a slow start against Malta to take a 25:21 win, which enables them to feature in the Placement Match 9/10 on Sunday.

Placement Matches 9-12

• Malta vs Republic of Moldova 21:25 (9:12)

Both teams conceded two losses in the group phase, but it was Malta which was closer to a win, as they dropped the games against Andorra and India by the same close margin, two goals.

Malta also started the game against the Republic of Moldova better, taking an early two-goal lead (5:3), with Neil Gruppetta, their top scorer, providing the goods once again.

But experienced goalkeeper Andrei Mitrofan started to really show up, finishing the first half with nine saves for a 56.2% saving efficiency, which started to get the Republic of Moldova going properly. 

On the back of his saves and on an excellent game from centre back Vlad Martalog, the Republic of Moldova clawed back and ended the first half with a 5:1 run in the last seven minutes and 45 seconds to clinch a 12:9 lead.

It looked to be getting from bad to worse for Malta, as their defence collapsed at the start of the second half, with the Republic of Moldova improving that lead to four goals, 14:10, as Malta’s captain Liam Harrison and back Jacques Samuel Seifert could not find their way to the goal.

At one point, the pair had four goals from 16 shots, a totally unimpressive outing, which saw Mitrofan keep his saving efficiency at over 50% with 16 minutes to go in the game, as the Republic of Moldova were still in the lead.

But as soon as Moldova’s defence failed to get the stops needed to keep Malta at bay, Diogo Castro’s side managed to cancel the gap and get back into the fold. It provided a fascinating finish to the game, as Malta tied the score three times but failed to take the lead.

And it was Vlad Martalog who really helped the Republic of Moldova pull through, scoring two goals in quick succession to take his overall tally in the match to 10 goals, lifting his side to a 25:21 win and breaking a two-game losing run at Bulgaria 2023.

Finishing the game with a 4:0 run, the Republic of Moldova will now feature in the Placement Match 9/10, while Malta, with their third loss in a row, head to the Placement Match 11/12, as they conceded another loss in a close game. 

Player of the Match: Vlad Martalog (Republic of Moldova)