Malta come from behind to defeat Denmark XIII

by NRL

came from 12-4 down at half-time to defeat a Denmark XIII 24-12 in the first leg of the 2012 Dove Men+Care International Series, at Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun.

Denmark's Viiga Lima scored a brace of tries to see the Scandinavians ahead at the break after Shaun Gilmour had broken through on the left flank to open the scoring for Malta after a quarter of an hour.

As temperatures tipped 30 degrees pitch side, mistakes crept into the Danish game in the second half and the Maltese took full advantage, Sliema Stompers winger Von Brockdorff scoring in the corner and Cardiff's Shaun Bartlett helping Malta to the lead after 50 minutes, Dylan Frendo landing a conversion.

Paul Parkinson, a Maltese player in the English north-east regional league, scored a debut try in the 59th minute which Frendo goaled, and another debutant Ed Willis sent the Maltese into victory mode two minutes from time when he scored out wide

Malta coach Anthony Micallef commended the tenacity of his squad. "I'm very proud, the Dove Men+Care Championship has seen local talent develop to a standard where they can chime in with the overseas-based players. We had 10 local players in our 17."

Danish Rugby League President Rune T.Nordvang rued a series of second half errors that wiped out Denmark's hopes of victory. "I was very impressed with the first half performance, it was strong but we made a few too many mistakes in the second half. It was a very good game and good learning performance for us to take home for the next leg."

The second leg, at Gladsaxe Stadion, will be played on September 29th.

2012 Dove Men+Care International Series

Malta 24 (Tries: S.Gilmour, M.Von Brockdorff, S.Bartlett, P.Parkinson, E.Willis; Goals: S.Keep 0 from 2, P.Parkinson 0 from 1, D.Frendo 2 from 3)
Denmark 12 (Tries: V.Lima 2; Goals: R.Naylor 2 from 2)
At Victor Tedesco Stadium, Hamrun

Men of the match: Malta - Shaun Gilmour Denmark - Eugene Hanrahan
Half time: 4-12
Referee: Mr P.Browne (Aus)

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