Georgia capitalise on Malta's nervy start

Malta 0
Georgia 2

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Georgia took just 14 minutes to flatten home expectations of a first success under new Malta coach Dusan Fitzel yesterday.

That amount of time had been sufficient to expose all the perennial weaknesses that have blighted Maltese football at international level for years on end.

Poor positioning, lack of grit and low confidence made for a nervy start by the home team who were duly punished by the keen Georgians who struck twice in the space of nine first-half minutes to virtually seal their victory.

Georgia were by far the better team for much of the opening half, their determination to make up for their disastrous outing against Moldova clearly matched by the speed of their build-ups and sound tactical organisation.

Subdued and initially very much in difficulty to keep things tight at the back as well as in midfield, Malta began to show signs of life towards the end of the first half thanks to a more determined approach.

The home team improvement continued after the change of ends, especially after Georgia had been reduced to ten men in the 57th minute and following the entrance of Andrew Cohen and Etienne Barbara. But for all their endeavour, the white-shirted players could not breach Georgia's resistance.

One of the most enterprising players in the second half was Michael Mifsud. The diminutive striker, perhaps the most well-known Maltese footballer in the international sphere, yesterday made his first appearance for Malta in more than six months.

A long-term shoulder injury had deprived the Lillestroem striker the chance to be part of Malta's positive finale to their qualifying commitments for the World Cup.

Joining Mifsud in Malta's starting line-up were goalkeeper Justin Haber, of French club US Quevilly, and Chester defender Luke Dimech who had both missed Saturday's 2-0 upset to tournament winners Moldova.

Fitzel's selection yesterday contained seven of the 11 players who started Malta's final World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria last October, a match which ended 1-1.

Prior to kick-off, the players and fans observed a minute's silence in memory of Levan Kaladze, the murdered brother of Georgia international Kakha Kaladze.

Klaus Toppmoeller reshuffled his team after their 5-1 hiding to Moldova on Monday, effecting no fewer than seven changes to his starting line-up. Blackburn defender Zurab Kizhanshivili and Malkhaz Asatiani, of Lokomotiv Moscow, were forced out by suspension after both collected a red card on Monday.

Malta's optimism to record their first positive result under Fitzel was tempered when, after barely five minutes, Georgia surged ahead.

A series of passes led to some confusion inside the Malta box but the situation was fully exploited by Georgia striker Otar Martsvaladze who evaded Haber's approaches with a looping shot which flew into the net.

Malta's evening took a turn for the worse when Georgia doubled their advantage on 14 minutes. The goal originated from a teasing set-piece cross from captain Levan Kobiashvili who floated the ball in the centre of Malta's box where Jaba Kankava punished the poor marking by the white-shirted players to slice his header past the flailing Haber.

The Malta goalkeeper averted further agony for the home team when tipping around the near post a close-range effort from Revaz Gotsiridze.

Fitzel's team were a chaotic lot in these opening stages, shambolic in defence and desperately short of direction and creativity in midfield.

While Mifsud seemed too isolated up front, the men behind him struggled to keep up with the pace of their opponents, never mind mounting some problems of their own.

When Malta at last produced their first passing move of the game, it led to a semblance of a chance, a diagonal drive from Claude Mattocks from the left which sailed well wide of the far post. This came after 37 minutes.

Seconds later, Gilbert Agius zipped a through-pass between Georgia's centre-backs but Nukri Revishvili came out to grab the ball ahead of the advancing Roderick Briffa.

If anything, these two instances when Malta came close to putting some pressure on Georgia ought to have lifted the home team's seemingly frail confidence.

Three minutes from half-time, another intelligent Briffa pass set Mifsud on a menacing run but the strong shot from the Malta striker was repelled by Revishvili.

At half-time, Fitzel sought to imbue some impetus to Malta's midfield and attack by bringing on strikers Cohen and Barbara for Mattocks and William Camenzuli respectively.

It was Agius who drew the first applause with an audacious move, a feint and a back-heeled flick to squeeze past two Georgia players but his final shot drifted wide.

The introduction of Barbara and Cohen triggered some positional alterations in Malta's ranks as Fitzel switched to 4-2-3-1 with Agius and George Mallia detailed to protect the back four and link play between midfield and attack.

On 57 minutes, Malta received a fillip in the shape of a red card for Georgia's Kankava. The midfielder received his second booking for ignoring the referee's orders to stop pushing and shoving Maltese players during a free-kick action.

Malta now pressed on the accelerator, Agius rifling a piledriver which took a deflection off Georgia substitute Kakhi Makharadze.

Fifteen minutes from time, Cohen's quick footwork enabled him to create space for a cross from the left, Georgia defenders cleared on Barbara and Mifsud's dipping volley from the distance flashed wide.

In no time, Mifsud had a golden opportunity to revive Malta's hopes when he dallied his way in the box but lifted his shot over the bar.

Eight minutes from time, Malta should really have gained some reward for their improved second-half performance. Briffa's curling corner sailed tantalisingly towards Azzopardi whose header was cleared away by Mirza Bzhalava.

Aftermatch Comments...

Malta coach Dusan Fitzel was not downcast after his team's 2-0 defeat by Georgia. He noted that Malta suffered in the first 30 minutes but was very pleased with their reaction in the second half.

"After the Moldova game I wanted to give a chance to other players," he said. " In the opening minutes, we were under a lot of pressure especially after conceding that first goal so early in the match. There were three to four mistakes in the same line which led to Georgia's opener. Whereas the second goal was the result of a well-taken free-kick and a slight mistake from our goalkeeper Justin Haber who was at a disadvantage because of his height.

"At half-time, I encouraged my team to play their normal game and I was satisfied with their performance. There was certainly an improvement in our level of play between our first game against Moldova and today."

Fitzel made a striking revelation when asked to explain the reasons why he elected to substitute William Camenzuli and Claude Mattocks at half-time.

"On this evidence, I don't think Camenzuli can play at international level," Fitzel claimed.

"With regards to Mattocks he was coming from a difficult time as he was injured and also changed club in January."

The Czech mentor was full of praise for defender Luke Dimech and Michael Mifsud. "I think Dimech was fantastic. He tried to push the defence up and he really played like a leader," Fitzel raved. "Mifsud also had a very good performance. He was full of running and also showed that he can be useful playing behind the strikers. I also thought Andrew Cohen played very well in an attacking position after coming on in the second half. Gilbert Agius was another positive performer. He is clever and is good to have players like him."

Japan friendly confirmed

Towards the end of yesterday's post-match briefing Fitzel confirmed that Malta will be playing a pre- World Cup friendly against Japan on June 4.

While he made it known that the national team players will now spend two weeks with their clubs, Fitzel encouraged the Premier League coaches to step up their efforts in making Maltese football more intensive.

"I am not the type who likes to recommend things to coaches because everyone has his own ideas," Fitzel replied to a question about his views on the tactical work of Maltese coaches. "I can only tell them to try and lift the level of competitiveness and intensity of Premier League games so as to make them more appealing to the fans."

Malta Players' Ratings:

Haber-5, Ciantar-5, Azzopardi-5, Briffa-6, Dimech-6.5, Agius-6, Mattocks-5, Mifsud-6.5, Wellman-5, Mallia-6, Camenzuli-4.5.

Subs: Cohen-6.5, Barbara-5.5.

Malta: J. Haber, I. Ciantar, I. Azzopardi, R. Briffa, L. Dimech, G. Agius, C. Mattocks ('46 A. Cohen), M. Mifsud, S. Wellman, G. Mallia, W. Camenzuli ('46 E. Barbara).

Georgia: N. Revishvili, D. Mchedishvili ('55 M. Bzhalava), M. Gvinianidze, L. Tskitishvili, G. Popkhadze, G. Ganugrava, J. Kankava, L. Kobiashvili, D. Mujiri ('61 K. Makharadze), R. Gotsiridze ('82 G. Chelidze), O. Martsvaladze.

Referee: Veasceslav Banari (Mol-Dova).

Scorers: Martsvaladze 5; Kankava 14.

Yellow Cards: Popkhadze; Kankava; Gotziridze; Ciantar; Makharadze; Revishvili; Azzopardi.

Red Card: Kankava 57.