Moldova 1
Malta 1
\nThe Malta players threw their arms into the air, MFA officials embraced each other in the VIP zone and over 50 ecstatic supporters plus the young members of the Malta U-21 squad jumped up and down the terraces.
This unbundled joy came at the end of 90 minutes of highly-charged football in which our national team had shown remarkable resilience to weather wave after wave of Moldova attacks in the intimidating atmosphere of the FC Zimbru stadium.
Yesterday, Malta emerged from the clash of the minnows in Euro 2008 Group C with their reputation enhanced as Dusan Fitzel's lions eked out a 1-1 draw and extended their positive streak to two matches after the landmark 2-1 victory over Hungary last October.
This was a triumph in adversity for Malta as Moldova dominated large swathes of possession but the well-oiled Maltese team frustrated their opponents with their heroic defending.
The outcome might have been different had Moldova not spurned a penalty in the first half but Justin Haber produced one in a string of excellent saves to keep Malta's heads above water.
A surprise result seemed on the cards when George Mallia struck against the run of play but Moldova salvaged some pride with an 82nd minute equaliser.
It was another wholehearted performance by Malta whose satisfaction at their efforts here was slightly tempered by the sending-off of the erstwhile outstanding Luke Dimech following a tiff that followed Moldova's equaliser.
Much to the delight of the Maltese who journeyed to Moldova on a tour organised by Mondial, the MFA travel partners, captain Gilbert Agius's name was on the initial formation selected by Fitzel.
Agius, yesterday making his 98th international appearance, had been ranked doubtful due to a slight knee injury but was passed fit to play in the morning before the match.
Fitzel's selection contained a few surprises notably in his choice of Kenneth Scicluna at left-back instead of Ian Azzopardi and that of Ivan Woods at right-midfield ahead of Kevin Sammut.
Up front, Andrè Schembri resumed his partnership with Michael Mifsud who was again charged with the onus of probing for openings.
Of the 20-man squad Fitzel brought to Chisinau, keeper Andrew Hogg and Etienne Barbara were dropped from the 18-strong list.
Just over a minute had gone when Mifsud accelerated into the box but his diagonal shot posed no danger to goalkeeper Serghei Pascenco.
Malta were the more enterprising team in the initial stages, making it hard for the Moldovan players to impose themselves on the game.
The opening exchanges were fast and physical with the light, but constant, drizzle certainly contributing to quickening the pace.
Moldova's first scoring chance arrived after 11 minutes. Vitalie Bordian swung over a dipping cross from the right, prompting Haber to rush off his line to anticipate Igor Bugaiov. The loose ball, however, landed just outside the box where Denis Zmeu was unmarked but his dipper was high and wide.
This episode heralded the start of a spell of sustained pressure from Igor Dobrovolsky's men. Ghenadie Olexici hit wide of the near post after Bordian's free-kick had been deflected away by Malta's defensive wall.
At the other end, Malta might well have broken the stalemate when a free-kick from Agius wreaked havoc in the Moldova box as Brian Said and Jamie Pace pushed up to apply pressure at the far post. The ball somehow trickled into Pace's path but his effort was blocked by the defence.
Moldova's hopes of establishing a foothold grew when, with 26 minutes of the game gone, they were awarded a penalty after Roderick Briffa was adjudged to have held on to Sergiu Namasco inside the box.
Viorel Frunza, who plays for CFR Cluj in Romania, stepped up for the penalty but Haber dived to his right to push the ball away.
Still, the force remained with the hosts who peppered the Maltese defence with a series of dangerous crosses, particularly from the right wing where Bordian was very active.
In defence, Said and Dimech faced a hard task to deal with the aerial threat of Frunza and Bugaiov.
Eleven minutes from half-time, a promising Malta counter-attack was halted by Alexandru Epureanu who tripped the advancing Mifsud. Epureanu was cautioned for his offence and Pace's piledriver from the free-kick finished over the bar.
Two minutes before the break, Haber did well to smother away a Bordian free-kick. The ball rolled into Victor Comlionoc's way but his effort sailed high.
Moments later, Malta almost gifted Moldova a goal when Zmeu's cross from the left somehow ricocheted off Haber. The goalkeeper quickly redeemed himself by diving to his right to block Bugaiov's tame strike from point blank.
In no time, Haber was called to effect a top-drawer save, tipping away Frunza's goalbound header.
The referee's half-time whistle came as a relief for Malta who had strained every sinew to keep their opponents at bay.
Over 7,000 home fans were up on their feet eight minutes into the second half, screaming for a penalty after Bugaiov tumbled to the ground when challenged by Briffa. The referee rightly allowed play to continue.
Moldova kept their foot on the pedal, Haber tipping away a cross-shot from Olexici. Shouts of 'Moldova, Moldova' echoed around the compact stadium as the home team stormed into Malta.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Haber again denied them with a fine save on Bugaiov.
Just past the hour mark, a sweeping Moldova attack had the Maltese chasing shadows. Frunza's progression forced Haber to sprint to his right in a bid to close the angle. Frunza delivered a cross into the goalmouth but Bugaiov was hustled out of possession by the Maltese defenders.
Fitzel effected his first substitution 20 minutes from time, sending in Daniel Bogdanovic for Schembri.
Haber was prominent again on 72 minutes when diving low to his right to stop Frunza's free-kick. The score was finally broken a minute later and, to the disbelief of the home crowd, it was Malta who drew first blood.
Having repelled another Moldova raid, Woods capitalised on the unplugged gaps in the hosts' half to advance down the right before sending in a cross-cum-shot that rolled across the face of goal. Timing his run into the box to perfection, Mallia dashed in at the far post to fire home via the bar, a goal reminiscent of the one he scored some six years in a 1-2 defeat to Denmark.
Woods was then replaced by Sammut after suffering what looked like a hamstring injury.
Moldova levelled the score 18 minutes from time, Epureanu heading past Haber from close range after a measured Bordian cross.
A skirmish broke out as Moldova players shoved their opponents in a bid to get the game restarted as quickly as possible.
Here, Dimech looked to have clashed with Dadu and both were shown the red card. A Moldova fan was ejected from the stadium after throwing an object at Dimech as the latter was walking towards the tunnel.
Malta could have regained the lead minutes later but Mifsud's grounder was saved by Pascenco.
Moldova subjected Malta to a late pummelling. In stoppage time, Haber pulled off a point-blank save on Ivanov and recovered in time to stop a Serghei Alexeev shot.
Moldova: S. Pascenco, V. Golovatenco, A. Epureanu, G. Olexici, R. Rebeja, V. Comlionoc, D. Zmeu ('62 I. Ivanov), S. Namasco ('80 S. Dadu), V. Bordian, V. Frunza ('74 S. Alexeev), I. Bugaiov.
Malta: J. Haber, B. Said, R. Briffa, L. Dimech, G. Agius, M. Mifsud ('90 G, Sciberras), I. Woods ('78 K. Sammut), G. Mallia, A. Schembri ('70 D. Bogdanovic), K. Scicluna, J. Pace.
Referee: V. Aliyev (Azerbaijan).
Scorers: Mallia 73; Epureanu 82.
Missed penalty: Frunza 26.
Yellow Cards: Briffa; Epureanu; Frunza; Rebeja; Olexici.
Red Cards: Dadu 83; Dimech 83.
Malta Players' ratings
Haber-8, Said-7.5, Briffa-6, Dimech-7, Agius-7, Mifsud-6.5, Woods-7, Mallia-7, Schembri-6, Scicluna-6.5, Pace-7.
Subs: Bogdanovic-6; Sammut-6; Sciberras.
Aftermatch comments...
Dusan Fitzel praised his team's fighting spirit after Malta held Moldova to a 1-1 draw yesterday.
"This game panned out exactly how I had expected," Fitzel told reporters.
"I watched Moldova's friendly against Romania but they played even better than I expected today.
"The key point was the penalty. Had Moldova scored, I don't think we would have gained something from the match.
"Our plan was to concentrate on defence and try to make it difficult for them to penetrate. It was a crazy game from my point-of-view. We were lucky not to suffer a goal but we were also unlucky in that their equaliser originated from a silly free-kick.
"Towards the end, we were afraid of losing but the players battled hard."
Turning his attention to Wednesday's home qualifier against Greece, Fitzel is hopeful that Woods will recover from the injury he sustained late in the game.
If Woods fails to regain his fitness, Fitzel is likely to promote Malta U-21 forward Ian Zammit to his squad.
George Mallia was in seventh heaven after scoring his fifth international netting for Malta.
"There is no better satisfaction that scoring for the national team," he said.
"I'm very happy. We worked extremely hard for this result.
"It was a collective achievement, one that shows that our win over Hungary was no fluke."