Larsen torments Malta as Denmark cruise home

Malta 0
Denmark 3

Dusan Fitzel had called on his players to give Denmark "a harder time" than they had in their 3-0 loss to the same opponents in Copenhagen last October.

The Maltese team heeded the coach's call but their brave efforts were not enough to prevent Denmark from taking the three points to strengthen their position at the top of Group One.

Having notched a brace in the home qualifier, Soren Larsen was again Malta's executioner yesterday, the Toulouse forward hitting two goals inside the opening 23 minutes to all but shatter any hope of a positive result.

It was a businesslike performance by Denmark who put a somewhat excessive gloss on their victory with a third goal on the stroke of time but the 3-0 scoreline was harsh on Malta.

Not that the Danes didn't deserve to win but Malta fought valiantly and caused some problems to the Danish defence, mainly through Michael Mifsud and Andrew Cohen.

Coming back from a two-goal deficit against the leaders of Group One was never going to be easy but not for the first time, Malta made life difficult for themselves with the concession of two soft goals in the initial stages of the match.

Fitzel elected to tinker with his formation yesterday, making no fewer than four changes from the team that began last month's goalless draw against Albania.

The Czech's preoccupation about Denmark's threat from the flanks as well as their aerial prowess brought young Jonathan Caruana back into the picture as the young Hibs defender was preferred to Alex Muscat at right-back.

Captain Gilbert Agius had to be content with a place on the bench as Fitzel awarded the two central midfield roles to Roderick Briffa and Jamie Pace. Daniel Bogdanovic was also handed a first-team recall after a torn hamstring forced the Barnsley forward to miss last month's stalemate against Albania.

In the absence of Agius, the captain's armband was passed over to Michael Mifsud who played off the shoulder of Andrè Schembri.

Denmark coach Morten Olsen opted for a three-pronged attack featuring Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, Dennis Rommedahl, who plays for NEC Nijmegen, and Toulouse's Soren Larsen.

A raucous roar pierced the Ta' Qali air as the two teams emerged from the dressing rooms for kick-off. The National Stadium was turned into a sea of red and white with the vocal Danish fans doing their best to urge their team on but their efforts were more than matched by the home supporters, especially those in the south end.

A typically strong run from Mifsud saw him peel away from Christian Poulsen before the nippy forward attempted a through-pass towards Schembri. The Carl Zeiss Jena forward sprinted forward in an attempt to reach Mifsud's pass, his moving presence forcing Per Kroldrup to concede a corner.

From the ensuing set-piece, Andrew Cohen traded passes with Mifsud before the Hibs stalwart swung over a teasing cross that was fisted away by Thomas Sorensen.

Malta were alive and kicking in these early stages. The red-shirted troops should have stormed ahead when, with 10 minutes gone, Mifsud again used his speed to surge past two defenders and into the box before squaring to Schembri in a central position in the small box. The Malta striker controlled the ball but his scrambled effort was easily blocked by Sorensen.

The home side paid dearly for this fluffed opportunity as Denmark's first notable attack of the game yielded a goal. A quick pass to the right invited Rommedahl to run past the backtracking Malta defence before serving the unmarked Larsen who slotted past Haber from routine distance.

Galvanised by their opener, Denmark doubled their lead on 23 minutes. Martin Jorgensen's intelligent cross from midfield found the Maltese defence in a state of confusion as Larsen, completely isolated, again beat Haber with a low effort.

Polish referee Tomasz Mikulski incurred the wrath of the home crowd when ignoring Maltese claims for a penalty after Cohen appeared to have been nudged off the ball by Kroldrup inside the box.

Malta's encouraging start was undermined by Denmark's scoring efficiency but the exchanges were certainly not as one-sided as the final scoreline might suggest.

Fitzel's men sought to drive forward with intent every time they were in possession with the likes of Cohen and Mifsud exploiting their agility to unnerve the tall Danish defenders.

Denmark did not set any houses on fire but they bossed midfield and caused problems to the Maltese defence on the wings.

Three minutes from half-time, the referee again inflamed the Maltese fans when he booked Cohen for diving in the penalty area when the impression from the stands was that the Hibs playmaker had been tripped.

Fitzel kept faith with the 11 starting players when the match resumed after half-time. Olsen had made one substitution in the first half, Jonas Borring replacing the injured Bendtner.

Five minutes into the second half, Haber needed two attempts to stop Rommedahl's piledriver. The Malta goalkeeper was prominent again two minutes later when touching away Borring's header.

Denmark seized the initiative in the early stages of the second half.

Fitzel's response to Denmark's supremacy was to change the positions of a number of players. Bogdanovic switched from right midfield to attack, Schembri shifted to central midfield and Briffa moved to the right.

A good move involving Briffa and Mifsud culiminated in a shot by the latter but Sorensen used his towering frame to repel the danger.

With 16 minutes remaining, Denmark threatened to triple their lead when a short clearance by the Maltese defence was pounced on by Rommedahl who directed the ball back into the box. The ball rolled into the path of Daniel Agger and Larsen but the latter's effort was blocked by Andrei Agius. From the resultant corner, Jorgensen managed to get in a cross towards the far post but Borring's downward header went wide.

Eight minutes from time, Cohen, one of Malta's most influential players, was thwarted by Sorensen who tipped his effort over the bar.

Denmark managed to increase their lead a minute from time. Substitute Morten Nordstrand rifled past Haber after being put through by Rommedahl.

The sight of Mifsud speeding forward in space heightened hope of a consolation goal for Malta, especially after Daniel Agger slipped but the Liverpool defender stuck his right leg to stop Mifsud's run.

Hungary trip

Malta will be without defender Luke Dimech and midfielder Jamie Pace for Wednesday's qualifier against Hungary after they picked their fourth yellow card against Norway yesterday.

Fitzel is also sweating on the fitness of striker Andrè Schembri who picked up a knock during the first half of yesterday's match and is rated as doubtful.

Kenneth Scicluna, Ivan Woods and Clayton Failla have been called to Malta's squad as Fitzel will take 19 players to Hungary.

Malta J. Haber, J. Caruana ('69 A. Muscat), A. Agius, D. Bogdanovic, L. Dimech, R. Briffa ('84 E, Barbara), M. Mifsud, A. Cohen, A Schembri ('72 G. Agius), S. Bajada, J. Pace.

Denmark T. Sorensen, C. Poulsen, P. Kroldrup, D. Agger, M. Jakobsen, L. Jacobsen, D. Jensen ('62 L. Andreasen), S. Larsen ('82 M. Nordstrand), N. Bendtner ('30 J. Borring), M. Jorgensen, D. Rommedahl.

Scorers Larsen 12, 23; Nordstrand 89

Referee Tomasz Mikulski (Poland).

Yellow cards Dimech; Mifsud; Pace; Cohen.

Malta players' ratings

Haber-6, Caruana-5, A. Agius-6 Bogdanovic-5, Dimech-6.5, Briffa-5.5, Mifsud-7.5, Cohen-7.5, Schembri-5.5, Bajada-5.5, Pace-5.
Subs: Muscat-4; G. Agius; Barbara.

Aftermatch comments

Dusan Fitzel (Malta coach): "It's difficult to speak after a 3-0 defeat. I felt before the game that this was going to be hard a very hard encounter for our team. Denmark confirmed their quality but I am disappointed that we looked afraid of them in the opening minutes. It was only after we went 2-0 down that we started to play."

Morten Olsen (Norway coach): "We would have liked to play better football but our priority was to win and we're glad to have done that. I think that Denmark can qualify to the World Cup finals but it's going to be very difficult because it's a very tight group."