Own goal breaks Maltese hearts

Malta 0
Sweden 1
Azzopardi 81 og

The prospect of taking on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his Swedish team-mates will have sent a shiver down the spine of the Maltese players but cometh the hour, our national team were not found wanting.

After a timid display in the 2-0 defeat to Cape Verde, optimism about a solid showing against the Swedes yesterday was in short supply but John Buttigieg's men defied the gloomy forecasts with a tenacious performance that saw them frustrate their much-vaunted opponents for long spells.

It speak volumes of Malta's resilience that Sweden needed a late own goal to take the three points and bolster their chances of reaching next summer's World Cup.

In fairness, Sweden, as expected, were the more creative force and produced the better chances but Malta were focused, committed and made a concerted effort to break forward with purpose.

They did a brilliant job of nullifying the threat posed by Ibrahimovic and also caused a few tense moments for the visitors thanks mainly to the movement of the likes of Michael Mifsud and Andrew Cohen.

In midfield, captain Gilbert Agius showed why he remains indispensable to the team with another indefatigable display.

As always, finding positives in a defeat is not easy but Malta coach Buttigieg rightly praised his players.

"We played a good game but I'm obviously disappointed about the manner with which we conceded the decisive goal," he told reporters.

"But I'm happy with the team. We showed great commitment and with a bit of more luck, we may have gained a positive result."

Buttigieg elected to tinker with his formation from the 2-0 upset to Cape Verde in last Friday's friendly.

Agius and Alex Muscat were restored to the starting line-up.

Agius began his 117th international in his familiar station in front of the four-man defence but Alex Muscat was assigned a wide position to the right of midfield as Buttigieg kept faith with Manny Muscat at right-back.

Brian Said and Kenneth Scicluna occupied the two centre-half positions while Ian Azzopardi got the nod ahead of Clayton Failla at left-back.

Jamie Pace flanked Agius in the middle and Shaun Bajada started on the left as Andrew Cohen was pushed to a more advanced position behind Mifsud. Andrè Schembri paid the price for his lacklustre performances in Malta's last two outings as he was axed from the starting line-up.

Sweden's dramatic 2-1 win over Hungary last weekend encouraged coach Lars Lagerback to field the same XI here with Ibrahimovic leading the attack alongside Johan Elmander.

The two teams emerged from the tunnel sporting yellow t-shirts to mark FIFA's Fair Play day.

Kick-off was preceded by a minute's silence in memory of Joe Sacco, the former Malta FA general secretary who passed away yesterday.

Olof Mellberg, now playing for Olympiakos, headed over from Kim Kallstrom's cross and Johan Elmander, set up by Ibrahimovic's cut-back, shot wide in the opening two minutes.

Andrew Hogg did well to smother away an outswinging corner from Kallstrom.

Urged on by the band-playing South End Core, the Maltese fans broke their early quietness with shouts of 'Malta, Malta'. The vociferous Sweden fans - around 2,000 - were also doing their best to cheer their team.

The game was 13 minutes old when Pace's lofted pass into the box invited Mifsud to sprint ahead. The little striker managed to run clear of Daniel Majstorovic but his shot from an angled position was easily saved by Andreas Isaksson.

When Pace broke clear through the middle, home expectations rose as the Valletta powerhouse served Mifsud but the latter was dispossessed by Mellberg.

There was little in the way of scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes as Sweden, looking somewhat jaded, were pegged back by the hosts.

Midway through the first half, Ibrahimovic, constantly booed by the home fans, made headway on the left but his cross was headed away for a corner by Scicluna.

At the other end, a fluid Malta move unnerved Sweden as Mifsud pulled the ball for Agius who teed up Cohen but the latter's inswinger was stopped by Isaksson.

On 27 minutes, Kallstrom supplied another delivery from a right-wing corner and Majstorovic rose to direct a strong header that was touched over by Hogg.

Danger loomed for Malta when Kallstrom's free-kick, given for a dubious foul by Azzopardi on Elmander, was deflected into the path of Majstorovic but the latter's strike was blocked.

Sweden increased the frequency of their attacking forays as the end of the first half drew closer.

The half-time whistle was greeted with a loud applause by the home fans who had good reason to be delighted with the valiant efforts of the Malta team in those opening 45 minutes.

Early in the second half, Sweden almost opened the scoring when Ibrahimovic freed Kallstrom who summoned a menacing shot that ricocheted off Said and the post.

Hogg then parried an audacious overhead kick by Elmander.

A sweeping breakaway by Malta had Sweden in a tangle as Cohen twisted and turned outside the box before switching the ball to the right where Alex Muscat's run had gone unchecked by Sweden. Muscat was unmarked but he miscued his half-volley.

On 65 minutes, Mikael Nilsson sent in a fine cross into the six-yard box from the right where Hysen leapt unimpeded but much to Malta's relief, the Sweden winger headed wide.

The erstwhile unimpressive Swedes sought to up the tempo but Malta refused to give in.

With 20 minutes remaining, Sweden prised Malta's defence open when Hysen picked out Elmander on the edge of the box. The Bolton striker shifted to his left before hitting a grounder which rolled inches wide.

As Sweden committed more men forward, they left several gaps at the back. Latching onto a long clearance, Mifsud strode forward despite the attempts of Mellberg to close him down but his shot sailed over the bar.

On another occasion, Failla, who had just replaced Bajada, made good progress on the left but his centre was deflected away for a corner.

Malta were now finding more space to surge forward on the counter. Agius released Failla on the left and the Sliema wing-back hit a diagonal shot which was parried by Isaksson.

Just when it seemed as though Malta could hit Sweden on the counter, the visitors struck.

The Maltese defence was punished for arguably their only mistake in the game as they failed to clear a low right-wing cross from Elm, substitute Marcus Berg guided the ball back into the goalmouth where it struck Azzopardi and flew past Hogg.

Sweden might have doubled their lead when Elm's drive came off a Malta defender and crashed against the woodwork. A powerful Ibrahimovic free-kick then skimmed the bar.

"Before this game, I repeatedly mentioned two words... attitude and patience," Lars Lagerback, the Sweden coach, said.

"We created many chances but failed to score. When you don't get an early goal against teams like Malta who play with nine behind the ball, the game becomes more difficult but I'm pleased that we won."

Malta
A. Hogg, M. Muscat, I. Azzopardi, B. Said, A. Muscat ('62 R. Briffa), G. Agius, M. Mifsud, A. Cohen, S. Bajada ('73 C. Failla), K. Scicluna, J. Pace.

Sweden
A. Isaksson, M. Nilsson, O. Mellberg, D. Majstorovic, B. Safari, R. Elm, S. Holmen ('58 T. Hysen), A. Svensson ('71 M. Berg), K. Kallstrom, Z. Ibrahimovic, J. Elmander ('83 S. Larsson).

Referee: Adrian McCourt (N. Ireland).

Yellow cards: Safari; Mifsud.

Malta players' ratings
Hogg-6.5, M. Muscat-6, Azzopardi-6, Said-7, Muscat-6.5, Agius-8, Mifsud-7, Cohen-7, Bajada-6, Scicluna-7, Pace-7. Subs used: Briffa-5.5, Failla-6