Last-gasp goal earns Malta a point

Malta registered a prestigious result in a difficult match against Ukraine yesterday to confirm that this edition of the U-21 championship will remain indelible in the minds of the local football enthusiasts.

The point obtained was hard-earned and only arrived a few seconds from time when most of us had probably given up hope of Malta U-21 avoiding a third suc-cessive upset at home.

However, the spirited lads coached by Ray Farrugia, never gave up and deep into stoppage time skipper Rowen Muscat lobbed the ball home following a fast break to the sheer delight of those present at the Gozo Stadium.

Ukraine are a strong nation in this category. They held the initiative for most of the match but when the locals stepped up a couple of gears the tide starting swaying the other way even though goalmouth action came at a premium.

The match had an explosive start with three goals scored inside the first quarter of an hour.

Ukraine tried to impose their superiority from the early stages and Ihor Chaikovskii had a shot from a corner that missed the target. In the following action a header by Zach Muscat was dealt with keeper Maxym Koval.

The visitors opened the score from the next counter-break when Roman Bezus beat Steve Sultana following a perfect Chaikovskii delivery inside Malta’s box.

The hosts staged an immediate reaction and levelled matters a minute later.

Terrence Vella escaped the offside trap, dribbled past the keeper before depositing the ball inside an empty net.

However, on 13 minutes Bezus was again on the right spot to meet an Andrii Bogdanov free-kick. He beat two defenders inside the box and placed in goal with a low drive.

The Maltese were stunned and failed to deal with the constant pressure from Ukraine who still found it difficult to reach Sultana’s goal and only threatened through attempts from the distance.

Ukraine held the initiative after the break and an Illya Mikhaliov effort was turned into a corner by alert Gozitan keeper Sultana.

Yessous Camilleri almost committed an own goal in his attempt to clear danger from a Iurii Putrash centre and Malta then shouted penalty when Vella was floored in the Ukraine box but the referee saw nothing untoward.

Farrugia effected a couple of substitutions and suddenly Malta started to see more of the ball even though Ukraine were still dan-gerous on the counter-break.

On one occasion Yevhen Shak-hov was denied by Sultana and the latter was again prominent with a smart save on Mikhailov.

The Maltese were trying hard to find a way through but again they had to thank Sultana who kept them in the match when he stop-ped another menacing Mikhailov effort.

All seemed lost for the Maltese but in the very last action of the match, Muscat won a ball deep inside Ukraine’s half and beat goalkeeper Koval from the edge of the box with a calibrated chip.

As the Maltese clan celebrated Muscat’s equaliser, an ecstatic coach Farrugia was sent off from the bench by the referee.

Aftermatch comments

“I consider this result as our best so far in this group,” Farrugia said.

“Ukraine are among the major contenders at this level and few gave us a chance today. But, these lads have a great heart and I’m really proud of them.

“I’m lost for words at the moment but it was also nice at the end of the match to see MFA officials cheering the team on because the lads now know that their efforts are being appreciated.

“I don’t know what happened after our goal. I must have overdone it but I couldn’t hide my joy really... it was tense. Now, we have to calm down and focus on Tuesday’s match against Lithuania.”

Other results

Cyprus vs Belarus 1-3;
Macedonia vs Serbia 1-1;
Denmark vs Faroe Islands 4-0;
Georgia vs Switzerland 0-1;
Moldova vs Russia 0-6;
France vs Kazakhstan 2-0.