Malta 0
Northern Ireland 0
Since the draw of the 2014 World Cup qualifying round was made in the summer of 2011, Maltese football enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting the home meeting with heavyweights Italy.
That encounter is still over six weeks away but the national team took to the field yesterday intent on lifting their spirits with a robust performance ahead of their encounter with the Azzurri and the trip to Bulgaria four days earlier.
Northern Ireland were widely expected to pose a stern test to our team, something that led national coach Pietro Ghedin to demand a dynamic effort from his players.
Ghedin’s call was certainly heeded as Malta earned the plaudits with a tenacious display that made this lacklustre Northern Ireland team look somewhat ordinary as the game finished in a goalless stalemate.
Northern Ireland may not be one of Europe’s footballing superpowers but neither are they among the continent’s minnows.
Yet, there was nothing on show yesterday to vindicate Northern Ireland’s higher position in the FIFA rankings as Malta not only matched their opponents but also engineered some flowing moves that threatened to unlock their opponents.
By and large, the match was a dull affair with few scoring chances but Ghedin will surely have left the National Stadium a satisfied man after another composed display by his players.
Consideration must be given to the fact that this was a friendly and the general perception is that warm-up games tend to lack the fire and intensity of competitive fixtures but, given our players’ sporadic exposure to the cut-and-thrust nature of international games, every contest against foreign opposition represents a tough test.
Clearly heartened by his team’s efforts, Ghedin refrained from shuffling his pack in the second half, making only one change at half-time and another two in the dying minutes.
Reliable performers abounded. Luke Dimech was a towering figure at the back, Clayton Failla brimmed with energy on the left wing, Edward Herrera ran and harried on the right flank and Paul Fenech also putting in a great shift in midfield.
The collective efforts helped Malta extend their positive run in friendlies, heightening hopes that this improved showing will spur the team to greater efforts in the upcoming qualifiers.
Ghedin’s starting XI showed four changes from the 1-0 friendly win away at Liechtenstein.
Two of these were enforced upon by the absence of injured Valletta duo Roderick Briffa and Jonathan Caruana who were replaced by Fenech and Sliema’s Alex Muscat.
Andrew Hogg reclaimed his place in goal after Justin Haber had started the Liechtenstein friendly while the returning Michael Mifsud was also restored to the starting formation ahead of Terence Vella. The two central midfield roles were occupied by Gareth Sciberras and Fenech with Andrew Cohen and Herrera on the wings and Andrè Schembri operating behind Mifsud.
Defender Andrei Agius returned to his usual centre-half position after starting as right-back against Liechtenstein with Muscat manning the right flank.
Despite the injury-related withdrawals of a host of a players, Northern Ireland coach Michael O’Neill was still able to field a strong team featuring no fewer than six players on the books of English Premier clubs, including Manchester United defender Jonny Evans and Fulham’s Aaron Hughes.
Alex Bruce, the son of Hull City manager Steve, made his debut for Northern Ireland four years after playing for the Republic.
Ireland also began in 4-2-3-1 fashion with Walsall’s central striker Will Grigg supported from the wings by Nial McGinn, of Aberdeen, and Shane Ferguson, who plays for Newcastle.
The first notable chance came Malta’s way after four minutes.
Cohen’s delivery from the left was not cleared by the Irish defence but Herrera miscued his effort from inside the six-yard box.
For much of the next 12 minutes, the game offered little entertainment as scoring chances were few and far between.
Ireland fashioned a half-chance on 16 minutes when captain Steven Davis guided a through-ball to Grigg whose initial flick was repelled by Hogg with the ball ricocheting back off the Irish striker.
Daniel Lafferty headed the ball home from Chris Brunt’s corner but Bulgarian referee Nikolay Yordanov had stopped play for a foul inside the Malta box.
Malta easily weathered Ireland’s pressure in the opening exchanges.
They also had a glorious opportunity to forge ahead when, following a well-crafted set-piece, two attempts by Mifsud were warded off by the Irish defenders. The loose ball fell to Schembri whose rising shot from the edge of the penalty area whistled past the upright.
A heartening aspect of Malta’s performance in the first half-hour was their readiness to pass the ball and pour forward in numbers every time they retrieved possession.
This was evident when they strung up a cohesive move that saw Agius float a precise pass to Herrera whose first-time flick found Sciberras in ample space deep into Northern Ireland’s half but the latter mishit his pass to Mifsud.
Moments later, Failla’s thunderbolt from a long-range free-kick flew over the crossbar.
Northern Ireland’s travails to get their game off the ground was in stark contrast with the brisk movement of the Maltese players. On 33 minutes, Cohen’s cross just eluded the advancing Sciberras.
Two minutes from half-time, another Failla free-kick, this time hit towards the centre of goal, was easily saved by Alan Mannus.
Agius didn’t re-appear for the second half as he was replaced by Ryan Camilleri.
Three minutes into the second half, Hogg did well to nudge the ball away from McGinn after the latter had been put through by Davis.
McGinn spurned a potentially inviting chance, making a hash of his shot after receiving a through-ball from Hughes.
In no time, Malta served up a reminder of their counter-attacking ability when Mifsud peeled away from his marker on the right before firing an angled drive that was smothered away by Mannus.
After their subdued showing in the first half, Northern Ireland infused some much-needed urgency into their game after the break.
On one occasion, Ferguson cut in from the left but his shot was off target. The atmosphere in the stands remained somewhat low-key despite the unstinting efforts of the South End Core supporters to enliven the mood.
Optimism coursed through the home fans when, 21 minutes from time, Schembri’s diagonal cross released Mifsud inside the penalty area. The Malta captain’s initial effort was stopped by Mannus and his second was deflected away for a corner.
After exchanging passes with Fenech, Herrera’s inviting cross from the right found no takers.
The game fizzled out in the final stages with neither side seemingly capable of producing a late flourish. Malta retained their composure, easily coping with their opponents’ attacks which were mostly spearheaded by substitute Pay McCourt, of Celtic.
Four minutes from time, Hogg intercepted a dangerous corner by Chris Brunt.
Malta
A. Hogg, A. Muscat, G. Sciberras, A. Agius (46 R. Camilleri), L. Dimech, C. Failla, P. Fenech, M. Mifsud (90 T. Vella), A. Cohen, A. Schembri (90 S. Bajada), E. Herrera.
Northern Ireland
A. Mannus, D. Lafferty, C. McAuley, J. Evans (C. Cathcart), S. Davis, W. Grigg (85 J. Magennis), C. Brunt, N. McGinn, A. Bruce (72 P. McCourt), S. Ferguson (63 B. McKay), A. Hughes.
Referee: Nikolay Yordanov (Bulgaria).
Attendance: 3,133.
Malta players’ ratings
Hogg-6, Muscat-6, Sciberras-6, Agius-6, Dimech-7, Failla-6.5, Fenech-7, Mifsud-6.5, Cohen-6.5, Schembri-6.5, Herrera-7.
Substitute: Camilleri-6.5.