Ghedin takes many positives from heroic Malta victory

Success is all the sweeter when it’s achieved in adversity and against all expectations.

The weary but happy faces of the Malta players encapsulated this feeling late Friday as the national squad, Malta FA officials and the media entourage departed from Yerevan.

Malta had stood resolute in the face of Armenia’s unstinting pressure at the Republican Stadium to eke out a 1-0 win, the country’s first in a competitive fixture away from home since the famous 1-0 victory over Estonia in 1993.

Not even an unscheduled delay in the departure of the Air Malta charter flight in the unearthly hours of yesterday could dampen the spirits of the contingent as the team’s heart-on-sleeve performance had given everyone a huge lift.

Despite collecting only three points from their opening four qualifiers, Armenia came into the match in bullish mood. Any loss of points in their home clash with ‘whipping boys’ Malta was simply inconceivable.

On the eve of the match, a young waiter at the hotel cafeteria walked up to my table as I was preparing the match preview.

“Are you from Malta,” he enquired. As I replied in the affirmative, he continued: “I’m going to the match tomorrow. We will win.”

He was not alone in predicting a routine victory for the home side but, it seems, they didn’t reckon with the resilience and fighting spirit of our team.

Cast in the role of underdogs, Malta landed the first decisive blow when Michael Mifsud, who else, silenced the home crowd with a goal from a rebound after only eight minutes.

Clayton Failla might have doubled the lead soon after but headed over from an inviting Edward Herrera’s centre. Armenia looked shell-shocked after the visitors’ breakthrough but, as was to be expected, they staged a ferocious reaction.

They swarmed forward in numbers and from all avenues with the thunderous look on the players’ faces reflecting Armenia’s determination to redeem themselves.

Mifsud’s opener coming so early in the contest, the Armenian players and fans initially regarded their 1-0 deficit as an aberration. Their pressure was almost stifling at times as Armenia pushed down the wings and through the middle but they ran into a wall of Maltese defiance.

Inspired by the outstanding Justin Haber, Malta drew on their reserves of energy and willpower to keep their opponents at bay.

Timely tackles, vital interceptions and Haber’s sound display ensured that Malta clung on their slim lead to write another golden page in the annals of our game.

No wonder, the white-shirted players were delirious when referee Arnold Hunter sounded out the final whistle after more than four minutes of added time.

“Great joy,” was how coach Pietro Ghedin, who had demanded a proud showing from his team, described his feelings at the end of the match.

“I was delighted not just for myself but for the players and all those fans who have the national team at heart.”

Ghedin’s elation was more than justified.

Despite overseeing a string of wins in friendlies against fellow European minnows, the Italian had seen Malta suffer five consecutive defeats from as many outings in this qualifying group.

After starting with a deflating 1-0 home upset to Armenia in September, the doom-mongers were quick to write off the team’s chances of picking a point in this campaign, let alone a win, in a tough group also containing Italy, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Denmark. But, football has a habit of throwing up the unexpected.

Just over a year into his second stint at the helm, Ghedin has now guided Malta to a landmark win, the first in any competition since the 2-1 success over Hungary at the National Stadium in 2006 when Dusan Fitzel was in charge.

In his first spell as national coach, Ghedin had also presided over a famous 1-0 win over Belgium in a 1994 friendly but Friday’s victory eclipsed that success.

“The win against Belgium was prestigious in a way but this is more significant because it has given the country three points,” Ghedin said.

“Moreover, we have beaten a strong team who collected 17 points in the last European qualifying competition.”

Ghedin also feels that Friday’s win can give the national team renewed impetus to maintain their upward trend in the remaining four qualifying matches, three of which are at home.

“It’s also a positive sign for the future as it shows that we can move forward and be more competitive,” the coach observed.

“We created some fluid moves besides giving a promising player like Rowen Muscat his competitive debut (he came on for Roderick Briffa late in the game).

“Paul Fenech also acquitted himself well after replacing Gareth Sciberras.

“I feel sorry for the ones who remained on the bench. I would have loved to use all of them but it was not possible. Overall, I believe it was a good experience for all.”

€4,000 match bonus

It is understood that the Maltese players who figured in Friday’s match in Yerevan will benefit from a bonus of €4,000 each.

Ghedin made use of all three substitutions at the Republican Stadium, two of which in the last five minutes as Rowan Muscat replaced Roderick Briffa and Terence Vella took Mifsud’s place.

On 57 minutes, Paul Fenech came in for the injured Gareth Sciberras.

The other players in the squad for the Armenia qualifier will receive a bonus of €2,000 each.