Malta 1
Failla 38;
Denmark 2
Andreasen 2; Camilleri 53 og;
Malta were not only bold and brave, they were also beautiful.
Despite their travails in World Cup qualifying Group B, Denmark were seen as possessing too much ammunition for Malta in a match tagged as “one of four finals” by their under-fire coach Morten Olsen.
Denmark did leave the stadium with three points and their morale lifted ahead of their revenge mission against Armenia but how they were made to fight hard for the spoils.
On the eve of this match, Olsen had been full of praise for Malta, extolling their compact defending and the continuity provided by the core of the players who have been flying the country’s flag for much of the past decade.
Whether Olsen’s words were intended as a compliment or as a warning to his players, he was proved right as the group minnows ran Denmark close, only losing by the odd goal in three.
The omens didn’t look encouraging as Malta, with Roderick Briffa deployed as a makeshift right-back in a reshaped defence, conceded inside the opening two minutes.
That early goal for the Danes initially sparked fears of a debacle but what followed went a long way towards highlighting Malta’s rising confidence under Italian coach Pietro Ghedin.
With André Schembri bristling with flair in attack, Malta pegged Denmark back to gain a deserved equaliser through Clayton Failla’s superb free-kick.
The hosts extended their momentum into the second half, hitting the crossbar only for their efforts to suffer a blow when Denmark scored their second.
It did take Malta a while to recapture their fluency after falling behind but when they did, they sallied forward courageously, pummelling the tiring Danes who did just enough to protect their lead. In the end, the Maltese players left the field dejected as the general feeling was that their efforts merited a point.
A defeat always causes frustration but the applause of the home fans at the final whistle said all about their appreciation for the brave showing of the national team who can look forward to the home qualifier against Bulgaria on Tuesday.
There was one notable surprise in Ghedin’s selection as Rowen Muscat was awarded a starting role.
Having indicated at the pre-match news conference that Jacob Borg was in line to deputise for the suspended Alex Muscat, Ghedin changed his mind, opting for the Birkirkara player instead.
Given that Muscat plays in midfield, his inclusion obliged Ghedin to switch Briffa to right-back.
Wary of Denmark’s inclination to attack down the flanks, Ghedin started with John Mintoff on the right of midfield as the Sliema winger has the pace and stamina to do a double shift on the flank.
The other slots in the team were taken by the tried-and-trusted members with Justin Haber in goal, Andrei Agius and Ryan Camilleri at centre-half, Failla on the left, Sciberras partnering Muscat in midfield, Edward Herrera on the left wing and Schembri floating behind Michael Mifsud, Malta’s captain and lone striker described by Olsen as “our old friend”.
Olsen also took the Danish journalists by surprise after handing a debut to Rasmus Falk, of OB FC, who has just been promoted from the Under-21 squad.
Nicklas Pedersen was Denmark’s central striker with Toulouse’s Martin Braithwaite and Falk on the wings in a 4-3-3 formation.
Malta’s evening began on a dismal note as Denmark broke the stalemate early on. The danger originated from the left as Braithwaite was given time and space to cut inside Briffa before hitting a low pass into the box and Leon An-dreasen drilled his shot past the helpless Haber.
Braithwaite’s swift movement on the left was proving a handful for Briffa who had never played at right-back under Ghedin.
On 10 minutes, the Toulouse winger sent in another cross which eluded Falk with the home defenders again slow to react in the box.
The early goal settled Denmark’s nerves as Olsen’s men controlled the proceedings but rarely threatened to increase their lead.
A misunderstanding between Simon Kjaer and goalkeeper Stephan Andersen almost gifted Malta a goal on 16 minutes.
A speculative ball by Briffa was headed backward by Kjaer and past the on-rushing Andersen with the ball falling kindly to Schembri at the near post. The latter’s effort was parried away by the keeper who had darted back into goal to close the angle for Schembri.
This opportunity had followed the first cohesive move by Ghedin’s men as Schembri raced past two Danish players in the middle but his pass for Mifsud was cleared.
With Mifsud guarded by two towering centre-halves in Daniel Agger and Kjaer, Malta needed their advanced midfielders to break forward quickly to trouble the Danes.
A fast passing move saw Schembri slipping a through-ball to Mifsud who veered into the box before being dispossessed by Kjaer amid shouts of penalty by the home crowd but Greek referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos was unmoved.
Malta’s bright moment continued. Andersen denied the Reds an equaliser 11 minutes from half-time when repelling Mifsud’s close-range effort after the Danes had been carved open by Schembri’s surging run into the box.
Four minutes later, the stadium erupted as Malta levelled. Kjaer fouled Schembri just outside the box and Failla curled the free-kick majestically to beat the leaping Andersen.
At the other end, Briffa did well to head away Lars Jacobsen’s menacing ball from the right but it was Malta who continued to look dangerous with Schembri always in the thick of things.
Two minutes from half-time, the Omonia forward played in Mifsud who stormed into the box only to lift his shot over the bar when he could have served Herrera who was unmarked at the far post.
At the start of the second half, Olsen threw on the experienced Michael Krohn-Dehli for Falk and instructed Braithwaite to swap wings.
Home joy almost doubled five minutes into the second half when Briffa’s cross was met by Mifsud but his header came off the crossbar.
Two minutes later the ball was in the net but it was Denmark who raised the flailing spirits of their colourful fans.
Eriksen showed why Tottenham have prised him away from Ajax as he drifted inside the box from the left, breezed past Briffa and Haber before hitting a rising shot that cannoned off the underside of the bar and into the net after ricocheting off Camilleri’s back.
Denmark’s second goal was a kick in the teeth for the erstwhile impressive Malta but as the second half progressed, the home players regained composure.
Mifsud embarked on one of his trademark runs, gliding past Jacobsen and Agger as he raced into the box but his shot lacked precision.
With or without a club, Mifsud remains a key member of this well-drilled Malta team as Ghedin rightly pointed out on the eve of the match when he described his captain as “the history of Maltese football”.
Haber then saved a low shot by Eriksen.
With 14 minutes remaining, Ghedin threw on Ryan Fenech for Mintoff.
When Malta lost possession in Denmark’s half, Olsen’s men sensed an opportunity to break on the counter but Krohn-Dehli’s diagonal shot was stopped by Haber.
Terence Vella replaced the tiring Mifsud nine minutes from time as Ghedin tried to freshen up things.
In the closing stages, Fenech advanced after cutting out a pass in midfield before serving Schembri but in came Kjaer to push the ball away for a corner as Malta piled up the pressure on the Danes.
Aftermatch comments...
Pietro Ghedin (Malta coach)
• “It’s a pity we finished empty-handed because we did not deserve to lose this match, certainly not. We gifted Denmark with two goals, particularly the one in the first minutes of the match.
“Had we been a little bit more careful we could have easily avoided defeat. We had three or four good chances but incredibly we did not put the ball inside their net. These are the kind of matches where you cannot commit mistakes otherwise you get punished.
“But, having said that I’m satisfied with our performance and I won’t single out one player for merit because I think all the team did well tonight. Now, we have to regroup for our next match. We’ll have a couple of players back from suspension and we also hope to recover those who did not make this match because of injury.”
Morten Olsen (Denmark coach)
• “It was a very poor performance against a Maltese team who defended very well today. But taking all three points was what mattered most and we succeeded in winning a difficult match.
“We have another crucial match coming up against Armenia on Tuesday. We’re back in the reckoning but the team must improve considerably if we are to reach the play-offs.”
Malta
J. Haber, G. Sciberras, A. Agius, C. Failla, R. Briffa, M. Mifsud (81 T. Vella), E. Herrera (90 A. Cohen), A. Schembri, J. Mintoff (76 R. Fenech), R. Muscat, R. Camilleri.
Denmark
S. Andersen, L. Andreasen (72 C. Sloth), S. Kjaer, D. Agger, N. Boilesen, L. Jacobsen, W.K. Jorgensen, C. Eriksen, M.C. Braithwaite (84 V. Fischer), N. Pedersen, R. Falk (46 M. Krohn-Dehli).
Referee: A. Sidiropoulos (Greece FA).
Yellow cards: Agius; Briffa; Mintoff; Vella. Attendance 5,589.
Malta players’ ratings
Haber-6, Sciberras-6.5, Agius-7, Failla-7.5, Briffa-6.5, Mifsud-7, Herrera-6, Schembri-8, Mintoff-6, Muscat-6, Camilleri-6.5.
Substitute: Fenech-6.