Italy 1
Pellè 69;
Malta 0

Malta stood firm for long tracts of this game but their valiant effort was not enough to avert defeat to the superior Italians.

Graziano Pellè’s second-half goal, a somewhat fortuitous one as the ball appeared to glance off his arm, was all that separated the two teams in this David-vs-Goliath duel between the four-time world champions and Group H heavyweights and minnows Malta.

While there can be no qualms about the legitimacy of Italy’s victory which lifts them above Croatia at the top of the group, Malta earned a lot of admiration for their heart-on-sleeve performance.

Italy coach Antonio Conte was right when he warned the expectant media not to expect a goal glut as Malta have clearly improved as a team.

They not only ran and harried the Italian players here but also fashioned some tidy passing moves.

Unsurprisingly, Ghedin’s men had no option but to cede the initiative to their opponents but they defended stoically, throwing bodies in the way to leave the agitated Conte a frustrated figure on the touchline.

One instance in the second half epitomised Malta’s spirit as Andrei Agius, who had a great game in the heart of defence, and midfielder Paul Fenech effected two goal-line clearances. But Malta were not only brawn and guts as Alfred Effiong twice threatened to punish Italy on the counter when the score was still goalless.

The referee’s final whistle was greeted with joy and relief by the Italians, who got what they wanted, but the Maltese players walked tall as they marched towards the curve to salute the 200-odd boisterous supporters who travelled to Florence earlier in the day on a chartered flight organised by the SouthEnd Core.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat must also have left the stadium brimming with pride.

Cynics will claim that the bottom line is that Malta lost but such a bold display bodes well for their chances of gaining something from their Euro 2016 qualifier against Azerbaijan on Sunday.

Ghedin will have been heartened by his team’s tactical cohesion and growing confidence as well as five-star showings from Rowen Muscat, Andrè Schembri and Agius.

At the request of the Italian football federation and the Malta FA, the game was preceded by a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the migrant tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea.

Effiong, identified as Malta’s most dangerous player by Conte on the eve of the game, was charged with the onus of spearheading the attack as captain Michael Mifsud had to make do with a place on the bench.

Ghedin’s starting XI contained no notable surprises with goalkeeper Andrew Hogg restored to the team after missing the Bulgaria defeat due to a fractured finger.

Protecting Hogg were Agius, Steve Borg and Zach Muscat, the three centre-halves in Ghedin’s five-man defence while Clayton Failla and Alex Muscat patrolled the flanks.

Rowen Muscat recovered from the injury that kept him out of Birkirkara’s 2-2 Premier League draw against Tarxien Rainbows to take his customary position in front of defence alongside Fenech and Roderick Briffa.

In attack, Andrè Schembri played off Effiong.

True to expectation, Conte switched to 4-3-3 with veteran Andrea Pirlo starting his 116th game for Italy in the holding midfield role.

With Sampdoria’s Eder and Pellè, of Southampton, seen as first-choice players, the only conundrum about Conte’s selection centred on the third striker.

Conte’s choice fell on Napoli’s Manolo Gabbiadini who began on the right side of Italy’s forward line.

Shouts of ‘Pirlo, Pirlo’ echoed around the stadium when, inside the opening two minutes. Italy were awarded a free-kick after Agius was adjudged to have hauled down Pellè. Pirlo’s curler grazed Effiong’s head with the ball flashed wide of a post.

Italy signalled their attacking intentions from the off, quickly establishing control of possession.

Hogg cut out Pellè’s cut-back after the towering striker had anticipated Agius who tried to shepherd the ball out of play.

The Malta goalkeeper then blocked a cross-cum-shot from Manuel Pasqual, Italy’s left-back.

It was clear from the initial stages that Agius was going to have his hands full trying to tame Pellè.

The Malta defender did well to deflect a dangerous Pellè drive away for a corner.

At the other end, Gianluigi Buffon saved a central drive from Rowen Muscat after Schembri had intelligently won a free-kick.

Malta oozed signs of improvement but Italy remained in control, albeit their efforts rarely troubled Ghedin’s men beyond routine work.

After Marco Verratti’s piledriver was deflected away for a corner, Pellè headed over from Pirlo’s corner.

Anticipating Malta’s cautious approach, Conte instructed his three strikers to maintain constant pressure on the defenders while Matteo Darmian and Pasqual pushed up on the flanks every time Italy had possession.

A sequence of crisp passes by Malta ended with Briffa, elevated to team captain, hitting a low cross-shot that was missed by Giorgio Chiellini but Leonardo Bonucci cleared the danger.

On another occasion, Effiong advanced menacingly on the left before cutting past Bonucci but his angled strike was wide.

The game livened up. Hogg fisted away Eder’s cross after the Samp forward had been teed up by Pirlo.

Pellè, under pressure from Agius, sent his header over the bar from Pirlo’s free-kick.

Fenech was cautioned for a late challenge on Verratti, meaning that the Birkirkara midfielder will miss Sunday’s Azerbaijan qualifier as he was on two yellow cards.

With nine minutes of the first half remaining, Andrea Bertolacci strode forward on the left before hitting a shot that appeared to take a deflection off Borg but Hogg was alert to the danger.

Moments later, Eder produced a classy run as he dallied past Borg and Alex Muscat but his grounder rolled wide of the near post.

In first-half stoppage time, Pellè was first to Bonucci’s but his flick was off target. A lengthy Italy raid had Malta on the backfoot but when Agius cleared, a promising opening beckoned for Malta.

Schembri tamed the ball before picking out Effiong who outpaced Chiellini but Bonucci tracked back to stop the Nigerian-born striker.

Malta survived an almighty scare early in the second half.

As the red-shirt players braced themselves for a Pirlo drive from a free-kick, the midfield maestro played the ball short to Darmian who charged unimpeded into the box but his fierce drive was hooked away by Agius.

The danger was not over for Malta as the loose ball fell to Pasqual but his effort was cleared by Fenech in a show of defiance by the resilient visitors.

Italy quickened their pace, using speed and quick vertical balls into the box to try and unhinge the opposing defence,

Darmian, the Manchester United right-back, had a diagonal effort pushed away by Hogg before Gabbiadini was denied by the woodwork as his swerving effort rattled the crossbar.

Schembri’s ability to shield the ball and glide past opponents gave Malta some breathing space.

A minute past the hour, Pellè evaded Malta’s offside ploy to latch on to Pasqual’s pass but he shot against the side-netting.

Malta continued to frustrate their illustrious opponents, Hogg blocking a low cross-shot from Eder.

Italy’s pressure finally yielded a breakthrough on 69 minutes.

Antonio Candreva curled in a teasing cross from the right and Pellè darted in to nudge the ball into the net, to the dismay of the visitors who contested that a Maltese player had been fouled in the build-up to the goal.

Bjorn Kristensen replaced the exhausted Schembri who had earlier required medical assistance for cramps.

Hogg prevented Italy from adding to their lead as he pulled off a fine save to paw away Marco Parolo’s long-range effort after Darmian’s run on the right had opened up Malta.

As tiredness crept into the Maltese team, Italy threatened to increase their advantage.

Borg slid in to deny Chiellini who had stooped to reach Pirlo’s corner. From the rebound, Eder flicked wide.

Malta strung up some good moves as they sought to gain ground with Kristensen and Rowen Muscat at the heart of the team’s best efforts.

When, in stoppage time, a limping Effiong made way for Mifsud, the home crowd applauded the lion-hearted forward.

Italy
G. Buffon, G. Chiellini, M. Darmian, A. Bertolacci (55 M. Parolo), M. Verratti (77 R. Soriano), Eder, L. Bonucci, G. Pellè, A. Pirlo, M. Gabbiadini (64 A. Candreva), M. Pasqual.

Malta
A. Hogg, A. Muscat, A. Agius, P. Fenech, C. Failla, R. Briffa (90 G. Sciberras), R. Muscat, A. Schembri (73 B. Kristensen), S. Borg, A. Effiong (90 M. Mifsud), Z. Muscat.

Referee: Ivan Kruzilak (Slovakia).

Yellow cards: Fenech; Candreva.

Malta players’ ratings
Hogg-7.5, A. Muscat-6.5, Agius-7.5, Fenech-7, Failla-6.5, Briffa-6.5, R. Muscat-8, Schembri-7.5, Borg-7, Effiong-7, Z. Muscat-7.