Dimitar Berbatov hit a brace as Bulgaria beat Malta 4-1 in a friendly at the Hibs Ground this evening but the match was not as one-sided as the scoreline suggests.
Malta produced a resilient and at times flowing display to cancel out Valeri Bojinov's early breakthrough but a late slump ruined their good work as Bulgaria scored three times in the final 15 minutes to gain a flattering win.
Bulgaria might have forged ahead after two minutes but Andrew Hogg, the Malta goalkeeper, parried Bojinov's effort. The Parma forward put Bulgaria ahead two minutes later, driving the ball past Hogg from an angled position after being put through by Stiliyan Petrov.
Malta's failure to head the alarm signals was punished by Bulgaria who stormed ahead after five minutes. Malta were now facing an uphill struggle but Buttigieg's men refused to let their heads drop.
Kevin Sammut produced a shot that was saved by Nikolay Mihaylov. The Bulgaria goalkeeper kept his team's lead intact with a brave save from Jamie Pace's close-range attempt following a Ryan Fenech free-kick.
Berbatov would have doubled Bulgaria's lead were it not for the woodwork as his excellent volley hit the crossbar. Hogg then foiled Berbatov when pushing away his close-range drive but towards the end of the first half, it was Malta who threatened to score.
Michael Mifsud had a shot saved by Mihaylov who then effected two saves in quick succession on efforts by Pace.
Malta had a flying start to the second half as they scored an equaliser after barely 50 seconds. Michael Mifsud got on the end of a long ball from midfield, outpaced the Bulgaria defenders and flashed past substitute goalie Dimitar Ivankov before depositing the ball into the net.
Boosted by their equaliser, Malta continued to attack. Mifsud went close again with a header that finished just wide.
Bulgaria regained the initiative as the second half moved on and Berbatov put them back in front with a close-range tap-in after combining with Valeri Domovchiyski.
Bulgaria were all over Malta in the final 15 minutes. Blagoy Georgiev increased their lead when scoring directly from a free-kick and Berbatov made it 4-1 to break Hristo Bonev's record of 46 goals for Bulgaria.