Croatia 3
Kranjcar 19, 42; Kalinic 82;
Malta 0
Malta ran and harried at the rainswept Maksimir Stadium yesterday but for the umpteenth time, they had nothing to show for their efforts at the end.
For all their combative qualities, Malta just lacked the attacking verve to pose a semblance of danger to Croatia whose superior technical abilities enabled them to cruise to an emphatic 3-0 win.
Croatia all but wrapped up their victory by the end of the first half as Niko Kranjcar struck twice to give the hosts a comfortable lead and send them top of Group F with 10 points, two ahead of Greece.
The presence of three offensive players in Malta’s starting XI may have raised hopes of an attack-minded approach by Buttigieg but his 4-5-1 gameplan demonstrated that prudence was the name of the game for the national coach.
Not that anyone expected Malta, the minnows of the group, to take the game to their opponents but the dearth of scoring chances highlighted our team’s attacking inhibitions.
Buttigieg’s decision to switch Michael Mifsud to the left wing didn’t leave the desired effect as the Malta captain looked ill at ease in a wide position.
Most of the danger in the first half came from that flank as Shaun Bajada, filling in for Carlo Mamo at left-back, was often exposed by the penetrating runs of Darijo Srna and Kranjcar.
In the opening period, Malta did manage to break forward on a couple of occasions only to be let down by their final pass.
But it was their habitual failing in ceding possession in dangerous areas that led to our downfall as Croatia’s first goal resulted from a poor kick by goalkeeper Andrew Hogg and the second, late in the first half, originated from a half-clearance.
There were times when Malta showed good passing but it is clear that a more positive mindset is needed to boost our chances of gaining something from the remaining six qualifiers.
Before kick-off, the Croatian FA honoured the players who featured in the first international match for the country after independence 20 years ago to the day.
Croatia beat the United States 2-1 in that historic 1990 friendly.
The race for the no.1 spot in Malta’s teamsheet went Hogg’s way as he was preferred to Justin Haber.
Massimo Grima replaced the suspended Andrei Agius in the centre of defence. Jonathan Caruana occupied the other centre-half role, Roderick Briffa started at right-back and Bajada on the left after Buttigieg decided not to risk Mamo.
With Bajada at left-back and Andrew Cohen suspended, Buttigieg had to reshape his midfield. Gareth Sciberras, who had also been briefly considered as a possible replacement for Agius in defence, kept his place alongside Jamie Pace and the recalled John Hutchinson in central midfield.
The reshuffle saw Mifsud shifted to the left of midfield, Daniel Bogdanovic started on the right and Andrè Schembri was the team’s attacking fulcrum.
Slaven Bilic, the Croatia coach, put Eduardo, the former Arsenal striker now at Shakhtar Donetsk, at the tip of his 4-3-3 formation with Hamburg’s Mladen Petric and Kranjcar, of Tottenham, pushing up the wings. Luka Modric, the creative force at Tottenham, was given licence to roam behind the attacking trident.
Within a minute of the start of the game, Srna had whipped in a dangerous cross from the right but Modric failed to make contact at the far post.
Croatia’s early pressure lacked bite. Malta managed to win a corner after 13 minutes as Bogdanovic surged forward but his centre was deflected away by Vedran Corluka, the third Tottenham player in Bilic’s initial XI yesterday.
Sciberras did well to cut out Kranjcar’s diagonal run after the Croatia winger had peeled away from Hutchinson on the right.
It was clear in those early stages that the state of the pitch was creating problems for both teams, especially Croatia, but the home side gained a morale-booster in the 19th minute.
After Croatia had intercepted a clearance from Hogg, Kranjcar was given time and space to advance down the right before rifling a fierce shot that skidded past the diving Malta keeper.
Hogg did better when stopping Eduardo’s close-range flick from Srna’s measured cross from the right. By and large, the game was short on intensity for much of the opening half-hour despite the non-stop chanting of the Bad Blue Boys, Dinamo Zagreb’s hard-core fans.
Modric lit up the stadium as he waltzed past Briffa and Grima before unleashing a pulverising drive that smacked against the post.
As expected, Croatia set the tempo but to their credit, Malta not only stood their ground but also passed the ball around efficiently when in possession.
Croatia had to wait until the 38th minute to fashion another chance. Kranjcar received the ball on the left and pulled it back for Petric who skied his shot over the bar.
Caruana then initiated a rare breakaway for Malta as he embarked on a strong run from the back but Croatia managed to partially block the danger. The ball reached Bogdanovic whose cross-shot flew wide of the far post.
In next to no time, Croatia doubled their lead thanks to Kranjcar.
The hosts again profited from a half-clearance as Eduardo retrieved possession before releasing Kanjcar just outside the box. His strike looked to have glanced off Caruana as it sailed into the net.
Hardly a minute from the start of the second half had elapsed when Mifsud cut in from the left and mustered a rising shot that sailed over the bar, Malta’s best chance of the game.
Bogdanovic then squeezed in a good cross from the right but the ball just eluded Schembri at the near post.
Hogg pushed away a Srna free-kick on the hour mark as Croatia regained control. Grima was prominent with two headed clearances that may have led to damaging situations for Buttigieg’s team.
With 20 minutes remaining, Buttigieg effected his first substitution, bringing on Ryan Fenech for Schembri. Mifsud moved into a central attacking position and Fenech picked up the right-midfield role.
Fenech’s surge down the wing brought the first yellow card of the evening as Srna was booked for hacking down the Ħamrun Spartans midfielder.
Malta were let off the hook with 12 minutes left as Nikola Kalinic, who had replaced Petric, outfoxed the opposing defence to reach a through-ball but blasted over.
The Blackburn striker atoned for his miss as he increased Croatia’s lead eight minutes from time.
Malta looked to have subdued the danger when Hogg fisted away Kranjcar’s corner but Modric’s miscued shot rolled to his Tottenham team-mate who crossed towards the centre and Kalinic headed home.
Aftermatch comments
John Buttigieg praised Malta’s commitment yesterday but lamented the manner in which the team conceded the goals, particularly the first one.
“It was a difficult game played in difficult conditions for both teams, especially us,” Buttigieg told the post-match news conference.
“Croatia played very well and certainly deserved to win but I can’t complain about our performance. The players really put in a great effort.
“I was disappointed though with the first goal we conceded because it came after a bad kick. We were again punished for giving away possession in dangerous areas.”
Buttigieg did admit that Malta again found it very difficult to create scoring chances but he put this down to the strength of the opponents.
“True, we didn’t create much but we were playing against a strong team that wanted to attack at all costs,” Buttigieg said.
“We always try to go forward but when your opponents are so strong, they make it difficult for others to produce chances.”
Croatia
V. Runje, V. Corluka, D. Pranjic, I. Rakitic (69 I. Ilicevic), Eduardo (78 M. Mandzukic), L. Modric, D. Srna, G. Schildenfeld, T. Dujmovic, N. Kranjcar, M. Petric (60 N. Kalinic).
Malta
A. Hogg, J. Caruana, S. Bajada, G. Sciberras (88 P. Fenech), J. Hutchinson, M. Grima, R. Briffa, M. Mifsud, D. Bogdanovic (82 K. Sammut), A. Schembri (70 R. Fenech), J. Pace.
Referee: Duarte Gomes (Portugal FA).
Yellow cards: Srna; Grima.
Malta players’ ratings
Hogg-5.5, Caruana-6.5, Bajada-5.5, Sciberras-5.5, Hutchinson-6.5, Grima-6, Briffa-6, Mifsud-6, Bogdanovic-7, Schembri-6.5, Pace-7.
Substitute: R. Fenech-6.