Hungary 3
Hajnal 7; Gera 80; Juhasz 90
Malta 0

A buzzing Ferenc Puskas Stadium was the setting of the latest chapter in the football rivalry between Hungary and Malta.

Buoyed by a 1-0 victory over Albania which consolidated their position at the top of Group One, Hungary came into their umpteenth clash with Malta fully intent on taking another three points to keep their World Cup dream alive.

For our team, the main objective was to put on a lively display in the hope of ending their goal famine and, maybe, to gain a satisfactory result.

As so often happens when Malta are engaged in conflict with a foreign team and on foreign soil, the gallant efforts of our players failed to reap the desired dividends as Hungary completed the double with a 3-0 win.

The hosts deserved their win but the final scoreline was perhaps harsh on Malta.

Dusan Fitzel talked about his team's failures to deal with crosses and tall players and this perennial weak spot, plus the concession of an early goal, led to our downfall.

A seventh-minute goal from a free-kick gave Hungary a lift-off but Erwin Koeman's men had to wait until the last 10 minutes to seal victory with two headers following centres from the flanks.

The exertions of Saturday's match against Denmark looked to have caught up with Malta in the final stages as our players' troubles to sustain 90 minutes of high-tempo football again came to the fore.

The bottom line is that Malta lost and failed to score for the seventh game in a row. These bleak statistics are likely to trigger the now customary barrage of criticism but surely, our players deserve some credit for their unstinting efforts to play constructive football yesterday.

The two changes in Malta's starting XI were enforced on Fitzel by the suspension-related absence of Luke Dimech and Jamie Pace.

Alex Muscat was charged with the onus of patrolling the right flank as Jonathan Caruana was moved to the centre of defence alongside Andrei Agius. Shawn Bajada was confirmed as left-back.

In central midfield, Fitzel put his faith in captain Gilbert Agius and Roderick Briffa. Daniel Bogdanovic, Michael Mifsud and Andrew Cohen took up the other midfield positions with Andrè Schembri operating as a lone striker. Clayton Failla was excluded from the squad for this match.

The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric as the 35,000 crowd gave a rousing rendition of their national anthem. Among them were a 100-odd Maltese fans, who joined the South End-organised trip to Budapest.

Malta won the first corner of the match, Boldizsar Bodor clearing away a left-wing cross by Cohen that was intended for Bogdanovic.

Bajada's set-piece cross was easily saved by Marton Fulop, yesterday replacing the suspended Gabor Babos.

Fitzel had emphasised on the importance of avoiding an early goal but his worst fears materialised when, with just over seven minutes gone, Hungary seized the lead.

Andrei Agius clattered into Peter Halmosi to concede a free-kick only a few metres outside the box. Hungary captain Tamas Hajnal curled the ball past the defensive wall and Justin Haber to send the home fans in delirium.

Koeman's men threatened to double their lead when Halmosi's low cross from near the left byline sailed tantalisingly across the face of goal and just eluding Szabolcs Huszti.

The hosts favoured a 4-1-4-1-cum-4-3-3 approach with Balazs Dszudzsak and Huszti playing to the left and right of forward Sandor Torghelle.

After Hajnal's breakthrough, scoring chances became something of a rarity as Hungary's attempts to stamp their authority on the match were warded off by the Maltese.

Mifsud became the first player to go into Russian referee Sztanyiszlav Szuhina's book after a late challenge.

Having been cautioned in the previous match, Mifsud will be suspended for the next qualifier, away to Sweden.

On 26 minutes, Andrei Agius broke down a dangerous Hungary attack with a well-timed tackle on Torghelle who was about to connect with Boldizsar Bodor's cross.

Two minutes past the half hour, Cohen fashioned the first glimmer of a chance for Malta. He won a tussle for possession with Laszlo Bodnar and arrowed a rising shot that sailed over the bar.

With six minutes of the first half left, the overlapping Bodor sent in a menacing cross from the right but out came Haber to fist the ball away from Huszti.

Moments later, Malta survived a scare when Dzsudszsak glided past Muscat and ran into the box but his shot whizzed past the post.

Just before half-time, Schembri, who sustained a knock to his thigh on Saturday, signalled he was in pain. The Carl Zeiss Jena forward was substituted by Terrence Scerri at the start of the second half.

For Hungary, Zoltan Gera came on for Hajnal.

Malta started the second half in sprightly fashion with Bogdanovic very much in the thick of things. On 51 minutes, Malta created their best scoring chance.

Having exchanged passes with Bogdanovic, Muscat profited from a short deflection to nip into the box but his shot was repelled by Fulop.

Hungary's response was immediate, Huszti making good progress on the right before supplying an excellent centre for Gera whose header brought a fine save from Haber.

The game suddenly sprung to life, Mifsud forcing a save from Babos and Huszti went close to doubling Hungary's lead but his free-kick grazed the bar.

The exchanges remained lively with the Maltese giving their all.

Haber made a routine save from a Huszti shot and Torghelle headed wide from a corner.

At the other end, a Bajada corner was touched away by Babos as Fitzel's men enjoyed a brief spell of sustained pressure.

From a quick break, the speedy Dzsudzsak ran clear but fired over.

Muscat then got a cross into the Hungary box but Bodnar pushed the ball over the byline before Briffa could steer home.

The Maltese were having a go at their opponents but 10 minutes from time, their hopes were dashed when Hungary moved 2-0 up.

Huszti provided the telling cross from the right and Gera outjumped his marker to direct a powerful header into the net.

Bogdanovic might have reduced the deficit for Malta but he skewed his shot wide of the near post after receiving from Cohen. With three minutes remaining, Haber denied Torghelle who had been teed up by Gera.

Then, just before the final whistle, Roland Juhasz made Hungary's victory more pronounced when he guided Huszti's service past Haber at the far post.

Coaches' comments

Dusan Fitzel

"The pattern of this game was very similar to that of Saturday's match against Denmark. We conceded an early goal and lost 3-0 but I think this result was harsh on our team.

"We tried to play positive football but we were not creative enough. This is the main reason behind our failure to score in such qualifiers.

"But, our team is not top-level. This is the reality and we have to live with it."

Erwin Koeman

"It was a pleasant evening for Hungarian football. The stadium was packed and the most important thing is that Hungary won.

"I feared this game more than the one we played in Albania last weekend because we had everything to lose against Malta."

Hungary
M. Fulop, L. Bodnar, V. Vanczak, R. Juhasz, Z. Szelesi, P. Halmosi ('90 B. Toth), B. Dzsudzsak ('79 T. Priskin), B. Bodor, S. Torghelle, T. Hajnal ('46 Z. Gera), S. Huszti.

Malta
J. Haber, A. Muscat, A. Agius, D. Bogdanovic ('89 E. Barbara), J. Caruana, G. Agius, R. Briffa ('85 R. Fenech), M. Mifsud, A. Cohen, A. Schembri ('46 T. Scerri), S. Bajada.

Referee: Sztanyiszlav Szuhina (Russia).

Yellow cards: Mifsud; Caruana; Juhasz; Bogdanovic.

Malta players' ratings
Haber-6, Muscat-6, A. Agius-7, Bogdanovic-6.5, Caruana-6, G. Agius-5.5, Briffa-5.5, Mifsud-6, Cohen-5.5, Schembri-5.5, Bajada-6.

Subs used: Scerri-6, Fenech, Barbara.