Malta 1
Mifsud 38;
Croatia 3
Vukojevic 11; Badelj 32; Lovren 68;
Malta came into yesterday’s home qualifier against Croatia fully aware that only a superb performance would give them a glimmer of a chance of thwarting their more-quoted opponents.
The last time Croatia played here six years ago, their supporters went on a rampage after Steve Wellman’s late goal denied their team victory but this time, and thankfully, the away fans exited the stadium peacefully and in buoyant mood after a straightforward 3-1 victory kept Slaven Bilic’s men hot on the heels of Group F front-runners Greece.
That Croatia took maximum spoils from their clash with minnows Malta was hardly surprising, given the gulf in class between the two teams, but more was expected from the home side.
Their task had become steeper even before French referee Tony Chapron blew the initial whistle after key defender Jonathan Caruana was ruled out of the match after falling sick. Caruana’s absence was clearly felt as Malta were unsteady at the back.
A stuttering start by the home team didn’t help matters either as Malta’s hesitancy and sloppy passing invited Croatia onto them. Bilic’s men duly capitalised as they surged into a two-goal lead by the 32nd minute but, to their credit, the home players refused to give in and when Michael Misud, as usual, scored to make it 2-1, an exciting second half looked in prospect.
Malta, for whom Roderick Briffa and Mifsud were their most influential players, did improve but they only flickered sporadically and continued to look edgy at the back. Our players gave up their ghost when Croatia struck their third goal midway through the second half, leaving Malta rooted to the bottom with no points.
It was one of those nights when the home fans had little to savour, bar Mifsud’s goal which was Malta’s first at home in this qualifying campaign. Many will also have left the stadium wondering why Daniel Bogdanovic had been dropped from the 18-man squad altogether when the striker, who has just joined Blackpool, could have provided fresh impetus to Malta’s attack in the second half, also in view of the fact that André Schembri had an off day.
The Maltese supporters will now be hoping that the players put this setback behind them and refocus their minds on Tuesday’s qualifier against Georgia which, on paper, represents our best chance of getting the first point or three.
Buttigieg had been forced into a last-minute reshuffle after Caruana, a mainstay of the Malta defence for the past three years, was declared unfit to play after succumbing to influenza.
The onus of flanking Andrei Agius in the centre of defence fell to Gareth Sciberras who had been expected to partner John Hutchinson in midfield. Ryan Fenech was handed marshalling duties alongside Hutchinson as Roderick Briffa was pushed to right midfield in front of Manny Muscat who was deployed at right-back.
Steve Borg earned his first senior call-up as the Valletta defender was preferred to Joseph Zerafa in Malta’s 18-man squad.
A glance at Croatia’s teamsheet revealed one notable surprise as midfielder Luka Modric was left on the substitutes’ bench. Bilic said after the game that the Tottenham midfielder was left out after being laid low by a virus in the build-up to the game.
The home players will also have been heartened by the news that Niko Kranjcar would play no part in this qualifier after the Tottenham midfielder hit a brace in Croatia’s 3-0 win over Malta in Zagreb.
Three minutes into the game, Andrew Hogg, the Malta goalkeeper, failed to hold Darijo Srna’s long-range free-kick but luckily for the home side the ball sailed well wide of the near post.
On another occasion, the Malta defence was caught in a state of disarray as Milan Badelj headed the ball into the path of Srna but the Croatian captain drove wide from just inside the area.
With the nervous Malta players conceding too much space to their opponents, it was a matter of when not if Croatia would open the score. It came on 11 minutes as Ognjen Vukojevic’s firm drive from just outside the box took a deflection which wrong-footed the diving Hogg.
Malta threatened to equalise straight from kick-off as a long punt into Croatia’s penalty box unsettled the Croatian defence, especially goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa who, under pressure from Mifsud, could only palm the ball a couple of metres away but there was no Maltese takers.
Buttigieg’s men beamed signs of improvement as the first half wore on. Their best move of the game almost yielded an equaliser as Mifsud’s progression through the middle unhinged the Croatian defence. The visitors managed to block the Malta captain’s run but the loose ball rolled to Hutchinson whose well-hit strike from the distance whistled past Pletikosa’s left-hand post.
Close to the half-hour mark, Srna went close with a curling free-kick that ended narrowly wide. That turned out to be the preamble to Croatia’s second as barely two minutes later, Mario Mandzukic’s teasing pass from the left wing was met with an intelligent flick by Sime Vrsaljko who set up the sprinting Badelj who prodded the ball past Hogg.
Malta were up against it but they resurrected their hopes with a goal seven minutes from half-time. Briffa engineered the move as the Valletta stalwart made headway through the middle before slipping a through-pass to Mifsud who coolly sidefooted the ball past Pletikosa. Game on.
The second half had only just started when Srna again exposed Malta’s defensive frailties with a scything overlap on the right before releasing Nikola Kalinic, who had just come on for Klasnic. Kalinic had been left alone in the centre of the area but his central effort was repelled by Hogg.
Shortly afterwards, Ivan Perisic rose to meet Vrsaljko’s cross but his header cannoned off the crossbar.
As in the first half, Malta took a while to find their passing range as well as the belief to take the game to the Croatians but their improvement as the second half progressed was there for all to see. Malta enjoyed a spell of possession but this only served to shake Croatia out of their comfort zone.
Bilic’s men made the points safe on 67 minutes as Badelj’s excellent cross from the right whizzed across the face of goal and towards Dejan Lovren who headed past Hogg.
Croatia’s third goal knocked the fight out of Malta as the game petered out but, with four minutes remaining, Ivan Woods, who had just replaced Mifsud, was a whisker away from giving the hosts a glimmer of hope as his close-range attempt from Fenech’s service ended just wide.
Aftermatch comments
John Buttigieg (Malta): “We anticipated a tough game because Croatia have a very strong team. I was disappointed with our performance in the first 25 minutes. We were not in the game in that early period but after that, the players gained in confidence, especially in the second half. The team still committed some mistakes from which Croatia could have scored but I’m pleased with the effort and attitude of the players.”
Slaven Bilic (Croatia): “Congratulations to both teams for putting on a good, exciting game with lots of scoring chances. We expected that this game was going to be difficult. I’ve seen Malta’s last five matches and their opponents didn’t have an easy time. Greece and Georgia both needed late goals to beat Malta. Overall, I think we deserved the win.”
Malta: A. Hogg, M. Muscat, G. Sciberras, A. Agius, R. Fenech (88 C. Mamo), C. Failla, R. Briffa (74 J. Pace), M. Mifsud (82 I. Woods), A. Cohen, J. Hutchinson, A. Schembri.
Croatia: S. Pletikosa, I. Strinic, D. Lovren, V. Corluka, M. Badelj (81 Eduardo), O. Vukojevic, D. Srna, M. Mandzukic, I. Klasnic (46 N. Kalinic), I. Perisic (67 T. Dujmovic), S. Vrsaljko.
Referee: T. Chapron (France).
Yellow cards: Fenech; Mandzukic; Corluka; Failla.
Attendance: 6,150.
Malta players’ ratings
Hogg-5, Muscat-5.5, Sciberras-5.5, Agius-6, Fenech-6, Failla-5, Briffa-7, Mifsud-7, Cohen-5.5, Hutchinson-6.5, Schembri-5.