CYPRUS 0
MALTA 1
A Brenda Borg goal early in the second half gave the spirited Malta girls a deserved win and a morale-boosting result over hosts Cyprus in their second Aphrodite Cup commitment on Thursday morning. This victory followed the goalless stalemate on Wednesday against Estonia.
It was a positive performance for the girls led by coach Mark Gatt.
In the first half, Malta controlled the game before the decisive strike in the opening minutes of the second half.
Brenda Borg, who plays her club football with Mġarr United, scored the winning goal to secure this prestigious win for Malta girls in Cyprus.
Towards the end of the game, Malta had another opportunity to double their lead. Once again it was Brenda Borg who came close in the 80th minute but her close-range effort came off the woodwork.
After the match Malta Women's coach Mark Gatt conveyed his delight on behalf of the rest of the squad in Cyprus. "This result was a matter of reaping the rewards after the hard work by this group of players over the past few weeks, for us to come here and keep back-to-back clean sheets is extremely positive," Gatt said.
"It was not a matter of finding the net and defending the result, the girls stayed focused, kept going and created more chances, notwithstanding the fact we played only 24 hours after our first match here in Cyprus and the draw against Estonia.
"Another positive note from today's match is the fact that we fielded more young players as this game marked the full debut for Kayleigh Chetcuti, who was our third player under the age of 19 representing her country at senior level after Maria Farrugia and Nicole Sciberras.
"Now we look forward for another positive result this Saturday as we take on Lithuania in our final match in this tournament." (kick-off: 9am).
Participation in the Aphrodite Cup is part of the team's preparations for their UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 qualifiers as the Malta women’s team have been drawn against Italy, Denmark, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Israel and Georgia.
After their participation in the Aphrodite Cup, Gatt’s side will be playing two friendly matches against Romania in April, and one against English side Bolton Wanderers in May.
In August, Malta kick off their UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 Group B campaign with an away match against Denmark followed by another trip to Bosnia four days later.
Malta are taking part in the Aphrodite Cup for the fourth time following their participation in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
STARTING FORMATION
Janice Xuereb, Nicole Sciberras, Jade Flask, Stephania Farrugia, Dorianne Theuma (c), Brenda Borg, Kayleigh Chetcuti, Maria Farrugia, Shona Zammit, Alishia Sultana, Charlene Zammit.