Women’s national team loses narrowly to Turkey

An early goal in the second half helped Turkey defeat the Malta girls 2-1 in a friendly match at the Centenary Stadium.

This was the second friendly match in less than a week for the Malta women’s team following a commendable performance in a 2-2 draw against Switzerland on Tuesday.

As expected, Turkey, ranked 69th, enjoyed more possession, especially in the second half. Malta, on their part, managed to cancel out Turkey’s early lead late in the first half but could not find the net again to salvage a draw.

Turkey had the brighter start to the game with Kader Hancar letting fly a shot on goal after just three minutes.

The Maltese team were looking to stage a reaction but the Turkish backline was proving difficult to breakdown. Despite holding an edge, Turkey never really threatened Xuereb until Birgul Sadikoglu attempted an effort that went wide.

Turkey forged ahead on the half-hour mark through Esra Erol who headed home from close range.

However, the Maltese girls managed to level terms through Haley Bugeja’s curling effort – her first international goal for Malta.

On the 65th minute, Turkey made their pressure count through Kader Hancar who netted from close range.

MALTA Janice Xuereb; Alishia Sultana, Stephania Farrugia, Ann-Marie Said, Jade Flask; Nicole Sciberras, Veronique Mifsud, Dorianne Theuma; Brenda Borg, Haley Bugeja, Ylenia Carabott.
Subs used: Charlene Zammit, Martina Borg, Sydney Schembri, Gabriella Zahra, Claudette Xuereb.

TURKEY Nur Gamze; Berna Yeniceri, Birgul Sadikoglu, Didem Karagenc, Ebru Topcu, Esra Erol, Fatma Kara, Gulbin Hiz, Kader Hancar, Sevgi Cinar, Yagmur Uraz.
Subs used: Gizem Gonultas, Nur Cansu, Cigdem Belc, Emine Esen.

Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann.