Malta fell to a disappointing 6-0 defeat to a superior Spain side at the Municipal Nuevo Mirador on Tuesday, finishing off their UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifying campaign.
The match started with Spain having most of the ball, pinning Malta back in their defensive third. The first chance came in the third minute when a ball was whipped in from the left towards Yeremay Hernández, but he saw his header sail just wide.
However, Spain opened the scoring with the following attack, when a fine ball found captain Samu Omorodion, who made no mistake in finishing it past Hugo Sacco to make it 1-0 in the opening five minutes.
Despite the Spanish pressure, Malta started to grow into the game more, and while still being forced in their own half, they gradually got more of the ball as the half wore on, also limiting Spain’s openings in front of goal. The next opportunity came in the 31st minute, when a ball was fed through to Marc Casado from the left wing, yet his shot was comfortably saved by Malta’s goalkeeper Hugo Sacco.
Spain picked it up following that opportunity, and then doubled the scoring thanks to Samu once again, after he met a cross that was whipped in from the right, making it 2-0 in the 37th minute. Malta were not given much time to respond, as just two minutes later, Spain won the ball in midfield, before falling once again to the FC Porto striker. Samu dribbled past the defence and tucked the ball away in the bottom corner to seal his hat-trick and make it 3-0.
The chances continued to mount right before half-time, with Javi Guerra having a shot from outside of the box hit the bar, while Hugo Bueno had a fine strike saved by Sacco. Despite Malta’s attempts, Spain would get their fourth on the brink of half-time, when a couple of ricochets in the Malta penalty area led to the ball falling to Samu, who tapped home his and Spain’s fourth.
The second-half started as the first ended, with Spain dominating play, with Malta having to make a number of last-ditch challenges to avoid conceding.
Spain’s fifth came in the 55th minute, when Peque carved some space in the Maltese penalty area and tucked it away to make it 5-0.
In the 60th minute, Malta made a rare flurry forward and after some neat play, the ball was fed through to Andrea Zammit on the break. However, his shot went narrowly wide after he was put under pressure from the Spanish defence.
Spain continued to dominate the play as the half continued, having most of the ball. In the 77th minute, they forced Malta into a loose pass between the defence, and Roberto Fernández was free to tuck it past Sacco to extend Spain’s lead to six.
In the closing stages, Malta started to put more pressure on the Spanish midfield, forcing them into a number of uncharacteristically sloppy passes. Despite this, Malta could not find a way to get through the Spanish defence, and the game finished 6-0.
Spain 13 Aitor Fraga (GK), 2 José Ángel Carmona, 4 Rafa Marín, 6 Javi Guerra, 9 Samu Omorodion (C) (11 Raul Moro 59′), 12 Yeremay Hernández (19 Roberto Fernández 59′), 14 Dean Huijsen, 18 Peque (10 Pablo Torre 70′), 20 Hugo Álvarez, 21 Marc Casado (8 Beñat Turrientes 79′), 22 Hugo Bueno (3 Javi Lopez 70′).
Malta 12 Hugo Sacco (GK), 2 Zean Leonardi, 3 Owen Spiteri, 6 Karl Mohnani, 10 Andrea Zammit (C) (11 Shaisen Attard 90+1′), 15 Mattias Ellul, 16 Jake Micallef (19 Nathan Agius 90+1′), 17 Sven Xerri, 18 Andy Borg, 20 Kurt Bondin, 21 Isaiah Chukunyere (22 James Vella 58′).
Referee: Georgi Ginchev BUL
Assistant referees: Georgi Doynov, Ivo Kolev BUL
Fourth official: Mariyan Grebencharski BUL
I keep saying it again and again. Unless we change the format of the Premier league, we will never improve the state of football in Malta. How many of these players play regularly week in week out throughout the year? I presume they have limited opportunities playing , let alone play for the national team. No experience, so we suffer. Have a look at the National team. How many players Malta adopted from other countries. We will soon finish with no local talent.