Malta registered its first win in Group G of the European Qualifiers as a goal by substitute Jake Grech enabled Emilio De Leoβs side to beat Finland 1-0 a the Olympiastadion in Helsinki on Friday.
A win which enables Malta to leapfrog Lithuania to move fourth in the group on five points, two ahead of the Baltic state.
With Ryan Camenzuli and Teddy Teuma ruled out through suspension, De Leo opted to start with Zach Muscat and Paul Mbong. Andrea Zammit made his debut when he was included as a substitute late in the game.
Photos courtesy of Malta FA
Finland went in search of an early goal and were unlucky not to take the lead after just three minutes when off a cross from the left, Ryan Mahuta headed the ball in the direction of Benjamin Kallman whose first attempt hit the foot of the upright before having an attempt cleared off the goal line by Shaw.
The hosts continued to hold the initiative with the Malta custodian performing saves on Pohjanpalo and Antman.
Eight minutes in the second half, Henry Bonello performed a brilliantt save, turning into a corner a Marhiev effort from inside the area.
On 71 minutes, Bonello came to the rescue once again, blocking a low shot by Altman following a good solo effort by the latter. Six minutes later, Lod had a shot from the right deflected into a corner.
Malta managed to take the lead on 82 minutes. Ilyas Chouaref concluded a good move on the left flank with an assist for substitute Jake Grech who slotted the ball past goalkeeper Sinisalo.
FINLAND Viljami Sinisalo, Juho Lahteenmaki, Miro Tenho, Leo Walta, Olivr Antman (78β Top Keskinen), Adam Marhiev ()73β Naatan Skytta), Kaan Kairinen, Ryan Mahuta (73β Oiva Jukkola), Benjamin Kallman (78β Teemu Pukki), Joel Pohjanpalo (61β Robin Lod), Ville Koski.
MALTA Henry Bonello, Kurt Shaw, Matthew Guillaumier, Joseph Mbong (65β Adam Magri Overend), Paul Mbong (79β Jake Grech), Irvin Cardona (88β Andrea Zammit), Enrico Pepe (88β Jean Borg), Ilyas Chouaref, Juan Corbalan, Zach Muscat (79β Gabriel Mentz), Alexander Satariano.
Referee: Julian Weinberger AUT
Assistant Referees: Maximiliian Kolbitsch, Michael Obritzberger AUT
Fourth Official: Stefan Ebner AUT
VAR: Alan Kijas AUT
Assistant VAR: Christian-Petru Ciochirca AUT
After the unfortunate home defeat to Finland, I guess Lady Luck felt it was time to balance things out. π
A single dangerous attempt was enough, mostly thanks to Bonello’s excellent performance. Although Joseph Mbong seems like the best player on the right flank, Magri Overend really made a difference when he came on, injecting some much needed energy into the team.