Malta fell to a 6-0 defeat on Friday despite producing a brave display at the Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer, with Germany proving to be too strong for Coach Davide Mazzotta’s side.
Germany came close to opening the scoring in the fifth minute, as the ball fell to Mert Kömür in the penalty area, yet his shot was smartly saved by Karl Sargent.
Minutes later, just as Malta were starting to impose themselves more on the ball, the opening goal for Germany came. Tom Bischof made an excellent run down the middle, before stroking the ball into the bottom corner with a left-footed strike.
The home side came forward again in the 16th minute, when the ball was presented to Aljoscha Kemlein, yet his shot was brilliantly stopped by Sargent yet again.
Despite the German pressure, Malta still looked good on the ball, and in the 17th minute after some efficient pressing and link-up play, Andrew Borg fed a pass to Shaisen Attard, but his shot was blocked.
Malta held Germany out for large parts of the half, denying them space in behind. However, the home side eventually doubled their lead, as a neat pass found Karl Lennart, who carved some space before tucking it into the net.
Germany pressed the Maltese backline in the final few minutes of the half, but the away side’s defence stood strong, and the score remained 2-0 at the break.
Malta made a brave start to the second half, seeking to contest every ball. In the 51st minute, an excellent pass from Jake Azzopardi found Keyon Ewurum, who after dribbling into the penalty area laid it off to Jake Grech, yet his shot was blocked.
However, Germany remained on the front foot, and just minutes later, they had a powerful header smack against the woodwork, before the rebound was put over the bar. In the 53rd minute, Sargent was called into action, making a stunning double save to deny the home side a third goal.
The backline would be breached again in the 63rd minute, when Bischof let loose from long range, and his strike sailed into the net to make it 3-0. Bischof would get another goal just moments later, with another left-footed shot that went into the bottom corner. Lennart added to the scoring in the 67th minute, with a left-footed shot that went into the corner.
Malta tried to respond, when Basil Tuma raced through on goal in the 68th minute, yet his shot was saved by Mio Backhaus and turned away for a corner.
Tuma was proving to be a threat in behind, making a number of excellent runs. In the 77th minute, he made another darting run, and when faced with the goalkeeper, saw his strike from a tight angle go narrowly wide into the side netting.
Tuma ran through again in the 81st minute, and he crossed the ball towards Sean Gatt, yet he could not find the back of the net with his header.
Malta were made to pay in the 86th minute, as Germany made it six with Muhammed Damar’s strike being deflected into the goal.
Malta remained confident in their play, looking to play through the German backline even in the final moments. Despite their best efforts, the match finished 6-0 to Germany, with the young Maltese side putting on a spirited performance, yet the home side proved too strong.
Malta will be in action again on Tuesday 18th November when they take on Latvia at the Centenary Stadium, with kick-off at 19:00hrs.
Germany
12 Mio Backhaus (GK), 3 Lukas Ullrich, 4 Finn Jeltsch (7 Anton Kade, 66’), 5 Nnamdi Collins, 6 Tom Bischof (C), 9 Nicolo Tresoldi (11 Nelson Weiper, 66’), 15 Joshua Quarshie, 16 Aljoscha Kemlein (10 Muhammed Damar, 66’), 18 Mert Kömür (17 Arijon Ibrahimovic, 78’), 20 Ilyas Ansah (19 Dzenan Pejcinovic, 66’), 21 Karl Lennart
Coach: Antonio Di Salvo
Malta
1 Karl Sargent (GK), 4 Jake Vassallo, 5 Kean Scicluna, 6 Andrew Borg (18 Daniel Letherby, 71’), 7 Shaisen Attard (21 Sean Gatt, 78’), 9 Basil Tuma (11 Nathan Cross, 83’), 10 Jake Grech (8 Lucas Caruana, 71’), 14 Keyon Ewurum (20 Joshua Pitts, 71’), 16 Jake Micallef (C), 17 Jake Azzopardi, 18 Benjamin Hili
Coach: Davide Mazzotta
Referee: David Fuxman (ISR)