Slovakia’s second half tempo breaks down Malta’s resilience
The harsh reality for Malta is that this fifth World Cup qualifier has ended in another defeat, this time going 3-1 down to Slovakia.
Malta had matched their opponents for long spells and it helped, perhaps, that they gave the impression that they believed they could take something from this home game against strong opponents ranked 25th in the world.
Even if there always the threat that Slovakia’s speed and directness could down a depleted Malta defence, the locals should not be disappointed with their own contribution to the game. Even Slovakia’s early lead failed to unsettle the locals who played at par in the first half and even managed to get a temporary equaliser after a shocking start.
The introduction of Marek Hamsik in the second half, allowed Slovakia to play with more fluidity and allowed them to take the points that really matter.
Slovakia’s goals on the night came from two efforts from a distance and another late strike when enjoying numerical superiority.
Malta played with five defenders and four midfielders.
Sam Magri looked calm and assured alongside Zach Muscat and Ryan Camilleri whereas Cain Attard and Joseph Zerafa were naturally suited to the wing-back roles. Paul Fenech was positioned alongside Gareth Sciberras to give the team some midfield security. Luke Gambin and Andre Schembri had the licence to interchange positions, behind striker Jean Paul Farrugia who was perhaps the ony surprise pick in Malta’s initial line-up.
Sciberras, playing his last international match, after announcing his retirement, wore the captain’s armband for the evening.
A surprise omission from Slovakia’s starting line-up was that of their talisman Marek Hamsik who started on the bench and went into the match five minutes into the second half.
Coach Jan Kozak played with a 42-3-1 formation, with their back four comprising Pekarik and Hubocan as wide backs and Skriniar and captain Skrtel as their central defenders.
Gregus and Kucka kept cover in front of the defence with Hrosovsky, Mak and Weiss supporting their more advanced player Adam Nemec.
Weiss was always their point of reference, wide on the left flank, allowing Hubocan to make constant overlaps from the back.
Malta were on the backfoot as early as the second minute when Slovakia opened the scoring. Vladmir Weiss dangerously cut towards the middle to pick Nemec’s pass on the edge of the Malta area, took aim and unleashed an unstoppable shot at the top left hand corner.
Malta were shocked but stayed compact according to the coach’s instructions. Slovakia held on to possession, passing the ball from one side to the other but could find no gaps to create more damage.
Malta were handed a lifeline short of the quarter hour as Slovakia were caught in a moment of slackness at the back. Schembri got the better of Skriniar on the right, played the ball square to Jean Paul Farrugia who calmly beat keeper Kozacik with a low drive to restore equilibrium.
That goal evidently gave the Maltese more confidence as they stayed calm and never looked in danger of conceding as Slovakia hardly produced a threat. Hubocan’s low shot from a distance missed the target after 19 minutes.
Malta showed up into enemy territory past the half hour. Gambin’s hopeful low cross from the byeline on the right was cleared by Skrtel into a corner, which resulted unproductive for Malta.
But if the Maltese thought they were in control of the proceedings, they were disabused of that notion four minutes before the break when another shot from a distance ended in the Malta goal.
Weiss played the ball wide to Jan Gregus whose low drive, from some 25 metres out, caught keeper Hogg stretching himself fractionally late to hold out.
With halftime looming, Schembri had a low shot blocked by goalkeeper Kozacik.
Marek Hamsik, going in for Mak after 50 minutes, soon became influential for Slovakia in the second half. His floating free kick towards the hour was headed by Nemec against the bar but the forward was flagged for offside.
Slovakia still struggled to create clear chances though. Ghedin brought on Bjorn Kristensen for Gambin on 73 minutes.
Only six minutes later, the match took another twist in Slovakia’s favour when Farrugia was sent off. The Malta striker played the ball with his arm as he intercepted the goalkeeper, chasing a high ball inside the Slovakia area, before putting it into the net.
Worse for the locals, Ryan Camilleri injured his arm and coach Ghedin was forced to put in Clifford Gatt Baldacchino instead.
Slovakia took only five minutes to exploit their numerical superiority. Substitute Duris started the move from the back, playing the ball forward to Hamsik who put Adam Nemec clear to slide the ball past keeper Hogg to put their minds at rest.
A second bookable offence on Muscat, had Nemec also sent off for Slovakia on the stroke of time, but with three minutes of added time and Malta looking demoralised, Slovakia helde out with a degree of comfort, and also threatened when Hamsik had his shot footed out by Hogg into a corner for the last action of the match.