Degabriele’s last goal earns Malta a well-deserved point in Cyprus
CYPRUS 2
Papoulis 6; Sotiriou 80
MALTA 2
Muscat 54; Degabriele 90
CYPRUS
N. Michael, S. Andreou (78 I Pittas), C. Soteriou, M. Antoniades, M. Demetriou (85 P. Psaltis), G. Kastanos, C. Kyriakou (79 A. Gogic), N. Ioannou, F Papoulis (85 N. Panagiotou), P. Sotiriou, L. Loizou (60 A, Kakoulli).
MALTA
H. Bonello (82 J. Galea), Z. Muscat, E. Pepe, S. Borg (57 K. Shaw), R. Camenzuli, T. Teuma, T. Caruana, C. Attard, P. Mbong (70 S Dimech), J. Grech (70 J. Degabriele), L. Montebello.
Referee Dennis Higler (Netherlands).
Karti sofor Andreou, Demetriou, Teuma, Sotiriou.
Jurgen Degabriele’s goal in the depth of stoppage time earned Malta a challenging point against Cyprus to not only bolster their hopes of avoiding last place in Group H but also equal their best points in f qualification campaign.
It seemed that Malta had to suffer a frustrating defeat when a goal by Pieros Sotiriou ten minutes from the end put Cyprus 2-1 up in Monday’s World Cup qualification.
But the Maltese players refused to throw in the towel because despite losing goalkeeper Henry Bonello and defender Steve Borg to injury they continued to fight and their efforts were rewarded with Degabriele’s dramatic equalizer.
The Maltese players should deserve all the praise by showing a great character to fight themselves back in the match after falling behind after only six minutes of play after some sloppy defense.
But they gradually began to impose themselves more in the match and their efforts were rewarded when Zach Muscat headed home the equalizer early in the second half.
From then on, the Maltese looked like they were growing in the match and started threatening the Cypriot defense more.
However, it was the home team that hit when in a fast counterattack it was Sotirou who put Cyprus 2-1 up.
But it was Malta who had the last word with Degabriele catching the equalizer in the seventh minute of stoppage time to give the team a deserved point that raised them to a five-point mark and remain a place on Cyprus at the bottom and equal to the best balance in a qualifying campaign previously achieved during Euro 2008.
Anyway, the most encouraging factor from this match is the never-ending attitude shown by the Maltese players who will now hope to end the World Cup qualifying campaign on a positive note when they face Croatia and Slovakia.
Mangia made four changes to the team that lost 4-0 against Slovenia. Steve Borg was remembered for defending three men on the team at the expense of Kurt Shaw. Midfielder Triston Caruana started off for Steve Pisani while Ryan Camenzuli was restored to the right role as Joseph Mbong was serving a one-game ban. Jake Grech was initiated at the expense of Shaun Dimech.
Malta was off to a bad start as Cyprus took just six minutes to take the lead.
The Maltese struggled to finish with the ball from behind with a pass from Triston Caruana intercepted by Chambos Kyriakou who quickly gave the ball to the unmarked Fotis Papoulis who turned the ball around after diving Henry Bonello.
After that early shock, the Maltese players tried to get back together and managed to break a few openings in the middle of Cyprus but the final step left much to be desired.
Malta finally had the first shot on target in the 31st minute when Luke Montebello served Jake Grech on the right channel but Hibs’ midfielder’s shot was too central to worry goalkeeper Neofytos Michael of Cyprus.
Eight minutes from the break, the Cypriot goalkeeper charged out of his goal to intercept a long pass and headed the ball straight into Montebello. But the Birkirkara striker completely missed his lob attempt with the ball blocked by the local team’s defense.
After the break, Mangia withdrew to Caruana and roped in Steve Pisani while looking to add more steel to his team’s engine room.
It was Cyprus who created the first chance of the second half when Marious Demetriou sped clear on the right and crossed the ball to Loizos Loizou who headed wide.
Malta managed to restore parity in 54 minutes. Teuma served Jake Grech whose shot was deflected to a corner. Pisani’s cross was deflected by Zach Muscat who headed in the net. For the Casa Pia defender this was his first goal for the national team.
The Red Jersey players could smell victory in the air after 58 minutes. Steve Borg limped off the field and was replaced by Kurt Shaw.
Twenty minutes from the end, Jurgen Degabriele and Shaun Dimech replaced Jake Grech and Mbong. Degariele almost left his mark when he was selected into space by Montebello but was blocked by Kastanos.
From the corner, taken by Pisani, Michael was lucky to see his bad clearance come out of the upright before the Cypriots cleared.
Cyprus threatened in the 76th minute when Demetriou found Sotiriou who was dismissed by diving Bonello.
The home side put themselves ahead 1 – 2 after 79 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from Kakkouli, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing.
Bonello was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. Jake Galea replaced him.
In stoppage time Malta almost caught the dramatic draw, when from another Pisani corner Teuma’s shot was blocked for a corner.
When it appeared that Cyprus held on to the victory, it was Malta who caught the equalizer with practically the last shot of the match.
In the seventh minute of stoppage time, from a Teuma free-kick, the ball was turned into the net by Degabriele to the delight of the Maltese players who rushed to celebrate in the final whistle under the stand where the members of the South End Core the fans were starting their celebrations.
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