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MALTA GO DOWN TO ARMENIA IN OPENING WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
Times of Malta
Sept 7 2012
Malta opened their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign on a negative
note after going down 1-0 to Armenia this evening at the National
Stadium.
Armenia deserved their win as they were the more creative side for
long stretches but had to wait until the final 20 minutes to score
what proved the winner.
After steering Malta to consecutive friendly wins over fellow minnows
Luxembourg and San Marino, coach Pietro Ghedin was unable to lead
the team to another positive result as the men in red turned in a
below-par performance which does not augur well for their trip to
Modena to face mighty Italy on Tuesday.
Experienced defender Luke Dimech was drafted into Malta's starting
line-up as Jonathan Caruana, who missed the 3-2 friendly win in San
Marino because of injury, had to make do with a place on the bench.
Malta coach Pietro Ghedin opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Michael
Mifsud leading the line.
Five minutes into the game, Marcos Pinheiro Pizzelli pounced on a
miscued clearance by Dimech but his effort was blocked.
A central shot by Roderick Briffa was then saved by Grevorg Kasparov,
the Armenia goalkeeper.
Armenia were the better side in the opening stages. They came close
to breaking the deadlock on 18 minutes when Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who
had gone close with a rising effort, made headway on the left before
sending a low cross that reached Levon Airapetian at the far post.
Airepetian fired an angled shot that finished inches wide.
Malta struggled to create openings for much of the first half as they
gave away possession too easily while Armenia were more dangerous,
particularly on the wings.
Malta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg did well to push away a dangerous corner
by Pizzelli. In a rare Malta counter-attack, Gareth Sciberras released
Daniel Bogdanovic on the right and the latter's attempt to cross
the ball to Mifsud was deflected by Hrayr Mkoyan who sent the ball
soaring over the crossbar.
Close to the half-hour mark, Armenia were unlucky not to forge ahead.
Movsisyan passed to Pizzelli inside the box and the latter rifled a
strong shot that cannoned off the near post and onto the leaping Hogg.
The ball soared tantalisingly across the goal-line but Alex Muscat
managed to hook it away.
Armenia remained in control. They threatened again when the ball
reached Mkhitaryan in the six-yard box but Steve Borg made a timely
tackle to dispossess the Armenia winger.
Late in the first half, Malta protested for a penalty when the
sprinting Mifsud appeared to have been pushed in the box as he tried
to run on to Andrew Cohen's intelligent pass from the left but Austrian
referee Rene Aisner allowed play to continue.
Five minutes into the second half, Dimech came to Malta's rescue
when putting his body in the way of Henrikh Mkhitaryan's angled drive
after the Armenia winger had made headway in the Malta box.
Moments later, Hogg denied Armenia as he parried away Aras Ozbiliz's
long-range strike.
As in the opening half, Armenian remained on top as Malta struggled
to cope with their opponents' speedy forays and aggressive defending.
It took Malta 16 minutes of the second half to fashion a chance.
Mifsud advanced in the Armenia box before crossing low for Andre
Schembri but the latter was closed down by two Armenia defenders.
Armenia took a deserved lead 19 minutes from time when Movsisyan sped
towards the byline down the left before passing to substitute Artur
Sarkisov who fired past Hogg from close range.
As the minutes passed by, Malta's hopes of an equaliser diminished
as Ghedin men's troubles to find some sort of fluency persisted.
Armenia came close to extending their lead through Mkhitaryan whose
initial effort, following a set-piece pass from Ozbiliz, took a
deflection and ended just wide of the near post. The Armenian winger
was then denied by Hogg who beat away his powerful effort from inside
the box.
At the other end, Steve Borg's cross-cum-shot from a wide position
was stopped by the Armenia goalkeeper.
Malta
A. Hogg, A. Muscat, G. Sciberras, A. Agius, L. Dimech, D.
Bogdanovic, R. Briffa (86 S. Bajada), M. Mifsud, A. Cohen ( 75 R.
Fenech), A. Schembri, S. Borg.
Armenia
G. Kasparov, S. Hovsepyan, R. Arzumanyan (80 V. Aleksanyan), H.
Mkoyan, A. Yedigaryan (53 D. Manoyan), H. Mkhitaryan, L. Airapetian,
A. Ozbiliz, M. Pizzelli (65 A. Sarkisov), Y. Movsisyan.
Referee Rene Aisner (Austria).
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120907/football/malta-go-down-to-armenia-in-opening-world-cup-qualifier.435982
Times of Malta
Sept 7 2012
Malta opened their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign on a negative
note after going down 1-0 to Armenia this evening at the National
Stadium.
Armenia deserved their win as they were the more creative side for
long stretches but had to wait until the final 20 minutes to score
what proved the winner.
After steering Malta to consecutive friendly wins over fellow minnows
Luxembourg and San Marino, coach Pietro Ghedin was unable to lead
the team to another positive result as the men in red turned in a
below-par performance which does not augur well for their trip to
Modena to face mighty Italy on Tuesday.
Experienced defender Luke Dimech was drafted into Malta's starting
line-up as Jonathan Caruana, who missed the 3-2 friendly win in San
Marino because of injury, had to make do with a place on the bench.
Malta coach Pietro Ghedin opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Michael
Mifsud leading the line.
Five minutes into the game, Marcos Pinheiro Pizzelli pounced on a
miscued clearance by Dimech but his effort was blocked.
A central shot by Roderick Briffa was then saved by Grevorg Kasparov,
the Armenia goalkeeper.
Armenia were the better side in the opening stages. They came close
to breaking the deadlock on 18 minutes when Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who
had gone close with a rising effort, made headway on the left before
sending a low cross that reached Levon Airapetian at the far post.
Airepetian fired an angled shot that finished inches wide.
Malta struggled to create openings for much of the first half as they
gave away possession too easily while Armenia were more dangerous,
particularly on the wings.
Malta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg did well to push away a dangerous corner
by Pizzelli. In a rare Malta counter-attack, Gareth Sciberras released
Daniel Bogdanovic on the right and the latter's attempt to cross
the ball to Mifsud was deflected by Hrayr Mkoyan who sent the ball
soaring over the crossbar.
Close to the half-hour mark, Armenia were unlucky not to forge ahead.
Movsisyan passed to Pizzelli inside the box and the latter rifled a
strong shot that cannoned off the near post and onto the leaping Hogg.
The ball soared tantalisingly across the goal-line but Alex Muscat
managed to hook it away.
Armenia remained in control. They threatened again when the ball
reached Mkhitaryan in the six-yard box but Steve Borg made a timely
tackle to dispossess the Armenia winger.
Late in the first half, Malta protested for a penalty when the
sprinting Mifsud appeared to have been pushed in the box as he tried
to run on to Andrew Cohen's intelligent pass from the left but Austrian
referee Rene Aisner allowed play to continue.
Five minutes into the second half, Dimech came to Malta's rescue
when putting his body in the way of Henrikh Mkhitaryan's angled drive
after the Armenia winger had made headway in the Malta box.
Moments later, Hogg denied Armenia as he parried away Aras Ozbiliz's
long-range strike.
As in the opening half, Armenian remained on top as Malta struggled
to cope with their opponents' speedy forays and aggressive defending.
It took Malta 16 minutes of the second half to fashion a chance.
Mifsud advanced in the Armenia box before crossing low for Andre
Schembri but the latter was closed down by two Armenia defenders.
Armenia took a deserved lead 19 minutes from time when Movsisyan sped
towards the byline down the left before passing to substitute Artur
Sarkisov who fired past Hogg from close range.
As the minutes passed by, Malta's hopes of an equaliser diminished
as Ghedin men's troubles to find some sort of fluency persisted.
Armenia came close to extending their lead through Mkhitaryan whose
initial effort, following a set-piece pass from Ozbiliz, took a
deflection and ended just wide of the near post. The Armenian winger
was then denied by Hogg who beat away his powerful effort from inside
the box.
At the other end, Steve Borg's cross-cum-shot from a wide position
was stopped by the Armenia goalkeeper.
Malta
A. Hogg, A. Muscat, G. Sciberras, A. Agius, L. Dimech, D.
Bogdanovic, R. Briffa (86 S. Bajada), M. Mifsud, A. Cohen ( 75 R.
Fenech), A. Schembri, S. Borg.
Armenia
G. Kasparov, S. Hovsepyan, R. Arzumanyan (80 V. Aleksanyan), H.
Mkoyan, A. Yedigaryan (53 D. Manoyan), H. Mkhitaryan, L. Airapetian,
A. Ozbiliz, M. Pizzelli (65 A. Sarkisov), Y. Movsisyan.
Referee Rene Aisner (Austria).
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120907/football/malta-go-down-to-armenia-in-opening-world-cup-qualifier.435982