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The Times of Malta
June 7 2013
Resilient Malta stun Armenia
Friday, June 7, 2013, 17:18
by Kevin Azzopardi, Yerevan
ARMENIA-0, MALTA-1
Malta produced a resilient performance to defy the odds after beating
Armenia 1-0 for their first win in World Cup qualifying Group B.
Seeking their first point after losing their opening five qualifiers,
Malta were given no chance of denying Armenia who were chasing a win
to kickstart their faltering World Cup campaign but they were in for a
surprise.
Leading through Michael Mifsud's eight-minute opener, Malta weather
long spells of Armenian pressure, throwing bodies in the way of shots
and crosses to hold on to their advantage.
Mifsud' is likely to grab the headlines after netting the goal that
gave Malta their first competitive win away from home since the 1-0
win over Estonia in 1993 but all the players contributed to this
famous, hard-earned win, not least goalkeeper Justin Haber who was
imperious in goal.
It was anything but easy as Armenia pressed incessantly after falling
behind but Malta deserved their luck for a battling display that
earned them their first points in this qualifying campaign.
Pietro Ghedin's team selection featured no surprises as he sent out
the same team that started the 2-0 home defeat to Italy in March.
In defence, Luke Dimech and Jonathan Caruana occupied the two
centre-half roles while Alex Muscat began on the left and Ryan
Camilleri on the right.
Roderick Briffa and Gareth Sciberras were deployed in front of the
four-man rearguard with Edward Herrera and Clayton Failla on the wings
and Andrč Schembri behind captain Michael Mifsud, Malta's lone striker
in a traditional 4-2-3-1 approach.
Armenia were the brighter side in the early stages but it was Malta
who silenced the home crowd by taking an eighth-minute lead. Malta
broke forward with speed as Schembri passed to Sciberras who released
the speeding Mifsud who was clean through.
Armenia goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky repelled Mifsud's initial shot but
the Malta captain did not miss with his second attempt, lifting the
ball high into the net for his 37th goal in international football.
Stunned by Mifsud's opener, Armenia swiftly regained the initiative.
They were denied by Haber on 16 minutes as the Malta goalkeeper pushed
away a close-range header from Lazarian following a corner.
Malta, sporting white outfits, were quick to switch from defence to
attack as Schembri again released Mifsud but this time the Valletta
striker was crowded out by the home defenders.
Another fine Malta move unsettled Armenia's defence as the influental
Schembri released Herrera on the left. The Birkirkara speedster cut
into the box before playing a cross towards the far post where Mifsud
and Failla were unmarked by the latter headed over.
Armenia were seeing more of the ball but Malta were dangerous every
time they pushed forward on the counter.
At the back, Ghedin's men refused to wilt, Muscat blocking a dangerous
shot by Manucharyan before Haber pulled off a brilliant save to tip
Pizzelli's looping drive over the bar.
Danger loomed for Malta when, with six minutes of the first half
remaining, Mkhitaryan sped into the box after a free-kick was
deflected into his path but his diagonal effort was cleared.
Haber did well to fist away Manucharyan's corner but Armenia persisted
with their attack. Manucharyan jinked his way into the box before
sending in a perfect cross into the six-yard box but Lazarian headed
just over.
As the second half got underway, Armenia poured forward in search of
an equaliser.
Kamo Hovhannisyan made good progress on the right but his dangerous
cross was pawed away by the alert Haber.
The Malta goalkeeper than saved Ozbiliz's grounder from outside the box.
Ten minutes into the second half, Ghedin had to make his first
substitution after Sciberras suffered what looked like an arm injury
after falling awkwardly. Paul Fenech replaced his Birkirkara
team-mate.
Armenia threatened again when Ozbiliz's teasing free-kick sailed into
the crowded box and towards goal but Haber showed excellent reflexes
by keeping the ball out.
Caruana then headed away another menacing cross from Movsisyan as
Armenia upped the pressure.
Artur Sarkisov, who scored Armenia's winner when they beat Malta 1-0
in September, came on for Davit Manoyan. Sarkisov almost emulated his
scoring act as, seconds after entering the field, he ran on to
Pizzelli's through-ball but his strike hit the base of the near post.
Malta were hanging in. Hovhannisyan accelerated into the box but his
effort was blocked by the excellent Haber who repelled everything
Armenia were throwing at him.
The Birkirkara goalkeeper frustrated Armenia again with another fine
save from Ozbiliz's drive.
Mkhitaryan was wide with a free-kick and, four minutes from time,
Voskanyan hit wide after Ozbiliz's corner was deflected into his path.
In stoppage time, Caruana made a timely block to deflect Mkhitaryan's
shot over the bar.
In a statement shortly after the game, PN spokesman for sports Robert
Cutajar congratulated Malta on the result achieved.
Armenia
R. Berezovsky, V. Aleksanyan, T. Voskanyan, R. Arzumanyan, K.
Hovhannisyan, D. Manoyan (76 A. Sarkisov), K. Lazarian, A. Ozbiliz,
H. Mkhitaryan, M. Pizzelli, E. Manucharyan (46 Y. Movsisyan).
Malta
J. Haber, J, Caruana, G. Sciberras (57 P. Fenech), R. Camilleri, L.
Dimech, C. Failla, R. Briffa (85 R. Muscat), M. Mifsud (90+ T. Vella),
E. Herrera, A. Schembri, A. Muscat.
Referee Arnold Hunter (N. Ireland).
June 7 2013
Resilient Malta stun Armenia
Friday, June 7, 2013, 17:18
by Kevin Azzopardi, Yerevan
ARMENIA-0, MALTA-1
Malta produced a resilient performance to defy the odds after beating
Armenia 1-0 for their first win in World Cup qualifying Group B.
Seeking their first point after losing their opening five qualifiers,
Malta were given no chance of denying Armenia who were chasing a win
to kickstart their faltering World Cup campaign but they were in for a
surprise.
Leading through Michael Mifsud's eight-minute opener, Malta weather
long spells of Armenian pressure, throwing bodies in the way of shots
and crosses to hold on to their advantage.
Mifsud' is likely to grab the headlines after netting the goal that
gave Malta their first competitive win away from home since the 1-0
win over Estonia in 1993 but all the players contributed to this
famous, hard-earned win, not least goalkeeper Justin Haber who was
imperious in goal.
It was anything but easy as Armenia pressed incessantly after falling
behind but Malta deserved their luck for a battling display that
earned them their first points in this qualifying campaign.
Pietro Ghedin's team selection featured no surprises as he sent out
the same team that started the 2-0 home defeat to Italy in March.
In defence, Luke Dimech and Jonathan Caruana occupied the two
centre-half roles while Alex Muscat began on the left and Ryan
Camilleri on the right.
Roderick Briffa and Gareth Sciberras were deployed in front of the
four-man rearguard with Edward Herrera and Clayton Failla on the wings
and Andrč Schembri behind captain Michael Mifsud, Malta's lone striker
in a traditional 4-2-3-1 approach.
Armenia were the brighter side in the early stages but it was Malta
who silenced the home crowd by taking an eighth-minute lead. Malta
broke forward with speed as Schembri passed to Sciberras who released
the speeding Mifsud who was clean through.
Armenia goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky repelled Mifsud's initial shot but
the Malta captain did not miss with his second attempt, lifting the
ball high into the net for his 37th goal in international football.
Stunned by Mifsud's opener, Armenia swiftly regained the initiative.
They were denied by Haber on 16 minutes as the Malta goalkeeper pushed
away a close-range header from Lazarian following a corner.
Malta, sporting white outfits, were quick to switch from defence to
attack as Schembri again released Mifsud but this time the Valletta
striker was crowded out by the home defenders.
Another fine Malta move unsettled Armenia's defence as the influental
Schembri released Herrera on the left. The Birkirkara speedster cut
into the box before playing a cross towards the far post where Mifsud
and Failla were unmarked by the latter headed over.
Armenia were seeing more of the ball but Malta were dangerous every
time they pushed forward on the counter.
At the back, Ghedin's men refused to wilt, Muscat blocking a dangerous
shot by Manucharyan before Haber pulled off a brilliant save to tip
Pizzelli's looping drive over the bar.
Danger loomed for Malta when, with six minutes of the first half
remaining, Mkhitaryan sped into the box after a free-kick was
deflected into his path but his diagonal effort was cleared.
Haber did well to fist away Manucharyan's corner but Armenia persisted
with their attack. Manucharyan jinked his way into the box before
sending in a perfect cross into the six-yard box but Lazarian headed
just over.
As the second half got underway, Armenia poured forward in search of
an equaliser.
Kamo Hovhannisyan made good progress on the right but his dangerous
cross was pawed away by the alert Haber.
The Malta goalkeeper than saved Ozbiliz's grounder from outside the box.
Ten minutes into the second half, Ghedin had to make his first
substitution after Sciberras suffered what looked like an arm injury
after falling awkwardly. Paul Fenech replaced his Birkirkara
team-mate.
Armenia threatened again when Ozbiliz's teasing free-kick sailed into
the crowded box and towards goal but Haber showed excellent reflexes
by keeping the ball out.
Caruana then headed away another menacing cross from Movsisyan as
Armenia upped the pressure.
Artur Sarkisov, who scored Armenia's winner when they beat Malta 1-0
in September, came on for Davit Manoyan. Sarkisov almost emulated his
scoring act as, seconds after entering the field, he ran on to
Pizzelli's through-ball but his strike hit the base of the near post.
Malta were hanging in. Hovhannisyan accelerated into the box but his
effort was blocked by the excellent Haber who repelled everything
Armenia were throwing at him.
The Birkirkara goalkeeper frustrated Armenia again with another fine
save from Ozbiliz's drive.
Mkhitaryan was wide with a free-kick and, four minutes from time,
Voskanyan hit wide after Ozbiliz's corner was deflected into his path.
In stoppage time, Caruana made a timely block to deflect Mkhitaryan's
shot over the bar.
In a statement shortly after the game, PN spokesman for sports Robert
Cutajar congratulated Malta on the result achieved.
Armenia
R. Berezovsky, V. Aleksanyan, T. Voskanyan, R. Arzumanyan, K.
Hovhannisyan, D. Manoyan (76 A. Sarkisov), K. Lazarian, A. Ozbiliz,
H. Mkhitaryan, M. Pizzelli, E. Manucharyan (46 Y. Movsisyan).
Malta
J. Haber, J, Caruana, G. Sciberras (57 P. Fenech), R. Camilleri, L.
Dimech, C. Failla, R. Briffa (85 R. Muscat), M. Mifsud (90+ T. Vella),
E. Herrera, A. Schembri, A. Muscat.
Referee Arnold Hunter (N. Ireland).