Earlier tonight, Malta fell to a second consecutive defeat to Luxembourg, with the clinical hosts running away with a comfortable 3-0 victory to send Malta home with a 5-0 aggregate defeat. It was not Malta’s night who started brightly but conceded early to make the remaining part of the game a formality, especially after the expulsion of Joseph Mbong half-way the second half.
Luxembourg, unchanged from the first leg at Ta’ Qali, asserted control at key moments, while Malta head coach Emilio De Leo, overseeing his 12th match in charge, made two notable adjustments. Joseph Mbong returned from suspension to replace the injured Teddy Teuma, while Gabriel Mentz was preferred to Kurt Shaw in central defence. Defender Zach Muscat reached a milestone, earning his 80th international cap, Malta’s most experienced player in the squad.
Malta began on the front foot and threatened inside the opening 10 minutes. Joseph Mbong delivered a cross from the right that found Ilyas Chouaref, whose volley was well saved by goalkeeper Anthony Moris. Chouaref soon tested the hosts again with a curling effort that drifted narrowly wide, while Joseph Mbong fired over from distance as Malta looked to ignite hopes of a comeback.
However, against the run of play, Luxembourg struck first in the 20th minute with their initial chance. Danel Sinani’s delivery from the left found Vincent Thill in space, and the midfielder made no mistake, firing past Henry Bonello to give the hosts the lead. Malta attempted to respond, but Irvin Cardona’s header from a Matthew Guillaumier set piece failed to trouble Moris.
Malta were handed a lifeline just before the interval when Sinani’s penalty, awarded after Joseph Mbong fouled Leandro Barreiro, was saved splendidly by Bonello, keeping the deficit at a single goal heading into the break.
But any hopes of a resurgence were short-lived. Five minutes into the second half, Luxembourg capitalised on a defensive error, with Christopher Martins intercepting possession and setting up Sinani to double the advantage. The tie was effectively sealed midway through the half when Joseph Mbong received a second yellow card for a foul on substitute Sebastien Thill, reducing Malta to ten.
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
Leave a Reply