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Malta gain deserved victory over Gibraltar in friendly

Published: 07-10-2020 18:55
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INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY – 7 October 2020, National Stadium, Ta’ QaliMALTA           2GIBRALTAR  0(HT 1-0)K. Nwoko 8, T. Caruana 90 Malta scored a goal in each half to beat Gibraltar 2-0 this evening in a friendly match ahead of the two away matches in the UEFA Nations League Andorra and Latvia. It was a well-deserved win for the team led by coach Devis Mangia who opted to experiment with a much-changed starting line-up, resting many established players. True to his word, Mangia used this match to try out new players with four making their senior debut – goalkeeper Jake Galea, of Sliema Wanderers, Balzan defender Samir Arab, 19-year-old Valletta midfielder Shaun Dimech (Valletta) and Joe Muscatt. of German outfit SC Paderborn. The first half was a balanced affair with Malta making the better start, albeit goalmouth action was rare. In the eighth minute, Malta took the lead. A measured free-kick from the right by Ryan Camenzuli was headed past Gibraltar goalkeeper Kyle Goldwin by the unmarked Kyrian Nwoko. Unfortunately, the Malta scorer had to leave the pitch injured on 38 minutes and was replaced by Luke Montebello. While Gibraltar tried to gain ground, Malta remained in control. The game was livelier in the second half, also producing six yellow cards. In the 53rd minute, Galea made a good save on an attempt by experienced substitute Liam Walker. Another substitute, Graeme Torrilla, could have done better from close range after a corner action but his attempt just missed target. This was all during a period that the visitors had more ball possession but without really troubling the home side with the Maltese enjoying a late flourish. It was Malta who killed off all hopes for a Gibraltar equaliser as in the 90th minute as substitute Triston Caruana made it 2-0 with a fine header after a wonderful cross from the left from Jake Grech, giving goalkeeper Goldwin no chance.  MALTAJ. Galea, R. Camenzuli (P. Mbong 60), A. Agius (S. Borg 46), K. Shaw, S. Arab (T. Caruana 46), M.Guillaumier, J. Muscatt (C. Attard 87), R. Muscat, S. Dimech (M. Beerman 60), J. Grech, K. Nwoko (L. Montebello 38)  GIBRALTARK. Goldwin, A. Mouelhi, J. Olivero, E. Barnett (L. Annesley 46), A. Pons (L. Casciaro 63), E. Jolley (M. Badr 49), J. Sargeant, S. Wiseman, J. Coombes (G. Torrilla 46), K. Ronan (L. Walker 46), R. Styche (T. De Barr 50).  YELLOW CARDSS.Borg, J.Muscatt, L.Montebello (M), M.Badr, J.Sergeant, S.Wiseman (G)  Referee: N. Popov (Bulgaria)