by Malta and Belarus finished their commitments in the Visit Malta International Friendlies tournament in a tense affair that ended in a 1-1 draw. Alishia Sultana gave Malta an early lead in the second-half, but Belarus earned the draw at the death thanks to substitute Iana Artishevskaya. Rachel Cuschieri and Iana Artishevskaya gave their thoughts on the match. Coach Manuela Tesse and Yuri Maleev gave contrasting assessments, while Tesse was also probed about her sending off.
Team Selections
Malta’s Janice Xuereb started in goal, protected by an unchanged defence in Valentina Rapa, Stephania Farrugia, Charlene Zammit and Ann-Marie Said. Brenda Borg and Shona Zammit continued their stay in midfield, in the company of captain Rachel Cuschieri. Haley Bugeja and Alishia Sultana provided the width to Maria Farrugia in attack.
Natallia Vaskabovich started in goal for Belarus. She was protected by a quartet consisting of Hanna Kaziupa and Aryna Sitnikava in the centre of defence, flanked by Valeryia Bohdan and Yullya Sliasarchyk. Karyna Alkhovik and Nastassia Shuppo slotted on the wings, while Valeryia Belaya and Hanna Sas stood in midfield. Hanna Pilipenka supported Melana Surautsava in attack.
Deadlocked Despite Chances
Belarus started on the front foot with a corner in the third minute. However, Malta’s defence stood strong. Malta responded with a free-kick opportunity as Haley Bugeja was brought down by Yulya Sliasarchyk, but were unable to work the short routine.
The home team were the first to create a major opportunity in the 11th minute. Alishia Sultana pressed well, winning the ball from the defence before curling a cross into Haley Bugeja. Malta’s number twenty-one fired first time, forcing a parry from Natallia Vaskabovich, before Rachel Cuschieri fired a second shot that the goalkeeper held.
Belarus responded immediately with a big opportunity for themselves as Nastassia Shuppo cut inside on the right wing before attempting to find the far corner with a low shot. Janice Xuereb parried away, which Hanna Pilipenka attempted to rebound home, but only finding the side-netting.
The two teams continued in balance, with each side trying to take control of possession. Belarus hit a bit of luck as Maria Farrugia wriggled free from a couple of challenges, before crossing into the box, but the ricochet off the defence landed safely in Natallia Vaskabovich’s hands.
Haley Bugeja spurred Malta’s forward response close to the half-hour mark, crossing into the box but Brenda Borg was unable to make contact despite being in full-stretch. Alishia Sultana attempted to keep the attack alive at the far post but Natallia Vaskabovich clutched ahead of her. The team in red continued surging forward, with Maria Farrugia and Haley Bugeja combining once more. The latter cut inside for the shot but the goalkeeper was untroubled by the pace.
Belarus attempted to make something with a delivery from Nastassia Shuppo on the right flank, but Rachel Cuschieri headed away to safety. The team won a cheap free-kick which was well defended by the wall set up by Janice Xuereb. Haley Bugeja burst forward on the counter but Belarus’ Hanna Kaziupa read the ball to deny Malta a free-run on goal. The away team was unable to get purchase on successive corners, sending the teams into the break locked level.
Half-Time Score: Malta 0 – 0 Belarus
Sultana’s Goal Cancelled by Artishevskaya
The second half got off to a chaotic start as Malta’s coach Manuela Tesse was shown the red card just five minutes into the half. The Italian was furious at Belarus for not throwing the ball out for Maria Farrugia to receive treatment, after she fell into the ground following an incident in the Belarus’ final third. Malta’s coach was shown red as she and Belarus’ coach Yuri Maleev exchanged heated words across the dugouts, with Malta’s assistant coach Dionne Tonna taking the reins in her stead.
Despite the situation, Malta managed to break the deadlock with a devastating transition in the 58th minute. Haley Bugeja cut inside in midfield, finding Brenda Borg in acres of space, who completed the switch to Alishia Sultana. The number nine surged on the right wing before lobbing a ball which ended in the far corner of the net, sending the home crowd on their feet.
Yuri Maleev responded with his first changes in the 65th minute, making a triple switch. Darya Maniukova swapped with Valeriya Belaya, while Iana Artishevskaya was replaced by Melana Surautsava. There was another change at left wing, as Anastsiya Kavaliova replaced Karyna Alkhovik.
As had been the case throughout the match, things continued to unfold in a tense affair and certainly not resembling much of a friendly fixture. Malta were in game management mode which frustrated the Belarussian team, resulting in Hanna Pilipenka ending up in the book as Alishia Sultana hit the deck again. Brenda Borg was next to see yellow for a high boot.
Meanwhile, the two dugouts were urging their teams on as the stop-start match continued. Stephania Farrugia showed good strength against newly introduced Iana Artishevskaya, with the Maltese defender shielding the ball to deny a clear scoring opportunity and ultimately winning the free-kick in the box. Yuri Maleev responded with another swap as Volha Kapysha took to the pitch instead of Valeryia Bohdan.
The two teams created half-attacks, at either end but neither were able to fully trouble the defences. Rachel Cuschieri looked set to create another deadly transition after winning the ball in midfield. With three players in support, the skipper attempted to release Maria Farrugia, but the door was shut by Aryna Sitnikava, keeping her team in the match.
Malta’s Rebecca Bajada was the first to be introduced for the home team for the final ten minutes, replacing Valentina Rapa at right-back. Malta then freshened up the attack by bringing on Jade Flask in the centre of attack in the final few minutes. She replaced Alishia Sultana pushing Maria Farrugia onto the right wing. Meanwhile, Yuri Maleev completed the shift to a 4-3-3 with the introduction of Anastasiya Maher, who replaced Hanna Sas.
The home team were not resting on their laurels and still sought to create something going forward, with Haley Bugeja releasing Jade Flask wide. However, the cross was gobbled up by Natallia Vaskabovich. As the match drew into five minutes of injury time Maria Farrugia cut inside onto her left to fire shot, but it was deflected enabling Natallia Vaskabovich to make an easy catch.
Instead, Belarus continued their fight to find an equaliser and were rewarded in the third minute of injury time. Substitute Iana Artishevskaya was released behind, before placing a left-boot, sending the ball rolling as if in slow motion into the far right side-netting, silencing the home crowd while engulfed by her teammates in earning the team a draw right at the death.
Final Score: Malta 1 – 1 Belarus
Post Match Reactions
Rachel Cuschieri & Iana Artishevksaya
Malta’s captain on the night, Rachel Cuschieri, provided her assessment of the performance, “I think today we were better than in the match against the Faroe Islands in terms of improving our intensity of the game. At the end of the day, I think we were the better team, but unfortunately we conceded the goal in the last minute.”
Asked to give her thoughts on leading the team throughout the tournament, standing in for the injured captain Emma Lipman, Cuschieri replied, “It is a big honour. It’s been a dream of mine to be the captain of my national team and it was a bit of an overwhelming feeling. I hope I led by example and that I made the team proud.”
Meanwhile, Belarus’ goalscorer Iana Artishevskaya was elated to come off the bench and produce the response for the team late on, “I’m happy that I managed to score, this is a positive experience. I want to acknowledge the team who showed character and fought until the end. Even though the match ended in a draw, I want to also acknowledge the home team who showed a really good game and I really believe that they deserved a good result, but perhaps in a sense this is still a good result.”
Coaches Have Their Say
Malta’s coach Manuela Tesse praised her team for the performance, “We played good football. We knew that they are very fit and very fast, and like to go direct with long-balls over the top. However, I think as a small country we showed that if we have good organisation and players do what we ask, we can do well in these matches. I am very happy. It is a bit difficult because they drew in the last three minutes, and it’s always difficult to concede late. However, Belarus is close to thirty places higher-ranked than us, I think the players showed a lot of fight and they showed exactly what we put in training. So, I’m very proud.”
The coach rejected the notion that the late goal had anything to do with the intensity taking its toll, “No, it was the only one channel we did not cover. In the end, they were attacking with around six players, and we had been fighting all game.”
Belarus’ coach Yuri Maleev was critical of certain refereeing decisions, “I cannot say that the game was a real true fight and maybe there were some decisions of the referees which did not correspond to the flow of the game. There were a lot of stoppages as well and maybe that wasn’t too good for the game itself. Although we have international referees, the game could be easier to play when other decisions are taken.”
The Belarus’ coach continued with his assessment of the match, “We struggled to play with the wind in the first half despite it favouring our attack. In the second half, we played against the wind but we played low which helped us and the substitutions made a good difference to get the draw.”
However, Maleev contrasted with Tesse, viewing his team as the stronger contenders in the match, “I really liked the end of the game when we managed to score the goal, but overall I would say that we had the initiative during most major parts of the game. The goal we conceded was a bit funny generally speaking, maybe a mistake, but generally speaking we could win this match.”
Asked about the sending off, Manuela Tesse apologised but nodded to the support of her assistant coach Dionne Tonna and veteran player Dorianne Theuma, who acted in her stead, “I’m sorry to leave the team alone, but they were not alone because there was Dionne Tonna. We work together all year and we are always on the same page. Also, Dorianne here she is a player, but she has a lot of charisma and is also a coach, so she supported in this situation as well. They did well.”
Reflecting on the situation, Tesse continued, “Perhaps I was a little nervous because our player was on the floor with a head injury and I was not happy that they did not put out the ball. The Belarus coach was shouting with me, and I responded, and maybe since the officials are Italian they understand only me. Maybe my passion is too high, but I feel I need to play the game with the team, this is my style.”
Having earned a win and a draw, Manuela Tesse summed up the whole tournament as a positive one, “I think this is the right way and we are playing at a good level. We have to keep going. I know I did not give too many minutes to the fringe players, but I explained to them that this is not a friendly match. I am very happy Rebecca (Bajada) came in today and Jade Flask got more minutes. The important thing is that players now continue to play well in the league, because I do not have players for a long time. They have to fight and play well with their club, but of course we monitor and are always there to support.”
Asked to give his thoughts on the tournament for his team, Yuri Maleev finished by nodding to his past relationship with Malta, having played in the country in the nineties. He praised the organisation committee and the Malta Football Association for the organisation of the tournament.
The match concludes the Visit Malta International Friendlies tournament, following the earlier contest between Albania and the Faroe Islands. Players will return to their clubs, while coaches take stock of their showings until the UEFA Women’s Nations League EURO Qualifications phase draw is held on March 5th.
Lead Image: Dorienne Grech
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