by Türkiye repeated their opening 3-0 win over Malta through an own goal, Ece Türkoğlu and Selen Altunkulak, controlling the final League B fixture as Malta’s campaign ended without a point. Maria Farrugia offered the hosts’ clearest route forward, while senior debuts for Nyorah Celeste and Amy Catania provided positives on a night still shaped by the heavier picture of Malta’s second League B campaign ending without making the step hold.
Team Selections
Manuela Tesse stuck with Maya Cachia in goal. Tammy Falzon partnered the returning captain Emma Lipman in defence, with Alexandra Gatt shifting to the right-back position. Shona Zammit continued to operate at left-back. Emma Flannery started in defensive midfield, with Rachel Cuschieri and Brenda Borg given licence to venture further forward. Kailey Willis led the attack, flanked by Maria Farrugia and Jade Flask.
Meanwhile, Necla Güngör started Gamze Yaman in goal behind the quartet of İlayda Civelek, Eda Karataş, Kezban Tağ and Fatma Sakar. Cansu Kaya operated in front of the defence with Selen Altunkulak and captain Ebru Topçu orchestrating further forward. Miray Cin and Melike Pekel operated out wide, while Ece Türkoğlu was the lone attacker.
How It Unfolded
Malta’s UEFA Women’s European Qualifiers League B campaign ended without a point after a 3-0 defeat to Türkiye at the Centenary Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The result mirrored the opening fixture of the group, when Türkiye had also beaten Malta by the same scoreline. This time, the setting was different and the campaign had already told its story. Malta were confirmed to be returning to League C, while Türkiye arrived in Ta’ Qali with second place secured and the look of a team that had made the higher level hold.
That difference gradually showed.
The opening exchanges were slow, with neither side looking to force the rhythm too early. Malta attempted to play out from the back with confidence, while Türkiye were happy to allow the first passes before engaging higher and winning possession well enough in midfield. The visiting support provided much of the early noise from the stands which set the tone for the evening.
The first clear moment brought the opening goal. On the seventh minute, a cross from the right caused problems in the Malta box and Alexandra Gatt turned the ball into her own net. The finish came almost in slow motion, giving Türkiye the early advantage before one of their own players had found the scoresheet.
The visitors threatened again four minutes later when Melike Pekel delivered dangerously from the right, but Miray Cin could not get over the header from close range.
Malta’s first encouragement arrived on the 12th minute through Maria Farrugia, who for long spells looked like Malta’s clearest route forward in a front line short of pace, with Kailey Willis’ height used as the main link up front. The forward drove at Türkiye, cut inside with numbers beginning to arrive and showed quick feet to enter the box before finding Brenda Borg, whose shot was blocked.
A minute later, Fatma Sakar was shown yellow by referee Sabina Bolic, giving Malta the opportunity to deliver from the left wing. There were moments of willingness from the hosts in that spell, with Malta prepared to take some risks in possession and work the ball down the flank, but Türkiye still carried the cleaner threat when the ball turned over.
Maya Cachia was required on the 20th minute, turning the ball behind at the near post. The corner reached the far post, where Brenda Borg deflected it for another set-piece, before Cachia collected the next delivery in the air.
By the half-hour, possession had settled more firmly with Türkiye. Malta were not being placed under relentless pressure, and Cachia was being reasonably shielded, but the visitors had control of the match’s pace. That suited Malta in one sense, with the contest not running away from them immediately, but it also underlined the difficulty of their task. The hosts were staying in the game, compact against Turkish possession with Rachel Cuschieri and Brenda Borg retreating to support alongside Emma Flannery in front of the defence. However, the hosts were not yet finding enough pressure to pull themselves back into it.
Malta dealt with a Türkiye corner, before Kailey Willis appealed for a penalty at the other end after the hosts tried to break forward. Referee Sabine Bolic was unmoved. Shona Zammit, continuing at left-back after being moved into the role during the campaign, showed good initiative to support the attack on the flank, but Malta again found no reward.
The warning signs became clearer shortly after. Türkiye nearly punished a misplaced pass at the back and though Malta escaped on that occasion, the second goal arrived on the 38th minute. İlayda Civelek’s low cross from the right was allowed to travel across the box, where Ece Türkoğlu placed home unmarked from close range. It was a simple finish giving Türkiye the cushion their control had been moving toward.
Before the interval, the visitors continued to look for direct routes into Melike Pekel, particularly when Malta’s full-back position was dislodged. At the other end, Maria Farrugia’s frustration was visible as Malta struggled to get enough support around her when the chance to break appeared and individual attempts to take on the defence continued to be thwarted by the visitors.
Eda Karataş then struck the post on the 43rd minute, though the offside flag would have ruled out the effort. Malta reached the break two goals down, still close enough by scoreline, but without having imposed themselves enough to suggest the momentum had turned.
Half-Time Score: Malta 0 – 2 Türkiye
Türkiye made two changes at half-time, with Halle Houssein and Kader Hancar replacing Cansu Kaya and Ece Türkoğlu.
The third goal came on the 52nd minute and effectively closed the contest. Civelek again caused problems from the wide area, delivering from the left for Selen Altunkulak to convert with a precise near-post touch. The goal followed a familiar pattern, with Türkiye continuing to find value through the width of the pitch.
Malta had a chance to deliver into the box two minutes later after Kailey Willis earned a foul on the right wing. Maria Farrugia stood over the free-kick beneath the loud visiting support, but Gamze Yaman collected in the air to applause from the Türkiye fans, who were keen for their side to preserve the clean sheet as Malta continued the trend of struggling to threaten from set-pieces.
Cachia was needed again soon after, turning the ball behind at the near post before Türkiye worked the corner short to Halle Houssein, whose shot from distance went wide. Necla Güngör then changed both wings on the 57th minute, with Vildan Kardeşler and Melike Öztürk replacing Melike Pekel and Miray Cin.
The changes kept Türkiye fresh in the areas where they had already found joy. On the 59th minute, Cachia palmed over a drive from Ebru Topçu, before the resulting delivery curved out behind the far post. Melike Öztürk then looked to make her mark as Malta struggled to play out, but her effort toward the far top corner fizzed over the crossbar.
Türkiye continued to find space. On the 63rd minute, Öztürk was released into another good position but drove over the bar, missing the chance to add further weight to the scoreline.
At that stage, Malta were struggling to get anything going in attack. The midfield could not impose itself for long enough, and the forward line was often left working from isolated moments rather than sustained service. Maria Farrugia tried her luck from distance on the 67th minute, giving Yaman something to deal with, but Malta had not emerged from the interval with the response they would have wanted.
Manuela Tesse turned to the bench on the 70th minute, making a triple change. Alexandra Gatt, Brenda Borg and Jade Flask made way for Emma Xuereb, Nicole Sciberras and Nyorah Celeste, with Celeste making her senior Malta debut.
Tammy Falzon was booked on the 76th minute for a loose challenge, with Kader Hancar scooping the resulting free-kick over the bar from the left side of the box. Two minutes later, Amy Catania also came on for her senior debut, replacing Falzon after being called into the squad following the injuries to Haley Bugeja and Maya Lucia.
Türkiye made their final change on the 79th minute, as Ece Tekmen replaced Fatma Sakar. Malta followed with another substitution on the 84th minute, Veronique Mifsud replacing Emma Flannery.
There was a late push from Malta with the flanks put to good use. Nyorah Celeste was released following working a combination with Emma Xuereb though shown the line, while on the opposite flank Shona Zammit provided a positive injection once more as Malta sought to make a final set-piece pay off. However, Turkey dealt with the delivery, before Rachel Cuschieri struck from distance with the ball falling just beyond the far post. It was a rare moment of shooting space in a second half where Türkiye had largely kept Malta at arm’s length.
The visiting support continued to push their team toward the finish, louder than a home crowd that had little to hold onto by the closing stages. Türkiye saw the game out with control, completing another 3-0 win over Malta and ending the group in the manner of a side comfortable in its League B footing, as Malta were left to ponder a second League B campaign ending without a point.
Final Score: Malta 0 – 3 Türkiye
Lead Image: Brandon Bonett
Stay up to date by following The Sporting Fan on social media: Instagram ~ Facebook ~ X
