Barbara the hero as vibrant Malta stop Bulgaria

National Stadium - Ta' Qali
Malta 1
Bulgaria 1

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Extraordinary. Tiny Malta stood up and demanded the respect of the world of football yesterday as another vibrant performance was rewarded with a 1-1 draw against Bulgaria in their final World Cup 2006 qualifier.

It was the second drawn outcome for the national team in just over a month after an identical 1-1 stalemate against Croatia on September 7.

The difference this time was that Malta's feat in holding a strong nation such as Bulgaria was not overshadowed by ugly scenes of violence as was the case when Croatian fans ran riot at Ta' Qali last month.

Indeed, the sight of our players celebrating on the pitch and then with national coach Horst Heese, who could not have received a better gift on his farewell, is bound to stay lodged forever in the memory of the thousands who were at the National Stadium.

The point collected took Malta's tally to three and although the team failed to leapfrog second-from-bottom Iceland, it should still be regarded as a significant achievement for our team.

Etienne Barbara has had a chequered international career so far but he was the toast of Heese and the entire nation when sliding home the equaliser that sent the enthusiastic home crowd into raptures.

The initiative to hand out inflatable sticks to the fans proved a hit. The noise created allied with the lively entertainment put up by a host of local singers made for a unique atmosphere.

In the packed Millennium Stand, a group of children unfurled a large Malta flag as the teams strode out of the tunnel for kick-off to an unusually deafening reception.

Gilbert Agius's last-minute inclusion in the squad had instantly given way to suggestions that Heese could spring a surprise by fielding his skipper from the start.

As it turned out, Heese resisted the temptation to throw Agius straight in the thick of things after a long lay-off. Instead, the responsibility of protecting Malta's back four befell George Mallia.

Having fallen behind players like Agius, Ivan Woods, Orosco Anonam and Massimo Grima in the pecking order, this was a golden opportunity for Birkirkara midfielder Mallia to press his claim for more regular action.

Other changes in the initial formation saw defenders Ian Ciantar, Luke Dimech and Ian Azzopardi all making a return to first-team action to replace the injured Kenneth Scicluna, Claude Mattocks and Anonam.

For Bulgaria, Celtic's Stilian Petrov was absent through suspension while goalkeeper Georgi Petkov was injured. Valeri Bojinov, the exciting Fiorentina forward for whom a very short spell with the Pietà Hotspurs' youth team launched him into big-time football, gained a berth on the starting grid.

Coach Hristo Stoichkov had to watch the game from the VIP area as he is currently serving a touchline ban. Petar Hubchev took Stoichkov's place.

Inside the first minute, Roderick Briffa had moved past Martin Petrov on the right before crossing for Andrew Cohen, Malta's attacking spearhead, who could only direct a weak shot that ended wide of the near post.

On 10 minutes, Peter Pullicino squared the ball for Cohen who exploited his agility and pace to drift past Elin Topuzakov but his shot flew high.

Bulgaria then started to dominate possession and even managed to put the ball into Malta's net when skipper Dimitar Berbatov volleyed home a Petrov cross but the 'goal' was disallowed for offside.

Midway through the first half, Malta had a glorious chance to take the lead.

A Briffa corner was partially cleared but only as far as Woods who chipped the ball back into the box. Skipper Brian Said was quick to lift the ball to his right where Steve Wellman, scorer of the equaliser against Croatia, delayed his finish and his effort was eventually cleared in two attempts.

Combining grit in defence and midfield with some crafty movement from the likes of Briffa, Woods and Cohen, Malta began to ask questions of Bulgaria's three-man defence much to the delight of the crowd, perhaps one of the biggest seen for an international match in the last decade.

Goalkeeper Justin Haber had been prominent with solid interception work to stop low crosses from Petrov and Kishishev.

Ten minutes from the break, Berbatov received a pass on the left and served Petrov on the other side but the latter's drive came off the gutsy Ciantar.

Petrov, who plays for Atletico Madrid, was the most productive influence for the visitors with his intelligent probing down the left.

The red-shirted players did well to block a Berbatov free-kick on the stroke of half-time, the rebound was picked up by Georgi Iliev who sent a low shot wide.

Two minutes into the second half, a fluid move saw Woods switching the ball with Pullicino who slipped a through-pass to Cohen but the latter was anticipated by Kolev.

At the other end, Ciantar came to Malta's rescue when hooking over the line a goalbound Berbatov effort. From the corner, taken by Zdravko Lazarov, a half-time substitute for Petrov, Bojinov's header was driven away by Azzopardi.

Bulgaria's crisp passing began to take effect as Stoichkov's men turned up the pressure on the home side. Haber distinguished himself with a crucial save from a fierce Lazarov shot.

On the hour, Emil Gargarov supplied a cross towards the centre which was met by Berbatov whose grounder was parried by Haber.

Malta did get a glimpse of Bulgaria's goal when Woods panicked goalkeeper Kolev into a hasty clearance but Pullicino's shot from the left went wide.

Bulgaria's second-half ascendancy procured a goal on 67 minutes, Yankov fired the ball past Haber at the near post after receiving Iliev's cut-back at the end of another persistent move.

After Antoine Zahra had replaced Azzopardi, Heese effected his second substitution, Barbara replacing Woods on 71 minutes.

It took Malta some time to get to grips with being in disadvantage but a fine pass from Mallia in the direction of Cohen helped to lift optimism. Cohen's shot from the edge of the area was deflected away but in their next attack, Malta drew level.

Barbara exchanged passes with Cohen, darted into the area and tucked the ball beneath Kolev after pouncing on a deflection from a Bulgarian defender.

The stadium erupted with joy as Barbara was mobbed by his team-mates.

Pullicino then curled the ball wide after receiving from Barbara whose strength and penchant to run at defenders clearly breathed new life into Malta's attack.

As the minutes trickled by, contrasting feelings of tension and enthusiasm crept into the fans who dearly wanted Malta to hold on to the draw.

Substitute Martin Kamburov headed high but from menacing counter-attacks, Malta could have forced a winner had Barbara's piledriver not ended wide.

'Team has solid base for future'

Horst Heese could not hide his delight while addressing journalists in his aftermatch comments. He said the result was the fruit of sheer determination from his players.

Last night's match was the last one for the German coach but he is now confident that two years of hard work were not wasted and the foundations are there for the national team to prosper.

"I never expected Bulgaria to be so aggressive at the start," he said. "Some may have thought they could lack motivation for this match but I think differently.

"I was worried we could not keep up with their rhythm for the entire match but the boys astounded me, I must say. We matched Bulgaria in all areas of the pitch and never feared their threat in attack.

"This shows that the progress is now consistently on the up and our previous results were no fluke.

"Sadly, this was my last match but I'm happy that there's a formidable group of players in the squad now. This team can really play well and achieve more results of this sort.

"I will be leaving soon but I promise to be back for the team's next match. Malta has a special space reserved in my heart. I want to see the team doing well and maintaining the same levels shown tonight."

Etienne Barbara: "I did not have enough stamina for more minutes in the match because I was coming from injury.

"However, it was a must for us not to lose this match. I could not describe my feelings after I scored... the goal is a gift to the coach."

Malta: Justin Haber, Ian Ciantar, Ian Azzopardi ('65 Antoine Zahra), Roderick Briffa, Brian Said, Luke Dimech, Stephen Wellman, Peter Pullicino, Andrew Cohen ('89 Massimo Grima), Ivan Woods ('71 Etienne Barbara), George Mallia.

Bulgaria: Stoyan Kolev, Radostin Kishishev ('86 Martin Kamburov), Valentin Iliev, Chavdar Yankov, Dimitar Berbatov, Valeri Bojinov ('63 Blagoy Georgien), Mihail Venkov, Martin Petrov ('46 Zdravko Lazarov), George Iliev, Elin Topuzakov, Emil Gargarov.

Referee: Vitaliy Godulyan (Ukraine Fa).

Scorers: Yankov 67; Barbara 78.

Yellow Cards: Iliev; Petrov; Zahra.

Attendance: 6,500.

Malta players' ratings:

Haber-7.5, Ciantar-7, Azzopardi-6.5, Briffa-8, Said-7, Dimech-7, Wellman-6.5, Pullicino-7, Cohen-7, Woods-7.5, Mallia-6.5.

Subs: Zahra-7, Barbara-7.5, Grima-no vote.