Prso double breaks Maltese resistance in Zagreb

Croatia 3
Malta 0

With the score still goalless 20 minutes into this match at the Maksimir Stadium, my erstwhile fragile confidence increased by a few notches.

Despite being forced on the back foot from the outset of this daunting away match to Croatia, Malta held on well in the opening stages of the first half but, as so often happens when our national team plays, their resistance was undermined by an avoidable goal.

After Dado Prso, such a committed performer for Croatia these days, kicked the door open on 24 minutes, the hosts maintained domination over a Maltese team whose initial promise was clearly tarnished by Prso's breakthrough.

Malta came here with limited ambitions, something to be expected considering the gulf in quality between the two teams. They battled gamely for most of the time but their collective technique was nowhere near that of Croatia.

Heese again strung five men in midfield to try and limit the damage from the Croats, now top of Group Eight on 13 points.

His now customary 4-5-1 module inevitably reduced Malta's chances of creating a semblance of an attacking threat but yesterday it also failed to serve its purpose of frustrating Croatia in midfield.

For most of the match, Croatia were in cruise control but it also has to be said that Malta's best patch came midway through the second half after Ivan Woods was drafted in for Massimo Grima.

Pre-match indications suggested that skipper Gilbert Agius was in danger of losing his place but as reported in The Times yesterday, Heese had left it late to put the finishing touches to his starting XI.

As it turned out, Agius kept hold of his place in midfield, Heese's axe falling on Woods who made way for new kid on the block Grima.

For Croatia, Darijo Srna was ruled out with suspension.

Local rivalry between Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, arguably the two biggest clubs in Croatia, was highlighted when prior to the match, a section of the fans whistled and booed when the stadium announcer read out the name of Niko Kranjcar, the son of the national coach, who turns out for Hajduk.

After six minutes, Rangers' striker Prso got behind Peter Pullicino on the right and squared for Ivan Klasnic whose attempt at goal was deflected away by Ian Azzopardi, one of Malta's best players yesterday.

Croatia sought to spread the ball across the width of the pitch to try and open up the Maltese defence. A rising shot by Niko Kovac, of Hertha Berlin, sailed wide of Haber's goal.

The first time Malta broke out dangerously was after 13 minutes when Stefan Giglio advanced down the inside-right channel but former Juve defender Igor Tudor got in to hook the ball away for a corner.

Almost immediately after, Haber was relieved to see the ball rolling away from the danger zone after he failed to hold a thunderous shot from Klasnic. The Malta goalkeeper then effected a fine save to tip away a Niko Kovac free-kick.

When Prso managed to nip bet-ween Said and Dimech close to the halfway line, danger beckoned Malta but Azzopardi, a doubt at first due to a slight muscle injury, sprinted back to dispossess Klasnic with a timely tackle.

Understandably, the home team enjoyed large swathes of possession but Malta were well organised and rarely gave anything away.

All this changed when Robert Kovac, positioned close to the centre circle, directed a speculative cross into the Malta goalmouth where the unmarked Prso outjumped the hesitant Haber and headed the ball towards the far corner of net. This came after 24 minutes.

Close to the half hour, Malta mustered their first shot at goal through Claude Mattocks. Goalkeeper Tomislav Butina saved with ease.

Home pressure and another defensive mistake brought a second goal 10 minutes from half-time.

Unmoved by the torrent of insults from the Dinamo Zagreb die-hards, Kranjcar profited from a miscued clearance from the Maltese defence and sprinted unimpeded towards goal before dragging the ball wide towards the far post where Prso flashed in like a bullet to bury the ball home.

The neat passing of the Croats on the edge of the penalty box and Prso's predatory qualities were causing Malta endless problems.

On the stroke of half-time, Prso pounced on a loose ball inside the area and served Klasnic but the volley from the Werder Bremen forward ended wide. Earlier, Sammut should have done better than putting in a poor cross after Butina's clearance dropped into his path.

Then, in a rare attack, Agius whipped in a cross towards the far post but Marko Babic intervened before Said could conclude.

Grima's first competitive start for Malta lasted 45 minutes as Heese brought on Woods. The Valletta defender, lauded by the national coach before the game, had been prominent with a couple of headed clearances but toiled to come to terms with the pace and movement of the Croatia midfielders whose direct running with the ball at their feet made life uneasy for our players.

Croatia may have made it 3-0 two minutes after the restart when Klasnic centred for Prso who was blocked in the nick of time.

Fourteen minutes into the second half, Pullicino sent in a cross but Mifsud's desperate attempt to hit the ball ended well away from goal.

However, Malta were lucky not to fall further behind when Prso, again afforded plenty of space on the right, fed substitute Ivica Olic who skewed the ball high and wide.

Said's evening was cut short by injury on the hour. George Mallia came on with Stefan Giglio now switched to centre-back.

Woods' graft and mobility in midfield looked to have given Malta extra breathing space as it relieved some of the screening burden from skipper Agius. This helped Malta enjoy a spell of ascendancy in the middle part of the second half.

Agius tried to cross the ball for Mifsud but the Lillestrom striker could only slice the ball wide before making space for Etienne Barbara halfway through the second half.

Ten minutes from time, Olic capitalised on a tame Pullicino clearance but Haber rushed out to keep out the danger. But from the ensuing corner, Tudor controlled the ball inside the box before hammering a firm grounder past Haber.

Croatia's incessant pressure in the final stages was interrupted by a brilliant run from Barbara who outfoxed three defenders on his way towards goal but Butina charged out and just managed to deflect past the near post the Malta striker's effort.

Aftermatch comments

Malta coach Horst Heese was not downcast after the match.

"My players gave their best and I'm satisfied with their contribution," he said. "Taking into consideration the level of our football vis-à-vis the competitive leagues the Croatian players take part in on a regular basis, I think the result was not that bad after all."

Heese was particularly pleased with the second-half performance and acknowledged that substitute Ivan Woods left a positive effect.

"Woods was full of energy and helped the team a lot, especially in the defensive phase. We knew it would be difficult to sustain the tempo of the game for 90 minutes. But, when Woods came in, he eased some of the pressure off his team-mates."

Asked by The Times which of the three leading teams in Group Eight he considers the strongest, Heese said: "I cannot say who from Croatia, Sweden or Bulgaria is the most powerful but for us, Sweden are the most difficult side to play against."

Croatia coach Zlatko KranjCar said he was glad to see his team winning 3-0 and move top of the group.

"We reached our goal and won another three points after beating Iceland last week," he said.

"Now we're first ahead of Sweden in the group. Goals are not easy to get in such qualifiers but seven in two games is not bad I suppose."

Croatia: Tomislav Butina, Stjepan Tomas, Robert Kovac ('46 Ivica Olic), Igor Tudor, Ivan Leko, Marko Babic, Dado Prso, Niko Kovac ('77 Jurica Vranjes), Ivan Bosnjak ('68 Mario Tokic), Ivan Klasnic, Niko Kranjcar.

Malta: Justin Haber, Peter Pullicino, Ian Azzopardi, Kevin Sammut, Brian Said ('61 George Mallia), Luke Dimech, Gilbert Agius, Stefan Giglio, Michael Mifsud ('68 Etienne Barbara), Massimo Grima ('46 Ivan Woods), Claude Mattocks.

Referee: Costas Kapitanis (Cyprus).

Scorers: Prso 24, 35; Tudor 81.

Yellow Cards: Agius, Mattocks.

Attendance: 12,000.