Malta suffered another late setback on Sunday evening as Slovakia scored deep into stoppage time to secure a 2-1 victory in an international friendly at the DAC Arena in Dunajská Streda.
The hosts made a bright start and took the lead after just nine minutes through Lukáš Haraslín, placing Malta on the back foot early in the encounter.
Despite the setback, Emilio De Leo’s side responded positively and found an equaliser in the 37th minute. Recently crowned MFA Player of the Year, Joseph Mbong finished confidently after being picked out by an excellent cross from Zach Muscat on the right flank.
Malta continued to compete well against their higher-ranked opponents and looked set to earn a valuable draw. However, history repeated itself as the national team once again conceded in the dying moments of the match.
With seven minutes of added time already played, Slovakia snatched victory through Galčík, breaking Maltese hearts and condemning the visitors to a narrow defeat.
The result will be particularly frustrating for Malta, who have developed an unfortunate habit of conceding crucial goals late in matches despite producing disciplined and competitive performances for long periods.
Attention now turns to Malta’s second and final friendly of the June international window. The national team will face Azerbaijan on Friday in Hungary, with kick off scheduled for 20:00, before the players begin their summer break.
Whilst the performance showed encouraging signs against strong opposition, the inability to see out positive results remains an area Malta will need to address as preparations continue for future competitive fixtures.
Colin Fitz
Perfectly put. The fundamental issue that needs to be fixed.