Malta had to come from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Hungary after a tense international friendly filled with action at both ends of the pitch.
The game had a relatively scrappy start, with both sides having an equal share of possession.
Malta came close to working an opening in the first few minutes, when a neat pass found Haley Bugeja, who tried to find Brenda Borg, yet the pass was just too heavy and ended up being calmly collected by Hungary goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy.
Hungary started to attack more as the half wore on, and were looking particularly dangerous when cross from the wings, yet the Maltese defence remained resilient, having to make a number of crucial blocks and interceptions inside their own penalty area.
In the 24th minute, Hungary came very close to opening the scoring, when a threaded through ball found Diána Csányi, yet she put her effort narrowly wide. This was followed by another opportunity in the 33rd minute, as Malta tried to play out from the backline, yet they presented the ball to the Hungarian midfield, and Henrietta Csiszár tried her luck with a shot from outside of the box, yet it was excellently saved by Malta goalkeeper Giulia D’Antuono to keep it goalless.
Malta had to contain plenty of pressure from Hungary in the closing stages of the half, yet they remained strong in defence, and the two sides went into the break with the game at 0-0.
Hungary got the breakthrough just a minute after the second-half started, as cross from the left flank found Henrietta Csiszár, who volleyed the ball into the net past the goalkeeper to open the scoring.
Malta were awarded a penalty in the 53rd minute, when a well-worked move from the home side found Maria Farrugia, who was tripped in the penalty area. Haley Bugeja stepped up, and finished it off the post to level the scoring for Malta.
Hungary came close to regainining their lead in the 59th minute, as they found space in midfield before feeding the ball to Csányi, yet her effort was brilliantly saved by D’Antuono. This was followed by another opportunity in the 62nd, again from Csányi, but the Maltese goalkeeper once again denied her opponent, this time with a fingertip save to turn it away for a corner.
The next major opportunity came in the 84th minute, as a free-kick from Hungary from the right was swung into the box, yet it was tipped onto the bar by D’Antuono, denying Hungary from going in front.
Despite the Hungarian pressure, the Maltese defence remained strong, and the game finished in a 1-1 draw, after a spirited display from Malta.
Malta
1 Giulia D’Antuono (GK), 2 Gabriella Zahra (9 Kailey Willis 46′), 4 Emma Lipman (C) (3 Jessica Dimech 85′), 10 Maria Farrugia (7 Ylenia Carabott 90+2′), 11 Maya Lucia, 14 Shona Zammit, 16 Charlene Zammit, 17 Brenda Borg, 18 Emma Xuereb, 20 Nicole Sciberras, 21 Haley Bugeja
Coach: Manuela Tesse
Hungary
1 Lauren Brzykcy (GK), 3 Henrietta Csiszár (C) (6 Evelin Fenyvesi 69′), 5 Emőke Pápai (7 Zsanett Kaján 69′), 8 Viktória Szabó (4 Cecília Mészáros 80′), 10 Anna Csiki (13 Viktória Nagy 80′), 15 Diána Németh, 16 Diána Csányi (23 Kinga Siklér 85′), 17 Hanna Németh, 18 Laura Kovács, 19 Dóra Zeller, 21 Fanni Nagy
Coach: Alexandra Szarvas
Referee: Maria Marotta (ITA)
Source: MFA
Photo: MFA
