We all expected a victory, but in the end, we were trembling with the possibility of defeat: Slovenia didn’t shine in Malta, but Benjamin Šeško saved the day
Photo: Nogometna zveza Malte
The Slovenian national team had a less than desirable result in their first preparatory match of the year, as the small island nation of Malta even took the lead for a while and ultimately secured a historic draw. It was the first time that the team with the Triglav emblem received two goals in one match against the mentioned national team or had to chase a deficit.
Somewhat surprisingly, the hosts threatened early on when Paul Mbong attempted a header, but his effort was comfortably saved by Jan Oblak. The first real chance for our boys came in the 13th minute when Tomi Horvat set up Benjamin Šeško nicely, but unfortunately, the latter didn’t strike the ball well. Four minutes later, Jure Belkovec tried from the left side, but his curling cross hit the crossbar. In the 22nd minute, a well-worked corner resulted in a shot by Andraž Šporar, but the home defense successfully blocked it.
Malta finally succumbed in the 27th minute when, following a major error by the home goalkeeper Herny Bonello, Šporar slotted the ball into the unguarded part of the net.
In the second half, the hosts again threatened first, in the 53rd minute, when Paul Mbong seized a good opportunity after a mistake in the midfield, but his shot was excellently cleared into the corner by Vanja Drkušić. Then, following a play from what was actually Malta’s first corner of the match, there came a kind of a shock, as Vida Belc, who entered the game at halftime, scored from about twenty-five meters, beating the home captain Matthew Guillaumier. Three minutes later, after another Slovenian mistake in the midfield, Malta earned a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area, which was converted into a goal and an unthinkable lead by Stephen Pisani.
Our boys responded with a volley from Šeško, but the home goalkeeper managed to save it. Slovenes finally awoke after falling behind and started putting pressure, which paid off in the 81st minute when Horvat spotted Šeško unmarked in the middle, and he leveled the score with a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area. Until the final whistle, we mainly witnessed skillful Maltese time-wasting at every possible touch, so unfortunately, our boys failed to seriously threaten anymore, hence the final score remained 2:2.
Another opportunity to prove themselves will come on Tuesday, when Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo at the helm will visit the sold-out Stožice Stadium.
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
National Team
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