Malta suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Norway yesterday evening at the Ulleval Stadium in Oslo.

It was the first of two matches to be played in five days with Bosnia-Herzegovina being the next opponents on Wednesday in Sarajevo.

The Maltese yesterday faced an aggressive Norwegian side, but despite all their pressure, Norway only made sure of their victory with two quick goals between the 73rd and 79th minute and this only after a sudden collapse by the Maltese defence which committed two mistakes which ended in the two goals.

However, it was a merited victory for the home side who must have enjoyed 70 per cent of possession throughout the 90 minutes.

Coach Dusan Fitzel left Justin Haber on the bench giving Mario Muscat of Hibs the chance to return as the No. 1 in a competitive match. And, as expected, Stephen Wellman also return to the side after a long absence through injury, taking the suspended Luke Dimech's place in the heart of the defence while Kenneth Scicluna played on the flank replacing another suspended player, Roderick Briffa.

It was Malta who threatened first through Michael Mifsud. He advanced from midfield but his shot from the edge of the area was saved in two attempts by Opdal.

Soon after, Norway replied with a John Carew header that was splendidly saved by the returning Mario Muscat. In between these two actions Norway appealed for a penalty when Wellman appeared to have handled the ball in the area, but the Polish official waved play on.

Norway pressed continuously hammering the Maltese into their own half. The home side dominated and merited their lead on the half hour. B. Riise crossed into the area where Haestad was completely unmarked to head past the helpless Muscat into the net.

Malta had a good chance to level matters on 40 minutes when off a Sammut corner, the ball went to Mifsud who hit over the bar from a good central position.

At the start of the second half, Norway threatened twice within two minutes. First it was Jon Arne Riise who tested Muscat with the Malta goalie tipping the ball over the bar. A few moments later, John Carew hit the upright with Muscat beaten.

Norway maintained the initiative, and they turned their superiority into goals between the 73rd and 79th minutes as the Maltese defence collapsed under their pressure.The home side scored twice through Helstad and Iversen after two glaring lapses by the Maltese defence.

And on 90 minutes, it was Liverpool's John Arne Riise who completed the scoring with one of his usual left-footed bombshells from just outside the area.

The three points keep Norway within striking distance of the leading duo, Turkey and Greece.

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Malta: M. Muscat, K. Scicluna, B. Said, S. Wellman, I. Azzopardi; G. Agius, J. Pace, K. Sammut (I. Woods); G. Mallia; M. Mifsud (E. Barbara), A. Schembri (D. Bogdanovic)

Norway: Opdal, Hagen, Hangeland, JA Riise, Andresen, Storbaek, Pedersen (Brenne), B. Riise, Haestad (Braaten), Iversen, Carew (Helstad).

Referee: J. Granat

Scorers: Haestad, Helstad, Iversen, J. A. Riise

Yellow cards: G. Mallia