After three defeats against the tiny Faroe Islands, Malta finally managed to beat their opponents after a 3-2 hard earned win. Malta dominated the first half and looked set for an easy victory taking a three goal lead by the end of the first half. But in the second half the Maltese eased the pressure and Faroe Islands grew in composure and scored two goals in the last eleven minutes of the match, with the Maltese struggling to hold on to their slender but precious lead.

The match was dominated by the relatively strong winds that swept across Ta' Qali yesterday with the Maltese making full use of this in the first half, and the Faroe Islands doing likewise in the second. Pietro Ghedin started with Hogg in goal, Andrei Agius and Jonathan Caruana as central defenders with Clayton Failla and Alex Muscat on the flanks. In midfield John Mintoff played a blinder, with Ryan Fenech scoring a gem of a goal, and with captain Michael Mifsud adding another

one to his impressive tally with the red shirt. The match played in a practically empty national stadium had a rather slow start with the Maltese however in full command of the game. After 12 minutes Andrew Cohen's attempt was well saved by the Motherwell goal- keeper Gunnar Nielsen. However the Faroe Islands custodian could do nothing to stop Ryan Fenech's powerful drive on 18 minutes, with the long distance missile of the Valletta midfielder rocketing in the top corner of the net – for a great goal indeed. Two minutes later the same Ryan Fenech gave an inch perfect long ball towards Michael Mifsud, and the Malta captain did all the rest dribbling past Justinussen and Jacobsen before beating Nielsen with a precise grounder. The Maltese lads were now in the driving seat and controlled the match with some effective possession foot- ball. On 28 minutes Hogg had to dive to save a powerful drive from Klettskaro, the opponents' most dangerous man upfront. Four minutes from time Malta made it three with a great goal. A short corner taken by Andrew Cohen towards Andre Schembri, who passed towards Roderick Briffa who in turn again found Cohen whose cross in the centre found Jonathan Caruana completely un- marked, and the Valletta defender blasted the ball home from three metres.

It was a well executed move with first time passes that was delight to watch. Just before the break Faroe Islands came close with a Klettskaro drive missing the base of the upright by a whisker. On the resumption Faroe Is- lands took the initiative with the Maltese protecting their comfortable lead. Goal mouth actions were scarce with Udsen shooting slightly over the bar on 59 minutes and with Nielsen blocking Mifsud with a daring sortie. On 77 minutes Hogg made the best save of the match when he dived to save a scorcher from Vatnsdal. Two minutes later the Maltese defence was caught napping and Hallur Hansson hammered the ball from an ideal position. The Faroe Islands grew in composure with the Maltese losing confidence and on 87 minutes Rogvi Baldvinsson found his way in the vast empty spaces left by the Malta mid- field and beat Hogg from a distance with the ball hitting the base of the up- right with the ball finishing at the back of the net. The last three minutes and the five minutes of stoppage time were a nightmare for the Maltese lads as the Faroe Islands threw everything desperately forward, creating some havoc and some anxious moments in front of Hogg. But the Malta fort resisted the final onslaught with the boys in red finishing year 2013 on a positive note after the two recent dismal performances against the Czech Republic and Denmark.