Venezuela beat Malta 1-0 yesterday at Ta’ Qali in the first ever international match between the two countries. A Rondon header in the first half was all that diveided these two sides at the end of the 90 minutes. Venezuela were the better team but Malta was never outplayed by a better outfit.

In fact Malta never lost its composure and national coach Devis Mangia should be satisfied with the fare offered by the locals. Malta however lacked punch and did not create one single scoring opportunity.

The Latin Americans did not produce much either and apart from the goal scored had only a handful of attempts at goal, mainly from long distance. Mangia surely used this match for the forthcoming three matches in the UEFA Nations League, and gave three players their first cap, Garcia and Brown from the start and Veselji late in the game.

Malta had two players making their debut with the red jersey, James Brown and Matias Garcia. Mangia started with the usual set-up with three defenders, Enrico Pepe, Zach Muscat and Karl Micallef, with Ryan Camenzuli and James Brown on the flanks.

The other newcomer Garcia played in front of the defence with captain Guillaumier and Teddy Teuma in a more advanced position, supporting the main strikers Paul Mbong and Jake Grech.

Venezuela’s first attempt came on ten minutes with Bello’s well taken freekick saved by Galea. The South Americans started to dictate matters with Bello hitting well over the bar after a Murillo run on the right.

On 32 minutes a Paul Mbong dangerous corner was cleared in front of goal by Larotonda. Two minutes later Venezuela took the lead. Teuma lost a precious ball in midfield and the Malta defence was caught on the wrong foot with Soteldo floating a perfect cross for Rondon who headed home from close range. Four minutes later Galea saved an Osorio header from a Soteldo corner.

In the second half Mangia introduced Dunstan Vella and Steve Borg for Guillaumier and Pepe respectively. Venezuela continued to control the match with Sotaldo displaying exceptional skills.

The second half lacked goal mouth actions with the Jan Busuttil showing some good moves when he was introduced in the last quarter of an hour. The score did not change, Venezuela obtained victory but the locals’ display augurs well for Malta’s next and more important commitments.