From the start, our team dominated the field. Emina Ekić had the first chance in the third minute, but poorly responded to Amela Kršo’s cross at the far goalpost. In the 14th minute, Minela Gačanica shot just wide of the goal. The best opportunity for the BiH team came in the 20th minute when Kršo tried heading a ball following Gačanica’s cross, but that didn’t change the score. Malta had their only first-half chance in the eighth minute through Bugeja after a corner kick.
The second half began with two great chances for Gačanica. First, she missed a shot from within a box in the 52nd minute, and then in the 54th minute she failed to capitalize on the home goalkeeper’s poor reaction at the far goalpost. Maria Farrugia had a chance to punish our team’s missed opportunities in the 84th minute, but her shot went over the goal. Finally, in the 88th minute, Bosnia and Herzegovina secured a deserved victory with Milena Nikolić’s header from the box, following a cross from Kršo on the left side.
Coach Selver Hodžić commented the match: “A very tough game indeed, the first half was certainly at a great level. I think we were the better team, and we had some opportunities we didn’t take. In the second half, we came out with the idea to press our opponent even more, expecting them to weaken physically as time went on. In the end, we managed to score and secure a well-deserved victory.”
The She-Dragons will play their next qualifier against the same opponent in Zenica on June 4th at 4:00 PM.
Malta vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina 0:1 (0:0 HT)
Venue: Centenary Stadium, Ta'Qali
Referee: Emily Heaslip (England)
Goal: 0:1 Milena Nikolić (88’)
Yellow Cards: Marija Aleksić, Emma Lipman, Kailey Willis
BiH lineup: Almina Hodžić, Gloria Slišković, Marija Ana Milinković, Melisa Hasanbegović, Selma Kapetanović, Dajana Spasojević, Marija Aleksić, Emina Ekić (89' Sofija Krajšumović), Amela Kršo (90+3' Andrea Čule), Minela Gačanica (68' Alma Krajnić), Milena Nikolić. Coach: Selver Hodžić
Malta lineup: Patricia Ebejer, Charlene Zammit, Stefania Farrugia, Emma Lipman, Ann-Marie Said, Shona Zammit, Brenda Borg, Rachel Cuschieri (85' Nicole Sciberras), Maria Farrugia, Jade Flask (62' Kailey Willis), Haley Bugeja (90' Dorianne Theuma). Coach: Manuela Tesse
