San Marino-Malta, hopes of a result shattered by VAR

Don’t be fooled by the overcast sky in Serravalle, the mercury is well above 30°C for the clash between San Marino and Malta, which Costantini decides to approach with a few changes to his line-up compared to the match in Tallinn – partly by choice and partly through necessity. Out injured are Manuel Battistini and Fabbri, replaced by Rossi and Cevoli in a back three completed by Palazzi. D'Addario and Ceccaroli start as wing-backs, while Lunadei comes in for Mularoni in the three-man midfield, with Micheal Battistini sitting deepest and Alessandro Golinucci on the left of centre. Nanni is once again confirmed as the target man, partnered this time by Danilo Rinaldi. The match is entertaining and lively from the outset, despite the muggy conditions in Serravalle. The first threat comes from San Marino, who break the press well to release D’Addario down the flank; he surges into the box and lets fly with his right, but his effort drifts wide. Malta’s first attempt is also off target: a move involving Degabriele and Vella almost produces a goal thanks to the midfielder’s movement as a pivot. Mangia’s side are making their debut in the competition and come into this fixture on the back of a narrow friendly defeat to Venezuela (0-1). The players on the pitch sense the importance of the game and the competitive edge is sky-high right from the start. The Titani threaten on 15 minutes through Ceccaroli, who skips past Joseph Mbong and wins a free-kick from the side of the box, which Battistini whips powerfully towards the near post, forcing a deflection behind for a corner. San Marino’s metronome also takes charge of the set-piece, delivering a cross that causes real problems for Bonello. The Biancazzurri are brimming with confidence, fully answering their coach’s call for a dynamic approach. Before the cooling break, another dead-ball situation creates problems for the Maltese backline, who somehow manage to clear with Ceccaroli lurking. On the half-hour mark Rinaldi stays down after a heavy challenge from a tense Steve Borg: the referee lets play continue and Malta break into the box with a one-two between Satariano and Vella, resulting in a pinball situation with Rossi and Cevoli heavily involved. The ball loops up and drops safely into Benedettini’s gloves. The Titani are dynamic and aggressive, frequently winning individual duels all over the pitch. It is a territorial dominance that San Marino would deserve to turn into a lead. Malta respond with a counter-attack led by Pepe and finished with a right-footed volley from the edge of the area by Paiber, which does not trouble Benedettini. San Marino look capable of hurting their opponents with every forward thrust, especially when they can isolate Ceccaroli one-on-one. A fair shoulder charge by Rinaldi sets the Titani on the break and allows the Tre Penne winger to run at Steve Borg: he cuts sharply onto his right to deliver an inswinging cross towards the near post, where Nanni is centimetres away from making contact with his head. Costantini’s men finish the half on the front foot, including during the two minutes of added time, when Battistini takes an unfortunate boot to the face from Satariano – booked on the play. The sides go in at half-time with the score still 0-0, but the Stadium rightly gives the Biancazzurri a big ovation for a first half in which only the goal was missing. Fully aware that his side have underperformed, Mangia makes two changes at the break, sending on Corbolan and Busuttil without altering his shape, sticking with a 3-4-1-2. San Marino are first to threaten, with a Battistini corner for Rinaldi. The striker climbs above his marker but can’t direct his header on target at the far post. Malta respond on 51 minutes with a curling right-footed effort from Degabriele, who plays on despite a San Marino player down – in this case D’Addario. The hosts are bossing proceedings and Ceccaroli on the left is doing whatever he wants: in the 53rd minute he bursts down the wing and drills in a low cross that flashes right across the six-yard box without finding a touch. A minute later, Nanni makes an excellent run in behind and shields the ball, only to be shoved in the back by Jean Borg. Aghayev points to the spot, but after a lengthy VAR check, Spanish official Soto Grado calls the Azerbaijani referee to an on-field review and he reverses his decision. The Stadium falls silent and play resumes with the score still 0-0. The incident deflates Costantini’s men, who then fall behind soon after play restarts. Malta combine well through the middle and break the deadlock with a fine piece of play from Busuttil, who opens up his left foot from a central position to curl the ball into the bottom corner past Benedettini. The tension on the pitch rises even further and Aghayev brandishes two yellow cards in quick succession for Rossi and Golinucci: the latter, already on a booking in the competition, will now miss the away leg in Malta. The visitors try their luck from distance through Guillaumier and then from a corner with a header from Satariano, but both attempts fail to find the target. Seeking to lift his team, Costantini changes both wing-backs, introducing Zafferani and Fabio Ramòn Tomassini, aiming to come out of the cooling break with his foot firmly on the accelerator. The tempo drops, however, and Malta seize their first real chance to double the lead: a cross from the left by Corbolan and a timed run and winning header from Guillaumier, who gets there before the advancing Benedettini and finds the net. The San Marino keeper stays down in pain for some time before resuming his place between the posts. That is the goal that effectively seals the game. With the heat, fatigue and frequent stoppages all taking their toll, there is hardly any football played in the closing stages. The additional seven minutes also fail to offer much, their length in part due to the long VAR delay over the penalty initially awarded to San Marino at 0-0. First psychologically, then in concrete terms, the match turned on that episode – the first time, and in the bitterest of ways, that VAR has had a decisive impact on a San Marino National Team fixture. As in Estonia, the match finishes 0-2, after a half – this time the first – in which the Titani held out at 0-0 and deserved more.

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UEFA Nations League, Matchday 2 | San Marino-Malta 0-2 SAN MARINO (3-5-2) E. Benedettini; Cevoli, Rossi, Palazzi; D'Addario (from 68' Zafferani), Lunadei, Mi. Battistini (from 85' Censoni), A. Golinucci, Ceccaroli (from 68' F. Tomassini); Rinaldi (from 80' Hirsch), Nanni (from 85' Bernardi) Substitutes: A. Simoncini, S. Benedettini, Vitaioli, Grandoni, Cesarini, D. Tomassini, Mularoni Head coach: Fabrizio Costantini   MALTA (3-4-1-2) Bonello; S. Borg, Pepe (from 90' Apap), J. Borg (from 69' Z. Muscat); J. Mbong (from 46' Corbolan), Guillaumier (from 87' N. Muscat), Vella (from 46' Busuttil), Overend; Paiber; Satariano, Degabriele Substitutes: Formosa, Galea, Brown, P. Mbong, Montebello, Garcia, Gambin Head coach: Devis Mangia   Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (AZE) Assistants: Zeynal Zeynalov (AZE) and Akif Amirali (AZE) Fourth official: Rauf Jabarov (AZE) VAR: Cesar Soto Grado (ESP) AVAR: Iker De Fransisco (ESP) Scorers: 59' Busuttil, 75' Guillaumier Booked: J. Mbong, Satariano, Rossi, A. Golinucci, Paiber Note: 558 spectators.

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