Malta fell to a narrow 1–0 defeat against Belarus in their second international friendly on Tuesday evening at the Centenary Stadium.

The match began cautiously, with both sides battling for midfield control in the opening stages. Malta created the first clear chance in the 31st minute when Yulya Carella picked out Haley Bugeja, who skilfully set up Kailey Willis, but her effort was superbly denied by Belarus goalkeeper Katerina Miklashevich.

Belarus responded shortly after. Karyna Alkhovik saw one attempt blocked brilliantly by Stephania Farrugia, but made no mistake in the 39th minute, racing onto a through ball from the right before calmly slotting past Giulia D’Antuono to give the visitors the lead.

Just before halftime, Bugeja tried to level the score with a strong run and shot from the right, but Miklashevich again held firm.

The second half was more open, with both teams finding space to attack. Belarus nearly doubled their advantage on 52 minutes, but Alkhovik’s close-range shot flew over the bar. Moments later, Malta came close to equalising when Bugeja’s effort was blocked, falling to Rachel Cuschieri, whose follow-up strike was stopped by the Belarus keeper.

Despite late pressure and several long-range attempts, Malta were unable to break through a disciplined Belarus defence, with the visitors holding on for a 1–0 win.

Line-ups

Malta:
1 Giulia D’Antuono (GK) (12 Maya Cachia 46’), 3 Oceane Grange (17 Leah Ayres 71’), 5 Stephania Farrugia (7 Amber Grech 85’), 8 Rachel Cuschieri (C) (15 Tammy Falzon 71’), 9 Kailey Willis (14 Shona Zammit 62’), 10 Maria Farrugia (16 Leanne Cefai 85’), 18 Emma Xuereb (11 Alexandra Marcella Gatt 46’), 19 Yulya Carella, 20 Nicole Sciberras, 21 Haley Bugeja, 22 Rebecca Bajada
Coach: Manuela Tesse

Belarus:
22 Katerina Miklashevich (GK), 3 Anastasiya Linnik (C), 4 Anastasiya Shlapakova (15 Nastassia Shuppo 46’), 6 Hanna Siniauskaya (23 Liya Tsikhamirava 65’), 8 Zaryna Kapustsina, 9 Hanna Kaziupa, 10 Anastasiya Maher, 11 Yuliya Sliasarchyk, 14 Karyna Alkhovik (19 Anastasiya Kavaliova 65’), 16 Melana Surautsava (18 Viktoryia Valiuk 46’), 17 Aryna Sitnikava (21 Darya Harshkova 46’)
Coach: Viachaslau Hryharau

Referee: Joanna Vassallo

Yellow cards: Shlapakova (BEL), Sciberras (MLT), Kapustsina (BEL), Tesse (MLT)