Gibraltar finish European Qualifiers campaign leaving questions over expectations and reality

Gibraltar 0-6 Netherlands

Julio Ribas opted in trusting his first eleven that lost against France with only one change as Jayce Olivero came on to replace Ethan Santos who has been sent off.
At a time when the Gibraltar head coach faced heavy criticism over the adoption of very deep defensive tactics he was to gamble in keeping faith in his selection.
In what was a critical moment for Gibraltar players to know that they still had the support of their coach and fans Ribas maintained his loyalty. This even though all the signals coming from the Dutch camp was that the Netherlands would be looking to build on their goal difference. Even though they claimed that they had no thoughts of trying to beat any records.
From kick off Gibraltar we’re pushed back into their half. It was not until the fifth minute that they first crossed the halfway line.
Their one advance sending men forward although ultimately losing possession.
With Gibraltar having kept the Netherlands at 3-0 in their previous encounter in Rotterdam with just ten men for close to an hour everything had been set for the Dutch to want to stamp their mark. France having set the gauntlet on what was possible.
Tjay De Barr was again the motor upfront on the eighth minute surging forward and taking on Dutch defenders. His low cross with no one behind to collect.
It did not take the Netherlands long though. With six changes from their previous match it was Steng who scored with some ease. The Netherlands breaking through the centre of Gibraltar’s defence to slot across the goal to an outstretched Coleing.
Gibraltar were forced into a substitution on the 13th minute when youngster Pozo was stretchered off with Jolley coming on.
After conceding Gibraltar closed ranks and stuck defending deep with the experienced players such as Roy and Joseph Chipolina and Jayce Olivero keeping their composure.
However, the centre of defence once again allowed gaps in marking as the Netherlands piled in the numbers.
A momentary lapse in marking on the 20th minute saw Wieffer miss his target as he headed to goal unmarked in-front of goal.
He wasn’t to miss in his second attempt two minutes later when he again found space between defenders from a corner kick to direct a header into the back post.
Unlike France the Netherlands even though dominating and finding gaps did not up their tempo any further distributing the ball leisurely as they searched for an opening through the static five-(sometimes six)- man defensive line in front of Coleing.

The link-up between defence and the solitary Tjay De Barr hardly seen as clearances continued long and ineffective in reaching him. De Barr on occasion driving back to gather the ball himself and take it forward and protect it.
On the 34th minute again Gibraltar’s defence was found lacking in challenging as Malem cut across defenders with nobody willing to take responsibility to challenge. His final shot coming off a defenders back for a corner.
Malem did the same again moments later this time his shot grazing just over the top far corner.
With 37 minutes the Dutch worked their way down wide through the left putting a low driven pass into the middle with Koopmeiners arriving first to tap past Coleing.
Having equalled their previous tally against Gibraltar within the first forty minutes already the Netherlands had shown that they were not content to go away with just a 3-0.
Gibraltar’s lack of committing those deliberate fouls to halt an attack was in deep contrast to the Netherlands. De Barr bundled down by Teze on the halfway line on the 43rd minute as the Gibraltar forward set off on a surging run.
Gibraltar went into the halftime break trailing 3-0 but whilst defensively Gibraltar was putting in a hard shift the Netherlands still had not shown any indication of upping their momentum any further.
Gibraltar once again going into the halftime break without any attempt at goal. The solitary figure of Tjay De Barr providing little offensive options without any support from back lines keeping their focus on defence. Once again the differences in ranking between the two teams palatable. Raising questions over the continued exposure of top ranked teams against lower tier sides.
Gibraltar, whose players had to overcome in a short period of time the memories of a nightmare result against France, showing that they were more than willing to keep putting in the effort and resilience against what were overwhelming odds. Even with the many critics who had questioned their commitment on the field.
Stengs was to open the Netherlands second half tally with a well worked run into the penalty area. Unlike France who celebrated each goal as if the first Steng kept his celebrations to a minimum as the Netherlands went 4-0 ahead.
As Gibraltar saw Joseph Chipolina go down injured falling leaving his leg behind him and calling for assistance the Netherlands continued their attack which saw Steng get his hat trick and the Netherlands fifth goal on the hour mark. Chipolina was to walk off but prompted changes.
Lee Casciaro, Liam Walker and Joseph Chipolina coming off with Coombes, Badr and El Hmidi coming on.
The changes brought some fresh legs on the field but did little to stop the flow of play as the Dutch continued to dominate.
The inevitability of finishing the qualifier group matches without a goal become ever more present. Gibraltar’s defence, nevertheless, having reduced the Netherlands to just eight attempts on target from 18 attempts in total with fifteen minutes left on the clock. A testament to their resilience and determination on the field.
A tough final ten minutes awaited them as they conceded a sixth goal as a great delivery into the goalmouth by Gapko ended in the back of the net. This the twentieth goal conceded by Gibraltar in this week’s double header.
A tired looking De Barr who had chased and tried to take on defenders alone upfront at every opportunity was soon after the goal replaced by Dylan Peacock.
Ribas having shown his faith in his selection that had faced France and at the same time showing that his bench included younger players slowly gaining experience against top ranked opposition.
The deep defensive approach, although yielding triple the number of fouls against the Netherlands than Gibraltar had committed against France showing Gibraltar were more physical on this occasion. However, it still showed that deep defensive tactics had not been of any greater effectiveness during this qualifiers than in previous occasions.
Gibraltar finished the qualifiers as the only side across all the groups not scoring in any of their matches.
Gibraltar with the worst defensive record with a goal difference of -41, the closest in other groups being San Marino with -28 and Liechtenstein with -27. Gibraltar having faced one of the most difficult groups with both France and the Netherlands in the group and former European champions Greece, plus the Republic of Ireland.
Cyprus, Gibraltar’s next opponent in the Nations League relegation play-off had also finished with a -25 goal difference.
Gibraltar playing since the start of the new season without key players such as Graeme Torrilla, Julian Valarino and Bernardo Lope among others felt the impact of having a reduced pool of players with a reduced number of defenders to pick from due to the continued focus in the use of foreign defenders within the domestic league further diminishing the number of quality players able to replace players who were unavailable. The reduction in numbers of home grown players used after changes in the rules further reducing the number of players with enough playing minutes at this stage of the season.
Roy Chipolina, the Gibraltar Captain highlighted in comments to GBC after the match how expectations had been unreasonably high before this latest double header week. Highlighting how Gibraltar should not be expected to win or score against such opposition. Also having in comments before the match spoken out against fans who had doubted the players’ commitment on the field.
He was also to highlight that Gibraltar’s match against Cyprus in March would be just as tough and players needed the support from fans.
Gibraltar players although conceding twenty goals in two matches against France and Netherlands, two big guns in European football, had risen to the challenge and shown that whilst facing overwhelming odds they were still willing to put in a hard shift and try and play above their weight.
Lacking in resources in comparison to nations they had faced, lacking in player pool numbers from which selectors could find players which could make any bigger a difference to their prospects and with a population from which to develop its growth in football. A population which is the equivalent to small towns in some of the nations they had faced, had seen reality rear its head in the final half of the campaign. Gibraltar, nevertheless could still walk away knowing that the first round of matches had seen them hold their opponents to 3-0 results in four consecutive matches. A feat which they had never achieved before in European qualifiers. Although unable to maintain the momentum as factors such as injuries impacted on the squad.
With the European qualifier campaign now completed the questions still remained on whether lower ranked sides like Gibraltar should be exposed to the bigger nations in such qualifiers. A question which posed to UEFA earlier on Tuesday still remained without response and which still remained open to debate even within the football ranks in Gibraltar. Even after the latest results many still
Remaining in support of continuing to play within the same format. A view understood to have also been supported by other smaller states within UEFA.
Gibraltar will now face preparations for their crucial Nations League play off against Cyprus. With the association expected to undergo its end of campaign routine assessment where it is expected to review and assess the latest campaign and make adjustments in how it proceeds in developing the sport whilst still facing the same geographical and demographic constraints underlining the selection process.