Gibraltar-kitted Bulgaria beats home side 5-0

It was a chilly grey sky that greeted Gibraltar Women’s first World Cup qualifier on home soil. This was not to deter the many strong supporters of Gibraltar women’s football who turned up to fill the main stands of the Europa Sports Stadium.

Even before kick-off the match had already seen some surprises, none more so than the news that the visiting side Bulgaria had been forced to change their strip. A late arrival—better said a non-arrival—of their kit had led to Gibraltar offering them the use of their away strip, a gesture which allowed the match to proceed.

It was a family atmosphere in the stands. Young children, with their mothers the main protagonists and focal point, filled the terraces, with the men for once taking a much more secondary role.

The growth of women’s football in Gibraltar very much follows the trend seen across Europe. With the FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers flag flying in the wind at Europa Point, this was a historic moment for Gibraltar women’s football that many had been waiting for.

Extraordinary scenes not frequently witnessed in international football were seen as a Gibraltar-kitted Bulgaria side kicked off.

Gibraltar seemed to have learnt from their mistake of conceding from the first corner kick in their previous match. However, it was a deflected ball off Tiana Borrell that beat Robba as Gibraltar thought they had cleared the danger just a minute into the match.

A nervy Gibraltar, with a quiet crowd still warming up, were penned back in the early minutes. Bulgaria dominated play whilst Gibraltar defended.

Gilbert led the line up front, at times supported by Victor.

Protecting their half as they settled into the match, Gibraltar were grateful for the respite after ten minutes when play was stopped for an injured player. It gave Stella Gotal a chance to speak to her team on the touchline as they waited.

Thirteen minutes in, Robba came out bravely to block a shot, although the flag had already gone up for offside.

The crowd began to raise its voice and warm up when Shania tried to run at the defence.

Moments later it was Victor breaking through, getting her foot to the ball before the Bulgaria keeper. The latter blocked bravely but ended up injured in the process as her defence cleared.

As Gibraltar settled into the match, Gilbert ran again at the Bulgarian defence, lifting the ambience in the stands.

Although Bulgaria were creating chances to test Gibraltar’s defence with floated crosses, Gibraltar were now more determined in play and began pushing their lines forward as the match reached the twenty-minute mark.

Confidence grew as they tested Bulgaria’s defence and pushed them deeper into their own half.

Although Bulgaria remained the dominant force on the pitch, they had been unable to test Robba further as the match approached the half-hour mark. It was a testament to Gibraltar’s resilience after the early setback of conceding within the opening minutes.

Victor was unlucky to be called offside as she attempted to reach a lobbed ball from Viagas on the 29th minute.

Moments later what could have been a sandwich challenge on Gilbert ended with two Bulgarian players needing treatment after clashing in the air, Gilbert cleverly sidestepping the challenge.

Gibraltar absorbed the pressure that followed as Bulgaria pushed forward and nearly surprised them, with Chapman just inches from reaching a through ball and beating the keeper to the chase.

It was, however, Bulgaria who were to find the second goal. With Gibraltar chasing back they found themselves exposed at the far post as Bulgaria broke free and sent a low cross through the defence across the goalmouth.

Rasina controlled well, sidestepped her marker and sent a pass-shot beyond Robba’s reach with 39 minutes played.

Gibraltar held firm for the remaining minutes going into the half-time break trailing 2-0. Gibraltar’s gesture in providing a kit for Bulgaria meant the visitors were able to play, in a situation where a forfeit could otherwise have handed Gibraltar three points.

Gibraltar replaced Tania Gilbert with Celecia at half-time.

Bulgaria started the second half strongly but were being held back well by Gibraltar.

Hesitation in the early minutes by a defence settling down after the change allowed Bulgaria the first attempt of the half. Gibraltar were, however, resolute in their defending and kept Bulgaria further up the field during the opening five minutes.

Some great disciplined defending from Pizzarello in the 51st minute saw her face three players running at her and stop Bulgaria from breaking away towards goal.

The Gibraltar defender needed attention moments later after another intervention.

Just two minutes later Naomi Victor sliced a pass through Bulgaria’s defence, allowing Gilbert to run at goal. One-on-one with the keeper, the latter stood her ground to deny Gibraltar what could have been their first goal.

Gibraltar momentarily penned Bulgaria back before being caught out by the offside trap.

Pressing high, however, they continued to prevent Bulgaria from advancing too deep.

In the 58th minute it was Gilbert who sent a pass down the right flank for Chapman to chase, once again facing the keeper one-on-one. The Bulgaria keeper again stood her ground well, blocking with her legs as Chapman found herself with a narrow angle from which to shoot.

Moments later, with play at the other end, Gibraltar were lucky not to concede as a foul on the keeper cancelled out a header on the line from a Bulgaria corner.

Although the goal was disallowed, Gibraltar again looked vulnerable from corners.

As Gibraltar absorbed the pressure, head coach Gotal could be seen guiding her players from the touchline, reminding her forward players not to drop back too far as Gibraltar tried to keep their shape.

A darting run from Pizzarello down the left saw her break past defenders, and only a last-minute block prevented the final delivery reaching Gilbert in the 65th minute.

Although Gibraltar continued to absorb pressure from Bulgaria, who were still searching for their third goal, Gibraltar were posing a threat on the break.

Schilling showed her defensive strength with a well-timed sliding tackle in the 70th minute that prevented Bulgaria from breaking free. The young defender stood at the heart of Gibraltar’s defence, absorbing pressure and forcing Bulgaria to resort to long-distance attempts.

In the 72nd minute Victor searched for Gilbert with another long ball. Bulgaria’s defence cleared but found themselves facing Chapman, who collected well and ran the ball to the byline before unleashing a shot which was safely held by the Bulgarian keeper.

The pace of both Victor and Gilbert was causing Bulgaria some problems to contain as they dealt with another long ball over the defence.

Tired legs were, however, beginning to show as some balls were lost and Gilbert found herself unable to chase.

On 76 minutes some good supporting defending from Viagas forced Bulgaria into a hurried shot over Robba’s crossbar after they found space.

With Gibraltar at times forcing Bulgaria to chase the game, fatigue was also visible among the visitors as gaps began to appear between defence and attack.

On the 78th minute Gilbert seized another chance to take on defenders, although her final shot was too weak to trouble the Bulgaria keeper.

Bulgaria were lucky not to be penalised when Victor was brought down in what the referee judged to be a fair shoulder charge as she threatened to break free. An angry crowd aired their displeasure as Bulgaria moved forward.

Some brave defending from Lawrence saved Gibraltar from an immediate third goal as she lunged to clear the ball on the very line.

However, the subsequent corner exposed Gibraltar’s vulnerability as a soft header found the net for the third. Ivanova then struck again within a minute, scoring her brace and giving Bulgaria a 4-0 lead with just five minutes left on the clock.

The quiet crowd saw its silence broken by lone voices expressing anger at some of the decisions, with what looked like fouls allowed to go unpunished.

A tired and somewhat dispirited Gibraltar now faced the prospect of another scoreless defeat at a time when they had felt capable of making a dent in the result.

Gibraltar found one final push as they entered injury time, with Shania again testing Bulgaria’s defence.

With changes made and some young players introduced, Gibraltar were to suffer another blow when a Bulgarian attacker attempted to run behind Selene and tripped on her back heel, despite the Gibraltar player making no movement. The referee not only awarded the free kick but also showed Celecia a red card, even though there had been no challenge or deliberate contact.

Bulgaria went on to score from the resulting free kick.

Gibraltar thus faced a 5-0 defeat, with the latter goals coming after some controversial decisions in a match where Gibraltar’s earlier gesture in providing Bulgaria with a kit had allowed the visitors to play rather than concede the three points. Although the latter would generally have never happened as it is customary for home teams to provide an alternative kit for teams experiencing logistical issues such as those faced by the visitors.