Solid performance from Gibraltar women in Gotal’s first match in charge

Andorra Women 2-0 Gibraltar

Although Stella Gotal has not had much time with the squad, there was a cohesiveness from the start, especially in defence.
Andorra had more of the possession and were expected to be the dominant force, having beaten Gibraltar twice at home before. The first thirty minutes, however, proved to be a good start for Gotal’s team.

Wearing their own strip, designed to provide some protection, the Gibraltar team had an air of now establishing itself in its own right as a standalone entity.

Growing into the match, Gibraltar were finding their way into Andorra’s half after the first 30 minutes.

Andorra did have a great chance, but a miscued shot with just the keeper to beat kept the scoreline goalless going into the half-hour mark.

Andorra, missing some players from their regular lineup, were treating the match as a friendly.

On 33 minutes, a shot from distance by Lawrence caught the Andorra keeper off guard. The latter had to stretch and punch the ball onto the crossbar as it dipped over her towards goal — Gibraltar’s clearest chance so far.

Gibraltar’s pressing was forcing Andorra into errors. Confidence was growing as Gibraltar settled down, and Andorra found it increasingly difficult to break them down approaching halftime. Disciplined and keeping their shape, Gibraltar limited the hosts’ chances.

Viagas was treated for a head collision in the 44th minute alongside an Andorra player. It took a few minutes for her to return to the field as she was checked for concussion.

In the 48th minute, Victor had a shot straight at the keeper from distance after Gilbert had beaten her marker down the touchline, opening space behind the defence that had to hurriedly track back.

The second half began with several stoppages for fouls on both sides in the opening minutes.

Gibraltar were forced to defend deep as Andorra won an early corner, but it was eventually cleared.

For the short time Gotal has had with the team, they already looked to be moving in unison — though some of the groundwork had come from Wiseman’s time in charge.

Gibraltar were taking fewer risks, producing a good balance between maintaining a solid defence and taking the game to their opponents. They paced themselves and didn’t panic even as Andorra pressed them back in possession.

There was, however, a large gap between Gibraltar’s defence and forward line, making it difficult to hold possession from defensive clearances. This allowed the hosts to maintain pressure.

On 62 minutes, Andorra fired a shot into the side netting just as Gibraltar substituted Victor for Nash.

Andorra had two more attempts go wide within the next five minutes as they looked to increase the tempo.

In the 69th minute, Gibraltar won a corner that was cleared at the far post.

Howard and Celecia came on with Ferro among those replaced.

Gibraltar had managed to cancel out Andorra’s threat up to the final five minutes of play, also putting pressure on Andorra’s defence and forcing them to work harder.

There was some very brave defending in the final minutes — Gilbert collided with the post as she cleared a ball off the line.

Andorra maintained their pressure and found the breakthrough in the final minute. Gibraltar’s appeals for offside were ignored after two unmarked players in the six-yard box combined to shoot past a stranded keeper. The protests led to a yellow card for dissent.

Six minutes of injury time were added, during which Gibraltar tried to salvage something from what had been a solid performance.

Gibraltar deserved more than the defeat; however, it was a much-improved performance. In just a year, Gibraltar had gone from losing 4–1 and 4–2 at Europa Point last October under Scott Wiseman, to holding Andorra scoreless until the 89th minute before conceding what proved to be the first of two late goals in this first of a double-header friendly against Andorra.

The hosts added a second in the 96th minute after winning a chase for the ball, with a late challenge giving away a penalty.

Andorra’s 2–0 win, sealed by two very late goals, was celebrated like a cup final by the hosts.
Gotal’s first match in charge, although ending in defeat, saw one of the most solid all-round performances yet by the Gibraltar women’s team — the two late goals providing a steep learning curve.

Gibraltar will face Andorra again in the coming days.