Prague - Two second-half goals and a late penalty save from Petr Cech allowed Czech Republic to beat bottom of the table Malta 3-1 on Friday to record the first win of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
The home team took the lead with a powerful Theodor Gebre Selassie header in the 34th minute but Malta struck back four minutes later when Roderick Briffa capitalised on a defensive lapse to loft the ball into the net.
The Czechs started the second half with more urgency and were rewarded in the 52nd minute, Tomas Pekhart directing in a Petr Jiracek cross to claim his first international goal.
Jan Rezek made it 3-1 in the 67th minute when he swept a cross from Jaroslav Plasil past keeper Andrew Hogg.
Chelsea keeper Cech then saved a penalty from Mifsud from the last kick of the match.
The Czechs now have four points from two games in Group B while Malta have lost all three matches. – Reuters