Two draws and a narrow defeat to Juventus for Under-17 side in Trofeo Nereo Rocco

The Malta Under-17 team left a very positive impression in the 2018 Trofeo Nereo Rocco as they finished third in Group A which included the Under-17 teams of Red Star Belgrade, Bologna and Juventus.

In the first match, Malta shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Red Star Belgrade with Jordan Kelly scoring Malta’s goal in the second half. In the second match against Bologna, Owen Spiteri put Malta ahead in the first half but Bologna turned the score in their favour with two goals but Mattia Veselji converted a late penalty to equalise and secure another point for the Maltese team.

The Malta U-17s’ final group match was against Juventus who had defeated both Bologna and Red Star with an identical 2-0 scoreline. Despite yet another tenacious performance, the Maltese conceded a soft goal to lose narrowly to the bianconeri who therefore won the group with maximum points.

Photo: Copyright © domenic aquilina