The Maltese Under-18 side shared the spoils with the Republic of Ireland in a friendly match at the Tony Bezzina Stadium on Tuesday.

It was another opportunity for coach Alessandro Zinnari to test a number of players as part of the preparations for the UEFA 2023 Under-19 Championships which will be held in Malta.

Following a goalless first half, Ireland were unlucky to hit the woodwork with a header by Sean Grehan, then with a Justin Ferizaj effort and later with a conclusion by John Ryan. In the dying minutes, a Brooklyn Borg effort for Malta hit the side-netting.

The two teams will be facing each other once again at the Tony Bezzina Stadium on Thursday, kick-off at 11:00.

Photos: Copyright www.stephengatt.com

MALTA  Beppe Mangion, Ivin Farrugia, Miguel Azzopardi (Mattias Ellul 72), Andrew Borg, Matteo Gambin, Jake Micallef, Jake Vassallo (Nathan Cope 80), Lucas Caruana, Zack Barbara (Sebastian Azzopardi 57), Shaisen Attard (Gabriel Diego Farrugia 72), Nathan Cross (Brooklyn Borg 57).

IRELAND: Conor Walsh, Sam Curtis, James Abankwah, Alex Murphy, Sean Grehan, Oisin Gallagher (Mark O’Mahoney 86), Jamie Mullins, Justin Ferizaj, Thomas Lonergan, Jack O’Reilly (John Ryan 69), Dara McGuinness.

Referee:  Alex Johnson