The Malta Under-16 girls concluded this year’s UEFA Development Tournament with a 8-0 defeat at the hands of a strong Ireland team.  The Irish were at the back of two consecutive 4-0 wins against Turkey and Lebanon.  

On the other hand, Malta opened their campaign with a 0-3 loss against Lebanon before losing 0-2 to Turkey despite producing a solid display.  For this game, coach Saliba opted for goalkeeper Erika Muscat between the sticks while Kaysia Micallef was handed the captain’s armband.

Photo courtesy of www.stephengatt.com / Malta FA

Ireland forged ahead after five minutes when Lia O’Leary capitalised from point-blank range.  Moments later, the Shelbourne FC player doubled Ireland’s lead with a close-range effort. Goalkeeper Muscat came to Malta’s rescue on several occasions before Ireland’s O’Leary scored her third before the half-time whistle.

At the restart, Ireland scored a fourth through substitute Grace Flanagan who fired home from close-range. Ireland’s captain Jodie Loughrey scored Ireland’s fifth after making her way into the box and slotting behind Muscat. Substitute Fiana Bradley converted her first touch of the game into goal in a one on one situation with the goalkeeper.

In the closing stages, Ireland added two more goals through Aoibhe Fleming and Grace Flanagan.