Malta kicked off their UEFA Under-15 Development Tournament with a comfortable win over Gibraltar in a match they dominated from start to finish. The score could have easily been higher for the hosts, should the boys have finished off a few more chances which came their way. The Malta national Under-15 team is made up by the best players on their positions on the islands who are born in the year 2008.
The Development Tournaments have been set up by UEFA to offer young footballing talents an additional opportunity to play competitive international matches, preparing them in the best possible way for the next stages in their careers. Referees are also asked to experiment with a few new rules. The boys play two halves of 40 minutes, as generally accustomed in the U15 leagues globally.
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On 32 minutes, Malta took the lead thanks to Andreas Vella, who scored from close-range after a corner action. On the stroke of half-time, Bjorn Caruana hit the post, with the ball being cleared into a corner.
However on 50 minutes, Scott Camilleri added Malta’s second, after some good work by Grech on the right wing, who rounded the onstorming goalkeeper and passed perfectly to Camilleri.
On Sunday, Gibraltar will now meet Scotland and on Tuesday morning, Malta will conclude the tournament against Scotland. All matches kick off at 10 a.m at the Centenary Stadium.
Malta Jayden Farrugia (Sam Calleja 58), Drew Miceli (Izaak Mizzi-Bonello 58), Liam James (Jean Formosa 58), Emerson Meilak (Liam Buhagiar 58), Dale Vella (Kayden Zerafa 69), Andreas Vella, Bjorn Caruana (Keerin Formosa 41), Daniel Pawley, Matteo Paolo Grech (Ethan Brincat-Winters 58), Jack Camilleri, Jaylen Zarb (Scott Camileri 33, Sky Chetcuti 69)
Gibraltar Kian Duffy-Parody, Gianni Peliza (Victor Bering 51), Scott Aitken (Jovan Pacheco 51), Jayvan Garro, Owen Fortunato, Shaun Murien (Ethan Ochello 41), Lucas Pocock, Anthony Avellano, Matthew Ward (Nooran Tizniti 51), Theo Montovio (Max Bautista 41), Max Purdy (Daniel Llamas 41).
Referee: Nikola Djordjevic