The Malta U21 National Team suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Northern Ireland in the second UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifier, with two first-half goals being enough for the home side to secure the victory.
Northern Ireland started the game well, looking to press the Maltese backline. It did not take the home side too long to find an opener, a lobbed pass found Makenzie Kirk, who capitalized on some indecisiveness in the Maltese defence, before heading it into the net to make it 1-0 in the seventh minute.
Malta regrouped following the early setback, and they started to look more comfortable in and out of possession.
Photo courtesy of Malta FA
Despite Malta settling down, Northern Ireland got their second of the match in the 33rd minute, when a corner was swung into the penalty area, with Michael Forbes making first contact, half-volleying a shot into the top corner.
In the 41st minute, Northern Ireland had a golden opportunity to extend their lead, when a ball was lofted into the path of Eoin Kenny, yet his volley was excellently saved by Hugo Sacco, who turned it away for a corner.
Malta held on for the remaining few minutes of the half, and the two sides went into the break with the score 2-0 to Northern Ireland.
After the break, Malta tried to impose themselves on the ball more, but they were suffering plenty of pressure from the home side, making it difficult for Malta to get out.
Malta improved as the half wore on, looking more confident in their play, stringing a couple of neat passes, yet they were struggling to work Northern Ireland’s goalkeeper, Stephen McMullan.
Northern Ireland finished the game off strong, looking sharp on the ball, with Sacco being called into action on a couple of occasions, saving comfortably.
Malta could not find a way back into the match, and as a result Northern Ireland came away with a 2-0 win.
Up next for Malta is a match on home soil, taking on Georgia at the Centenary Stadium on Tuesday 14th October, with kick-off at 19:00hrs (CET).
Northern Ireland
1 Stephen McMullan (GK), 2 Conor Barr, 3 Jonathan Russell (18 Joseph Sheridan, 90’), 4 Darren Robinson (21 Broghan Sewell, 90’), 5 Michael Forbes (C), 6 Tommy Fogarty, 7 Shea Kearney, 8 Patrick Kelly (11 Ryan Donnelly, 80’), 9 Makenzie Kirk (19 Kieran Morrison, 80’), 10 Eoin Kenny, 15 Liam Mcstravick (14 Ceadach O’Neill, 71’)
Coach: Tommy Wright
Malta
12 Hugo Sacco (GK), 5 Sven Xerri, 7 Shaisen Attard, 8 Gabriel Vella (14 Ensell Attard, 80’), 10 Jake Grech, 11 Nathan Cross, 16 Jake Micallef (C), 17 Jake Azzopardi (6 Bjorn Buhagiar, 60’), 18 Daniel Letherby (22 Giuseppe Bonanno, 80’), 19 Benjamin Hili, 21 Sean Gatt (20 Kai Bartolo, 75’)
Coach: Davide Mazzotta
Referee: Alessandro Dudic (SUI)