The Malta Under-21 National Team suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of Moldova in an international friendly match on Thursday evening, after a tough night away in Orhei.
Moldova went in front after just three minutes, when a defence-splitting pass found Mihai Lupan, who slotted it past Karl Sargent to open the scoring. Moldova were on the attack after the opener, and they created two quick chances in the space of a couple of minutes, both falling to Dan-Angelo Botan, but both his efforts went narrowly wide of the post.
Malta’s first opportunity on goal came in the 16th minute, when a neat pass from Jake Vassallo found Shaisen Attard, yet his right-footed effort was tame and calmly saved by Artur Nazarciuc.
In the 23rd minute, Kaiden Fenech tried his luck from range, hitting a powerful strike that just sailed above the bar.
28 minutes into the game, Moldova whipped a powerful cross in the Maltese penalty area, but Sven Xerri made an excellent diving header to clear the ball away from danger.
On the 40-minute mark, Moldova had a stunning opportunity to double their lead, when the ball was squared to Lupan, yet his effort from close-range was brilliantly saved by Sargent, who tipped it away for a corner. From the resulting corner, Artiom Dijinari rose highest, and he headed it into the back of the net, making it 2-0 to the hosts.
The score remained 2-0 to Moldova at the break.
Malta started the second half looking to control the play, pushing Moldova, but they were struggling to break the hosts’ backline down.
In the 74th minute, Liam Frendo, who was brought on at half-time, was called into action twice in quick succession. First from a close-range strike that he palmed away for a corner, and then from the resulting corner, when he made an acrobatic save to tip the ball onto the bar, keeping the score 2-0.
77 minutes into the game, Malta built up play neatly from the left, finding Andy Borg, yet his long-range effort went over the bar.
Moldova got their third in the 86th minute, with Dijinari getting his second of the match, tucking it into the net from close range after a goalmouth scramble in the Maltese penalty area.
Malta tried to push on in search of a consolation goal, but they could not find the back of the net, and the match finished 3-0 to the hosts. Despite the result, the match served as an opportunity for younger players to gain further experience on the international stage.
Moldova
1 Artur Nazarciuc (GK), 3 Ivan Graminschii (18 Vladislav Colis, 46’), 4 Daniel Tonica, 5 Artiom Dijinari (C), 6 Vladislav Costin (22 Cristian Pascaluta, 61’), 7 Lucian Radu (21 Igor Sava, 73’), 8 Vasile Luchita (24 Gheorghe Mosneagu, 73’), 10 Mihai Lupan (20 Nichita Caragheorghe, 61’), 11 Dan-Angelo Botan (17 Artur Sprinsean, 46’), 16 David Sirbu (2 Nichita Lipcan, 84’), 19 Nicolai Telic (13 Veceslav Cozma, 84’)
Coach: Serghei Cebotari
Malta
1 Karl Sargent (GK) (12 Liam Frendo, 46’), 4 Jake Vassallo (C), 5 Sven Xerri (11 Nathan Cross, 46’), 6 Andy Borg (13 Lucas Okeke, 80’), 7 Shaisen Attard (16 Aston Ellard, 80’), 9 Nicholas Agius (22 Kai Giyan Bartolo, 46’), 10 Brooklyn Borg (15 Trezeguet Zammit, 70’), 17 Nikita Shchepetkin (14 Shelom Magri, 84’), 18 Kaiden Fenech (8 Bjorn Buhagiar, 70’), 19 Benjamin HIli (3 Matteo Gambin, 46’), 20 Alfie Bridgman (21 Sean Gatt, 70’)
Coach: Davide Mazzotta
Referee: Ion Orlic