ALBANIA        3

MALTA           2

Malta U-21 conceded two goals in the final 15 minutes of the match to slump to a 3-2 defeat to Albania in a friendly at the Loro Borici Stadium in Skhoder yesterday.

It was a harsh result on the Malta youngsters who had shown great fighting spirit to come back from a goal down and take a 2-1 lead midway through the second half.

However, their hopes were shattered when the Albanians were handed a controversial penalty to level terms before hitting a late winner.

Albania were off to a flier as inside the first ten minutes they took the lead. They were awarded a central free-kick and Abnor Mocolli sent a short pass towards Omar Imeri who flicked the ball towards Shefit Shefiti who lobbed over Andreas Vella.

Malta gradually came more into the picture and on 36 minutes Matthew Guillaumier turned past a defender before hitting a firm drive that finished just wide.

Malta’s ascendancy was rewarded a minute later when Kurt Shaw’s throughball played in Zachary Brincat and the Mosta striker slid the ball into the net.

On the restart, Rubin Hebaj almost restored the hosts’ lead when his dipping drive came off the bar.

It was the visitors who struck on 65 minutes when Myles Beerman’s delivery from a corner was deflected into the path of Brincat who fired home.

But the Albanians were handed a route back when the referee harshly adjudged that Jean Borg handled the ball inside the area and from the spot Hebaj made no mistake.

The goal spurred Albania forward and they clinched the winner on 87 minutes. In a quick break, Dyrilon Kryeziu beat the offside trap and hit past Vella.

Malta starting formation: A. Vella ; M. Sansone, C. Zammit, J.Borg, N. Pulis, K. Shaw, M. Guillaumier, A. Friggieri, J. Zerafa, Z. Brincat, M. Beerman.

Referee: E. Hamiti (Albania FA).

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.