Malta fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat against Estonia in the second game of their UEFA Boys U15 Development Tournament campaign, with the away side scoring two late goals to take all three points.
The match started off very even, with both sides having their fair share of the possession in the opening few minutes, as they tried to feel their way into the game. As the half wore on, the game started to be played more in Estonia’s half, yet Malta struggled to carve an opening, with the final pass not coming off.
The first big chance came in the 20th minute, when the ball fell to Nicholas Busuttil on the edge of the box, but he saw his half-volley saved by Estonia’s goalkeeper Kennert Kangur. Busuttil came close again a few minutes later, hitting a long-range shot that sailed just above the bar.
Estonia’s first attempt of the match was in the 34th minute, when they were awarded a free-kick from quite far out. Kennert Kõiv stepped up, but his strike was easily saved by Deyan Gatt. After that, the game started to open up, with Malta going on the attack very quickly, and at one point, the ball fell to Fionn Dullard, who hit the ball cleanly and forced a good save from Kangur.
Malta’s attacks became more frequent, and in the 37th minute, the Malta midfield linked up very well, freeing up Jayden Roe, yet his shot clipped the outside of the post and went out of play.
Despite the increase in opportunities, the score remained goalless at the break.
The first chance of the half came in the 54th minute, when Uku korjus was freed one on one, before going past Deyan Gatt, yet Kaiden Grixti made a fantastic recovery to deny a certain goal and keep it 0-0.
The first goal came in the 65th minute, when Malta stole the ball from the Estonian defence, and after a shot was saved by Kangur, Lukas Wright followed in and tapped the ball into the net on the rebound to give Malta the lead.
After the goal, Malta tried to slow the game down, but they were falling under increased pressure, with Estonia pushing forward. In the 76th minute, a loose pass at the back was intercepted by the Estonian attack, and when the ball fell to Arjom Timakov, he hit a brilliant strike that cannoned off the post, with Malta just about maintaining their lead.
Estonia eventually found their goal in the 80th minute, as a great ball into the box from a corner was headed in by Enrico Järista, drawing the away side level with just 10 minutes left of the game. However, Estonia quickly turned the game around just two minutes later, when a ball was fed to Ricardo Kranberg to leave him facing Gatt, and he tucked it away into the top corner to give Estonia the lead.
Malta fought hard to find an equaliser, but Estonia remained resilient enough to come out as 2-1 winners.
Malta will take on Kosovo in their final match of the tournament on Sunday 6th October at 10:00hrs.
Malta
12 Deyan Gatt (GK), 2 Liam Gatt (13 Robbie Formosa 46′), 5 Adam Miceli (8 Ayrem Aquilina 62′), 6 Jayden Roe (C), 4 Kaiden Grixti, 15 Jake Bonnici (3 Giorgio Cristauro 46′), 10 Nicholas Busuttil (17 Sean Farrugia 70′), 14 Matteo Mangion (16 Kayden Hili, 90+1′), 11 Fionn Dullard (7 Cole Zerafa 62′), 9 Lukas Wright, 18 Luke Buttigieg (19 Kenzil Vella 70′)
Coach: Jonathan Holland
Estonia
12 Kennert Kangur (GK), 5 Alex Pukki (4 Henri Tuur 70′), 6 Matvei Guljajev (2 Oskar Künnapuu 59′), 8 Ivan Krasnov (10 Artjom Timakov 46′), 13 Aleks Malva, 14 Roman Stepanov, 15 Kregor Kalvik, 16 Aksel Bild (11 Ricardo Kranberg 59′), 17 Kennert Kõiv, 18 Sören Vaher (7 Markus Kaalma 59′), 20 Uku Korjus (C) (9 Enrico Järista 70′)
Coach: Ludvig Tasane
Yellow cards: 8 Ivan Krasnov (EST), 4 Kaiden Grixti (MLT), 17 Kennert Kõiv (EST)
