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Malta U-21 team beaten by Georgia in friendly

Published: 11-09-2018 18:15
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11.09.2018Centenary Stadium - Ta' QaliU-21 FRIENDLY MATCHMALTA       2GEORGIA 5(HT 1-2)The Malta U-21 team lost 5-2 against Georgia in a friendly match at the Centenary Stadium, with the latter maintainingctheir unbeaten eun throughout 2018 (two wins and four draws).  Despite the adverse scoreline, it was a useful warm-up match for the team led by Silvio Vella who gave Floriana goalkeeper Matthew Grech and Victoria Hotspurs winger Christian Mercieca their first minutes in the team, both entering as substitutes. In the ninth minute, Michele Sansone cleared the ball off the line after a shot from Vato Arveladze who plays for Polish Ekstraklasa side Korona Kielce. Six minutes later, the visitors opened the scoring through Irakli Bughridze who beat Jake Galea with a low shot. Kyrian Nwoko had two shots at goal from inside the box in the 23rd minute, the first opportunities for the home side.In the 27th minute, Nwoko equalised for Malta after some good work by Sansone. Dunstan Vella had a shot at goal in the 31st minute from practically the same position but his effort was saved by goalkeeper Luka Gugeshasvili. A minute later, Georgia added a second from Luka Zarandia, another player who is plying his trade in the Poland Ekstraklasa with Arka Gdynia, who was left unmarked in the box. Both Zarandia and Arveladze continued to cause problems for the Maltese defence throughout the match. At the start of the second half, in the space of three minutes, Georgia added two goals from Shota Arveladze, who profited from a mistake in the Maltese defence in the 50th and 53rd minutes. Substitute Mercieca had a good run on the left side in the 66th minute, crossed into the box towards Nwoko but the ball was handled by a Georgian defender. The Greek referee did not hesitate to point to the spot, and Jake Grech duly converted the ensuing penalty. In the 76th minute, substitute Giorgi Kolchreidze’s low shot from just outside the box just missed target. An Nwoko shot in three minutes from time was turned away for a corner by Goshadze, the Georgian goalkeeper. However, in added time, the Georgians added a fifth via a penalty of Luka Zarandia. The Maltese Under-21 team will play their final two European U-21 qualifiers next month, both in Malta. The first one, on the 12th, is against Hungary followed four days laterwith a match against Cyprus.MALTAJ. Galea, (M.Grech 46’), K. Micallef, (K. Shaw 55’), J. Borg, D. Vella, (N. Muscat 79’), K. Zammit, M. Beerman, (D. Agius 59’), M. Guillaumier, (Z. Scerri 46’), M. Sansone, J. Grech, K. Nwoko, J. Degabriele, (C. Mercieca 55’). GEORGIAL.Gugeshasvili, (O. Goshadze 46’), L. Lochosvili, L. Nozadze, (G. Beridze 70’), G. Margvelashvili, R. Chachua, (A. Shulaia 77’), I. Bughridze, (G. Kolchreidze 55’), V. Arveladze, (G. Kantaria 70’), L. Zarandia, G. Kharaishvili, G. Giorbelidze, N. Ninua, (L. Matcharashvili 85’).Referee: Georgis Kominis (Greece) Attendance: 150