MALTA U-19 1ROMANIA U-19 2 A late goal broke the hearts of the Malta Under-19 women’s team as they fell to a 2-1 defeat in their third friendly match against Romania at the MFA Training Grounds.
In this three-game series against the Romanians, Malta drew the first game 3-3 before losing 3-1 on Thursday and 2-1 on Saturday. These friendly matches are part of the team’s preparations for their commitments in the UEFA U-19 Women’s European Championship qualifiers against England, Slovakia and hosts Croatia. Coach Frank Schembri made some changes to his starting XI as he reintroduced Jodie Attard in goal, replacing Patricia Ebejer, while Jessica Dimech and Rohanne Zahra started ahead of Chloe Ann Ellul and Shakira Bugeja. The first half ended in a goalless stalemate but the Maltese girls forged ahead with a splendid header by substitute Ellul, who was deployed on left wing. However, the Romanians started gaining momentum as they staged a reaction. They managed to level terms moments later with a low drive from a tight angle. Romania continued to push players up front in search of a winner and they succeeded in the closing stages. Attard parried away a long-range set-piece but from the rebound, Madalina Marinescu blasted her shot into the far corner. MALTA FORMATIONJodie Attard, Leanne Cefai, Valentina Rapa, Jessica Dimech, Cherise Zammit, Rohanne Zahra, Celeste Grech, Kayleigh Chetcuti, Samantha Zarb, Nicole Sciberras, Demi Magrin. ROMANIASzidonia Salamon, Melinda Naov, Daniela Mates, Raluca Borodi, Dana Neocea, Ana-Maria Vladulescu, Madalina Marinescu, Carmen Marcu, Gencoina Golonan, Alexandra Tunnaia, Rosie Genoveva.