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Malta go down 4-2 to N. Ireland in futsal warm-up

Published: 18-01-2019 20:35
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INTERNATIONAL FUTSAL FRIENDLY – 18/01/2019 NORTHERN IRELAND 4MALTA                          2(HT: 1-2)  The Malta futsal team met Northern Ireland in the first of back-to-back friendly matches at the Newry Leisure Centre on Friday. A balanced encounter saw Malta, led by coach Vic Hermans, lead 2-1 at half-time with goals from Luxol’s Giancarlo Sammut and Birkirkara’s Rennie Tanti but Northern Ireland fought back, scoring three times in the second half to win 4-2. Having scored the first goal for Northern Ireland in the first half, Craig Taylor found the net again to level at 2-2 before the hosts forged ahead with a goal from Connor Millar with four minutes remaining. Millar netted his second goal of the match, with less than three minutes left, to seal a 4-2 win for the hosts. The second friendly match will be played on Saturday evening, kicking off at 19.30. In October, Malta and Northern Ireland also met in two friendlies at the National Sport School. After a slim 2-1 defeat in the opening match, Malta bounced back to win the second encounter 4-1. The friendlies and training camp in Newry are intended to boost Malta’s preparations for the upcoming 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup preliminary round tournament, being played in Sweden between January 29 and February 3, 2019. Sweden, Belgium and Armenia are Malta’s opponents in Group E. MALTA FUTSAL SQUADGOALKEEPERSStefan Vella (Valletta), Clint Mifsud (Luxol). OUTFIELD PLAYERSMark Zammit (Luxol), Jovica Milijic (Valletta), Matthew Attard (Luxol), Giancarlo Sammut (Luxol), Andy Mangion (Luxol), Shataizan Zarb (Luxol), Lee Grech (University Of Malta), George Frendo (Luxol), Neil Cauchi (University Of Malta), Rennie Tanti (Birkirkara), Andrè Ciancio (Swieqi United).