Narrow defeat for Malta U19s against hosts Italy – Updated

UEFA Under-19 Championship Qualifying – Group 6Misano Adriatico – 13/11/2019 ITALY   2MALTA 0 The Malta Under-19 team produced a disciplined performance in their opening match against hosts Italy at the UEFA  Under-19 Championship Group 6 Qualifier in Misano. The Italians prevailed 2-0 with a goal in each half. Italy came out strongly but had to wait until 14 minutes to create their first attempt. Piccoli's effort on goal was blocked by Birkirkara keeper Amara Sylla. On 22 minutes, Sebastiano Esposito’s free-kick hit the woodwork with keeper Sylla beaten. Esposito, 17, is highly-rated in Italy and already a regular in Antonio Conte’s matchday squad for Inter. On 34 minutes, Esposito was prominent again but his attempt at goal was stopped by keeper Sylla. Moments later, with the Italians upping their pressure, Esposito's free-kick sailed towards Roberto Piccoli whose effort missed the target. Just before half-time, Italy forged ahead. Esposito was again at the heart of it, this time hitting home from an assist by Alessio Riccardi to give hosts Italy a 1-0 lead. In the second half, the Malta players kept their composure and defended well. Esposito again went close after the hour mark but his low shot was blocked before the danger was averted. The second goal for Italy came on 65 minutes. Esposito released Roma midfielder Riccardi who, from close range, doubled the lead for his side. The Malta U-19 team, led by coach Winston Muscat, will be back in action again on Saturday against Slovakia before ending their commitments with their final Group 6 match on Tuesday against Cyprus. ITALYFederico Brancolini, Edoardo Pierozzi (Fabio Ponsi 56), Paolo Gozzi Iweru, Memeh Caleb Okoli (Nicolò Armini 73), Nicolò Rovella, Samuele Ricci, Emmanuel Gyabuaa (Eddie Salcedo 56), Lorenzo Colombini, Roberto Piccoli (Elia Petrelli 73), Sebastiano Esposito, Alessio Riccardi (Nicolò Fagioli 73). MALTAAmara Sylla, Andreas Vella (Ismael Borg 77), Glenn Attard, Christian Gauci, Shaun Dimech (Jamie Sixsmith 86), Paul Mbong (Ryan Tonna 76), Jake Ghio, Alexander Satariano, Sebastian Grech, Carlo Zammit Lonardelli, Karl Mohnani. Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE). SECOND MATCH SLOVAKIA 3MALTA       0 In their second match at the UEFA U-19 Championship qualifying tournament, the Malta Under-19 team suffered a 3-0 defeat to Slovakia in Rimini. The Maltese team played for more than an hour with 10 men following the dismissal of Karl Mohnani just past the half-hour mark. Slovakia, who opened their commitments with a 2-1 victory over Cyprus, scored their three goals in the first half through Samuel Lavrincik after four minutes, Erik Basista on 25 and Jan Bernat on 33. With 10 men, the Maltese youngsters faced a difficult task but they kept their composure and tactical shape to keep Slovakia at bay in the second half. Malta will conclude their group commitments with a match against Cyprus on Tuesday. SLOVAKIAIvan Rehak, Marian Tandara, Alexander Toth, Jan Bernat (65 Dominik Veselovsky), Erik Basista (77 Lukas Letenay, Matus Maly (65 Tomas Nemcik), Tomas Bobcek (58 Tomas Suslov), Samuel Lavrincik, Ivan Mesik, Patrik Ilko (46 KrisztianBari), Filip Lichy. MALTAAmara Sylla, Andreas Vella, Glenn Attard (81 Owen Spiteri), Christian Gauci, Shaun Dimech, Paul Mbong (72 Mattia Veselji), Jake Ghio (88 Matthew Portelli), Alexander Satariano (72 Ismael Borg), Sebastian Grech (46 Jamie Sixsmith), Carlo Zammit Lonardelli, Karl Mohnani. Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (SWE).