UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifier
Northern Ireland ……2
Malta……………………0
Scorers: 7’ Makenzie Kirk (NIR), 33’ Michael Forbes (NIR)
The Malta U21 National Team fell to a 2–0 defeat away to Northern Ireland in their second UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifier. Two first-half goals proved decisive for the hosts, who controlled much of the early proceedings.
Northern Ireland started brightly, applying high pressure on the Maltese defence. Their early intensity paid off in the 7th minute, when a lofted pass found Makenzie Kirk, who took advantage of hesitation at the back to head home the opener.
Malta settled after the early setback and began to find more rhythm both in and out of possession. However, the hosts doubled their lead in the 33rd minute. From a well-delivered corner, Michael Forbes connected first and struck a half-volley into the top corner to make it 2–0 — a scoreline that remained unchanged until the final whistle.
In the 41st minute, Northern Ireland had a golden opportunity to extend their lead, when a ball was lofted into the path of Eoin Kenny, yet his volley was excellently saved by Hugo Sacco, who turned it away for a corner.
Malta held on for the remaining few minutes of the half, and the two sides went into the break with the score 2-0 to Northern Ireland.
After the break, Malta tried to impose themselves on the ball more, but they were suffering plenty of pressure from the home side, making it difficult for Malta to get out.
Malta improved as the half wore on, looking more confident in their play, stringing a couple of neat passes, yet they were struggling to work Northern Ireland’s goalkeeper, Stephen McMullan.
Northern Ireland finished the game off strong, looking sharp on the ball, with Sacco being called into action on a couple of occasions, saving comfortably.
Malta could not find a way back into the match, and as a result Northern Ireland came away with a 2-0 win.
Up next for Malta is a match on home soil, taking on Georgia at the Centenary Stadium on Tuesday 14th October, with kick-off at 19:00hrs (CET).
Northern Ireland
1 Stephen McMullan (GK), 2 Conor Barr, 3 Jonathan Russell (18 Joseph Sheridan, 90’), 4 Darren Robinson (21 Broghan Sewell, 90’), 5 Michael Forbes (C), 6 Tommy Fogarty, 7 Shea Kearney, 8 Patrick Kelly (11 Ryan Donnelly, 80’), 9 Makenzie Kirk (19 Kieran Morrison, 80’), 10 Eoin Kenny, 15 Liam Mcstravick (14 Ceadach O’Neill, 71’) Coach: Tommy Wright
Malta
12 Hugo Sacco (GK), 5 Sven Xerri, 7 Shaisen Attard, 8 Gabriel Vella (14 Ensell Attard, 80’), 10 Jake Grech, 11 Nathan Cross, 16 Jake Micallef (C), 17 Jake Azzopardi (6 Bjorn Buhagiar, 60’), 18 Daniel Letherby (22 Giuseppe Bonanno, 80’), 19 Benjamin Hili, 21 Sean Gatt (20 Kai Bartolo, 75’) Coach: Davide Mazzotta
Referee: Alessandro Dudic (SUI)
