Czechs too strong for Malta U-19

The Malta U-19 lost their second match from the European Championship qualifying round Group 10 when they were beaten by the Czech Republic 4-0 at the Centenary Stadium yesterday.

It was a disappointing outcome to a match which saw the Czechs underline their credentials as one of the tournament favourites as they managed to wrap up the match inside the opening 35 minutes when they took a four-goal advantage.

The Czechs were off to a strong start and Ladislav Krejci put them ahead after only eight minutes. The goal hit hard the Maltese and it was no surprise when Petr Putz made it 2-0 on 13 minutes.

The visitors were in control now and on 29 minutes Zdenech Folprecht converted a penalty to make it 3-0 before Putz struck again ten minutes before half-time.

This was the second win for the Czechs who are now sharing top spot in the group with the Netherlands on six points from two matches. The Dutch, who beat Malta 1-0 last Thursday, maintained their perfect record with a comfortable 5-1 win over Cyprus.

Rajiv van La Parra (26), Leandro Bacuna (35), Geoffrey Castillion (39), Lorenzo Burnet (66) and Charlton Vicento (88) netted the goals for the Dutch while Cyprus pulled one back four minutes from time through an own goal by Imad Najah.

The qualifying group will come to a close on Tuesday when Malta play Cyprus at the Centenary Stadium while the Netherlands and the Czech Republic will face each other at the Hibs Ground with top spot in the group at stake.

Both matches start at 11.15 a.m.

Malta: D. Balzan, Y. Cauchi, I. Grech, K. Fedele, E. Cauchi ('46 Q. Bregman), Y. Camilleri, S. Pisani, R. Muscat ('65 C. Gauci), L. Micallef, T. Caruana, M. Tabone ('36 M. Gauci).