Farrugia’s U-21s gain point in Finland
Malta began their 2011/13 UEFA U-21 Championship qualifying campaign on a heartening note after holding Finland to a goalless draw in a Group 2 match yesterday. The Maltese youngsters vindicated the optimism of U-21 coach Ray Farrugia and his...
Malta began their 2011/13 UEFA U-21 Championship qualifying campaign on a heartening note after holding Finland to a goalless draw in a Group 2 match yesterday.
The Maltese youngsters vindicated the optimism of U-21 coach Ray Farrugia and his assistant Ronald Vella as they produced a plucky showing to keep their Finnish opponents at bay at the Tehtaan Kenttä Stadium in Valkeakoski.
After a balanced first half, Finland enjoyed more possession in the second period but Malta showed great resilience to withstand their opponents’ pressure and secure a point. It was the first time in over three years that Malta obtained a positive result in a competitive U-21 match.
Goalkeeper Steve Sultana made saves from Finnish forwards Petteri Pennanen and Petteri Forsell in the second half. Finland threatened to snatch a last-gasp winner but Teemu Pukki fired wide from a favourable position.
Farrugia made three sub-stitutions in the second half. Bjorn Kristensen replaced Hibs team-mate Tristan Caruana at half-time, Steve Pisani came on for Miguel Ciantar six minutes into the second half and Luca Martinelli entered the fray four minutes from time as a substitute for Leighton Grech.
The creditable result achieved yesterday will further boost the Malta U-21 players’ confidence ahead of their trip to Lithuania for Tuesday’s qualifier.
It will also have raised the spirits of MFA technical director Robert Gatt and CEO Bjorn Vassallo who were present for yesterday’s game. Gatt and Vassallo will fly to Athens this morning to watch Malta’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Greece.
Malta formation: S. Sultana, Z. Muscat, O. Bugeja, Y. Camilleri, M. Gauci, R. Muscat, C. Borg, T. Caruana (B. Kristensen), L. Grech (L. Martinelli), M. Ciantar (S. Pisani), T. Vella.