SLOVAKIA-1, MALTA-0

Malta suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Slovakia in a friendly match this evening.
Eyeing an uplifting performance in Zilina ahead of the opening Euro 2016 qualifier against Croatia on Tuesday, Malta made life difficult for the hosts but their bold efforts were undone when Adam Nemec scored what proved to be the winner two minutes before half-time.

Before Nemec's goal, Malta had a brilliant chance to take the lead but captain Michael Mifsud, played through by Ryan Fenech, was denied by goalkeeper Matthew Kozacik.

In the second half, Malta, playing with three in the centre of defence, managed to keep Slovakia at bay but were unable to find an equaliser.

Malta coach Pietro Ghedin made a host of substitutions in the second half, bringing on a number of young players like Bjorn Kristensen, Zach Muscat and Ryan Scicluna with Muscat and Scicluna making their first appearance for the national team.

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