A vibrant performance from the Malta U-17 side went unrewarded yesterday as hosts Serbia struck a late goal to snatch a 1-0 win in the teams’ opening match from Group Eight of the UEFA U-17 Championship.

It was a frustrating outcome for Sergio Soldano’s boys who dictated matters in the second half but their hopes of a positive result were dashed when, with nine minutes remaining, Serbian forward Jovan Nisic’s superb drive, following a clearance from the Maltese defence, had the better of goalkeeper Timothy Aquilina.

Malta had shared the exchanges in the opening half, going close to opening the scoring with efforts by Aidan Friggieri and Michele Sansone.

Serbia’s best chance fell to Tomislav Todorovic who was denied by Aquilina.

In the second half, the Maltese boys dominated possession as they piled the pressure on the hosts.

Soldano’s team, who won eight corners while their opponents had none, created several scoring chances.

Myles Beerman had an effort pushed away by goalkeeper Aleksandar Stankovic and, on another occasion, the young Manchester City winger’s shot hit the woodwork.

Friggieri, Matthew Guillaumier and David Xuereb also had opportunities but Nisic’s late strike broke Malta’s hearts.

The Maltese produced a late rally but the Serbs held on to take the three points.

Malta face the Netherlands in their second game tomorrow. The Dutch beat Finland 2-0 in yesterday’s other match.

Malta line-up
T. Aquilina, N. Pulis, N. Ghio, M. Guillaumier, J. Borg, A. Friggieri, D. Xuereb, Z. Brincat (74 C. Zammit), K. Xuereb, M. Beerman, M. Sansone (53 R. Fenech).