The Malta Under-19 team suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Albania in their opening Group B game at the Roma Caput Mundi Tournament yesterday.
Led by coach Wayne Attard, Malta led 1-0 at half-time after Jan Busuttil had broken the deadlock inside the opening 12 minutes at the Roberto Abbafati Stadium in Lariano.
In the initial stages of the second half, the Maltese youngsters wasted a string of inviting chances to add to their lead. They paid a high price for this as Albania netted two goals, both from set-pieces, in the last 20 minutes of the game.
Malta will be looking to bounce back from yesterday’s defeat when they meet the Italian Lega Nazionale Dilettanti selection today at the Andrea Caslini Stadium in Collefero.
Other result: Lega Nazionale vs England Schools 2-0.