MALTA-1, FINLAND-2
Malta U-21 produced a spirited fightback but it was not enough to claw a two-goal deficit as Finland won this UEFA U-21 Group Two qualifier 2-1 at the Hibs Stadium.
All seemed lost for Malta when, with Finland leading 2-0, midfielder Mark Scerri was sent off early in the second half but Ray Farrugia's boys upped their game in the final 15 minutes to pull one back but their frantic efforts in the dying stages failed to yield an equaliser.
Malta produced a good chance early on when Rowen Muscat supplied a through-ball to Terence Vella whose tame shot sailed straight at Finland goalkeeper Saku-Pekka Sahlgren.
It was Finland who took the lead after 10 minutes. Rasmus Schuller was given time and space to deliver a cross from the left and the unmarked Lauri Dalla Valle hit past Daniel Balzan.
As in Thursday's game against Slovenia, the Maltese youngsters looked disjointed in the first half. To complicate matters for Malta, captain Rowen Muscat was forced to leave the field after picking up an ankle injury following a poor tackle, which went unpunished, in midfield. Tristan Caruana replaced Muscat.
On 20 minutes, Schuller's low free-kick was pushed away by Balzan before the Maltese defenders cleared the danger.
Malta then protested for a penalty as Leighton Grech's cross from the right came off Tim Lahti's shoulder but Irish referee Neil Doyle saw nothing wrong. Malta improved slightly, Bjorn Kristensen producing an excellent dipping shot that drew an equally fine save from Sahlgren who tipped the ball over the bar.
Kristensen headed over from Caruana's right-wing corner but on the stroke of half-time, Malta suffered another blow as Finland increased their lead.
Yessous Camilleri's short backpass was pounced upon by Roope Riski who slotted past Balzan.
With his team 2-0 in arrears, Malta U-21 coach Farrugia brought on striker Jean Paul Farrugia for defender Owen Bugeja. Malta's task become more complicated when Mark Scerri received a straight red card following a late tackle in midfield on Schuller.
Down to 10 men, Malta were on the ropes but they still tried to attack with Leighton Grech stealing attention with a string of strong overlaps down the right.
Finland threatened to seal the issue but Riski fired wide from a good position. Ten minutes from time, Malta reduced the arrears thanks to Terence Vella who curled an excellent shot past Sahlgren after receiving from Farrugia.