Malta U16 go down to strong Austrians in first friendly

MALTA U16      0AUSTRIA U16  4 The Malta Under-16 team went down 4-0 to Austria in the first of two friendly matches, played on Monday at the MFA Training Grounds. This was always going to be a tough match for the Maltese youngsters against the strong Austrians on a windswept pitch. Noel Turner's boys coped well with Austria's pressure in the opening minutes but Mario Polster's brace handed Austria a 2-0 half-time lead. The first attempt at goal came from Malta midfielder Jordan Kelly. His shot from 25 metres out sailed inches over the bar in the fourth minute. Austria then had two good opportunities through Benjamin Bockle (eighth minute) and central defender Marko Dijakovic who missed target from a corner. The lively Polster put the visitors ahead with a well-taken goal on 17 minutes. The lanky striker doubled the score on 26 minutes, punishing some hesitant defending by Malta.The last 10 minutes of the first half belonged to Malta who staged a bold reaction. On 34 minutes. some good work by Mattia Veselji on the left flank was not rewarded despite a good attempt by Emerson Camilleri. A minute later, Jake Bone’s shot from just outside the box missed target. In Malta's next attack, Jake Engerer saw his shot blocked by Austria goalkeeper Nikolas Polster. Engerer had another chance to reduce the deficit on the stroke of half-time but his shot was off target. The second half started on a good note for Malta. Jake Bone was unable to finish off some neat work by Engerer on the left flank. There was not much goalmouth action, only a shot by Armand Smrcka which missed target in the 61st minute. Five minutes before the end of the match, it was substitute Christian Hauptmann who scored the third goal with a low shot after a cross from the right. Another substitute, Bernard Zimmermann, saw his shot sail over the bar. On the stroke of time, the same Zimmermann rounded off a good Austria attack with Malta defender Kurt Buhagiar deflecting his shot past helpless goalkeeper Dylan Ciappara.It was a good test for Noel Turner's team who will meet the same Austria team in the UEFA U-17 Championships in October this year. The second friendly will be played on Thursday afternoon at the MFA Training Grounds at 14.00. MALTA U16 FORMATIONMatthias Debono (Dylan Ciappara 53'), Sheldon Mizzi (Kurt Galea 70'), Matthew Ellul, Ismael Borg (Gianluca Borg 70'), Glen Mifsud (Luke Musu 53'), Emerson Camilleri (Gianluca Sciberras 53'), Karl Mohnani, Jake Bone (Kurt Desira 53'), Jordan Kelly (Nikolai Farrugia Cross 61'), Jake Engerer, Mattia Veselji (Kurt Buhagiar 61').Referee: Alex Johnson (Malta)