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Tough night for Malta U21s in Moscow

Published: 07-09-2021 19:20
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07.09.2021UEFA European U21 Championship Group CArena Khimki, MoscowRussia U21….. 6Malta U21…..  0(HT 3-0)Khlusevich 6, 13, Agalarov 17,74, Bozhenov 80, Kravtsov 86The Malta U21 Team suffered a 6-0 defeat to Russia in their second UEFA European U21 Championship Group C match played on Tuesday evening at the Khimki Arena.A valuable learning experience for this rookie side led by coach Gilbert Agius in their very early days representing Malta at this level. Two changes for Malta from the emphatic group C opener 4-1 win over Northern Ireland with both Christian Gauci and Mattias Veselji nursing slight injuries after the match last Friday at the Centenary Stadium, replaced from the start in Khimki by Melita’s Karl Mohnani and Jamie Carbone who plays his trade with Premier League side Santa Lucia FCThe powerful Russians left their mark immediately and were 3-0 up after just 17 minutes. They broke the deadlock after 6th minutes as defender Daniil Khlusevich fired home from an acute angle into the bottom far corner. On 13th minutes, the same player doubled the score after drilling the ball home from close range, beating keeper Formosa after the Maltese rear guard failed to clear danger. It was 3-0 on 17 minutes with a delicate chip by forward Gamid Agalarov over the shoulder of Formosa into the net. On 25 minutes a solo effort by Edgar Sevikyan was saved for a corner by Cain Formosa on the near post and ten minutes later, Formosa was again the hero for Malta stopping Ruslan Litvinov’s point-blank shot from inside the 18 yard box. Formosa was called back into action again just before the interval, avoiding one more clear goal opportunity for Russia denying Agalarov from close range. During the second half, Russia remained the better side however Malta players started more composed and passing the ball better, trying to prevent the relentless moves by the Russian players. On 52 minutes Agalarov for Russia again tried his luck with a powerful low drive from the edge of the box but Formosa saved again. Gamid Agalarov’s resilience reaped rewards on 74 minutes scoring his brace with a curling shot from distance, adding a fourth for Russia, Kirill Bozhenov netted the fifth on 81 minutes with a thunderbolt from just outside the box giving no chance for Malta keeper in his attempts to save the ball. The sixth and last goal was scored on 86 minutes as substitute Kirill Kravtsov beat his direct marker before firing a sailing shot in the bottom corner to wrap it all up for Russia. Russia: Maksim Borisko, Daniil Khlusevich (Nikita Iosifov 65), Danila Prokhin, Ruslan Litvinov, Edgar Sevikyan (Vladislav Karapuzov 57), Konstantin Maradishvili (Mikhail Ignatov 76), Gamid Agalarov (Kirill Klimov 76), Danil Stepanov, Nail Umyarov ©, Danil Prutsev (Kirill Kravtsov 57), Kirill Bozhenov.Malta: Cain Formosa, Adam Magri Overend, Matthew Ellul, Karl Mohnani, Marcus Grima, Ayrton Attard (Jean Paul Attard 92), Aleandro Garzia (Andreas Vella 92), Carlo Zammit Lonardelli, Bradley Sciberras (Jeremy Micallef 78), Jake Engerer, Jamie Carbone (Jamie Sixsmith 65). Referee: Artyom Kuchin (Kazakhstan)