Danes also too strong for Maltese U17s

UEFA UNDER 17 CHAMPIONSHIPQUALIFYING GROUP 109.10.2021Tony Bezzina Stadium, PaolaMALTA…1DENMARK…5(HT 1-2)Barbara 30 (M), Bondergaard 10, K.Vella (o.g.) 23, Xerri (o.g.) 49, Sertdemir (pen) 84, Beck 90+4 (D)On Match Day 2 of the Under-17 UEFA Tournament, Denmark proved too strong for Malta, who cruised to a 5-1 win in a dominant performance. It was another tough match for the Maltese, who however definitely improved from the match against the Turks last Wednesday. Unfortunately, two own goals paved the way for a comfortable Danish win. Compared with the Turkey match last Wednesday, Malta Under-17 coach Ivan Woods changed his starting line-up on four places. In defence, Myron Micallef and Andrew Apap-Bologna were preferred instead of Jayden Ohaka and Irvin Farrugia. In midfield, Timothy Cachia started instead of Kaiden Fenech, while up front, Sean Gatt replaced Russell Caruana.Malta played a decent first half, laying back into deep into defence but efficient on the counter-attack. It was however Denmark who took the lead after ten minutes. Malek Bakhit’s grounder hit the post from a corner action and from the rebound, centre-back Malthe Bondergaard opened for the Danes. The visitors doubled on 23 minutes through an unfortunate own goal by Kian Vella, who could not avoid the last touch on one of the fast Danish attacks. On the half hour mark, Malta scored and what a goal it was. Zak Barbara, from nearly half way the pitch, saw that Denmark goalkeeper Aske Andersen was positioned far from his goalline and lobbed precisely over the custodian to bring the hosts back into the match. The boys in white remained adventurous and t wo minutes before the break, were even close to equalise when Isaiah Chukunyere’s shot from the right side of the box missed target by an inch.Four minutes after the break, Denmark added goal number three, the second own goal from Malta of the match. A cross from the right by substitute Noah Sahsah was misjudged by the Maltese defence with Sven Xerri hitting the ball last before crossing the line. On 68 minutes, Malta escaped when the lively Sahsah hit the crossbar from the edge of the box after being served by fellow substitute Batuhan Sertdemir. This was five minutes after Kian Leonardi ventured forward when Mads Lauritsen fell awkwardly around the middle circle, but the Maltese substitute could not profit from the defensive error of the Dane. In the 84th minute, Denmark were awarded a penalty after a handsball incident in the box, with Sertdemir calmly slotting home from the spot. Substitute Russsell Caruana brought the best out of Andresen deep into stoppage time with an angled shot from close range. However, the Danes had the last say when Magnus Bjornholm hit a free-kick hard into the Malta barrier, with Julius Beck picking up the loose ball, beating Malta custodian Dominic Vella easily with a tap in from close range.Earlier today, Turkey beat Montenegro 1-0. That means that both Denmark and Turkey lead the group with six points each, while Montenegro and Malta have not collected any points yet.  Next Tuesday, Malta will play their last match in this group against Montenegro, kick off 16h at the same venue.MaltaDominic Vella, Kian Vella, Myron Micallef, Sven Xerri, Andrew Apap-Bologna, Isaiah Chukunyere (Ivin Farrugia 78), Lucas Caruana (Gabriel Vella 78), Timothy Cachia (Kaiden Fenech 69), Ensell Attard (Russell Caruana 78), Zak Barbara, Sean Gatt (Kian Leonardi 62).Coach: Ivan WoodsDenmarkAske Andersen, Malek Bakhit (Emil Hojlund 67), Malthe Bondergaard, Mads Lauritsen, Matteo Grosso, Oscar Hojlund, Malthe Wallin (Noah Sahsah 46), Magnus Bjornholm, Mads Pasternak (Batuhan Sertdemir 46), Elias Hansborg-Sorensen (Julius beck 91), Bertram Kvist (Gustav Fraulo 67)Coach: Kenneth MadsenReferee: Robertas Valikonis (Lithuania)