Malta produces attacking performance in second friendly against Cyprus

U15 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY
Centenary Stadium, 13.03.2025

MALTA...3
CYPRUS...5
(HT 1-1)

4’ Lukas Wright (MLT), 40’ Filippos Lytras (CYP), 56’ Lukas Wright (MLT), 60’ Giorgis Charalambous (CYP), 76’ Andreas Pieri (CYP), 79’ Andreas Pieri (CYP), 90+1’ Alexandros Skender (CYP), 90+3’ Kaden Camilleri (MLT)

Malta recorded a 5-3 defeat in the second of two international friendlies against Cyprus, despite producing a very attacking performance at the Centenary Stadium on Thursday.

Malta started on the front foot, pressing Cyprus in their own half. They got their reward in the fourth minute, as some excellent play between the Maltese defence and midfield led to the ball being passed to Giorgio Cristauro, who put in a perfect cross for Lukas Wright, who produced a neat finish past goalkeeper Charalambos Vasileiou to open the scoring.

Throughout the opening minutes, Malta were confident in possession, keeping hold of the ball well, while also winning many of the duels in midfield.

Malta were keeping the Cyprus attack quiet, and the away side had to wait until the 35th minute for their first attempt on goal, a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area that went over the bar.

However, Cyprus eventually levelled the scoring in the 40th minute, when Filippos Lytras broke free on the left, going past the Maltese defenders, before slotting the ball into the net to make it 1-1.

Both sides threatened to take the lead before the break, but it remained level at half-time.

At the break, both sides made a number of substitutions, yet this did not disrupt the match’s rhythm, with the second-half also starting at a very fast pace.

Malta were presented with an opportunity to retake the advantage in the 56th minute, when an excellent move freed up Cristauro, who was brought down in the penalty area by goalkeeper Giorgos Demetriou, and the home side were awarded a penalty. Wright stepped up to take it, and he sent the goalkeeper the other way, finishing cooly into the net.

However, it did not take Cyprus long to level the scoring, as a corner-kick was not dealt with by the Maltese defence, and the ball fell to Giorgis Charalambous, who was left unmarked for an easy tap-in, making it 2-2.

The away side had a number of chances to go ahead in the second-half, yet they had to wait until the 76th minute to get their goal, with Andreas Pieri getting on the end of a fine cross to make it 3-2. They quickly doubled their advantage, as Cyprus were awarded a penalty in the 79th minute for a foul, and Pieri made no mistake from the penalty spot, finishing it into the bottom corner, making it 4-2.

Cyprus made it five in stoppage time, after an excellent run from Alexandros Skender, who proceeded to finish it into the net with a great strike.

However, Malta got another goal back just moments later, as a corner was swung into the penalty area, with Kaden Camilleri meeting it with an excellent header to make it 5-3.

Although the match finished in a 5-3 defeat, it will serve as a key learning experience for the young Maltese team, who showed plenty of spirit to stay in the match over the 90 minutes.

Malta
12 Noah Mulholland (GK), 13 Liam Gatt (20 Jake Bonnici 46’), 5 Jayden Roe, 6 Matteo Mangion (16 Jerome Gaffiero 89’), 22 Liam Galea (4 Zayden Azzopardi 71’), 3 Giorgio Cristauro (17 Kenzil Vella 77’), 8 Ayrem Aquilina (19 Kaden Camilleri 71’), 10 Nicholas Busuttil (C) (15 Nikolai Attard 77’), 7 Cole Zerafa (2 Luka Buttigieg 19’), 9 Lukas Wright (24 Robbie Formosa 89’), 11 Matthew Higgans (21 Andrei Agius 46’)
Coach: Jonathan Holland

Cyprus
12 Charalambos Vasileiou (GK) (1 Giorgos Demetriou 46’), 2 Theos Ignatios Kazakaios (3 Marios Epifaniou 46’), 4 Theodoros Panagi (5 Athos Kounounis 65’), 6 Giorgos Makkoulas, 9 Giannis Argyridis (8 Andreas Pieri 46’), 10 Argyris Panayiotou (14 Alexandros Skender 46’), 11 Filippos Lytras (7 Konstantinos Aggelidis 65’), 13 Ektoras Panayiotou (17 Andreas Christou 46’), 18 Paris Kimonos (C), 16 Ntemis Dimitris Michail (19 Giorgis Charalambous 46’), 20 Panagiotis Siderenios
Coach: Michalis Ioannou

Yellow cards: Nicholas Busuttil (MLT), Paris Kimonos (CYP)