Czechs make sure of victory in second half

UEFA UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP
QUALIFYING ROUND GROUP 4
22.10.2022
Centenary Stadium, Ta’ Qali

MALTA…0
CZECH REPUBLIC…5
(HT 0-1)
0-1 Adam Binar, pen, 43, 0-2 Vojtech Hranos 47, 0-3 Vojtech Hranos 51, 0-4 Vojtech Hranos 90+1, 0-5 Lukas Branecky 90+4

After going down heavily to Scotland in the tournament opener last Wednesday, the Maltese Under-17 side slightly improved their performance against the Czech Republic yesterday afternoon, who nevertheless cruised to a five nil win, including two stoppage time goals. The difference in quality was evident from the start, but the hosts were hit hard with a dubious first half penalty, while after the break, the Czechs accelerated and added four for more, including a hat-trick by striker Vojtech Hranos.

Compared with the Scotland match, coach Ivan Woods made three changes. On the right flank, Lydon Seychell was preferred instead of Kewell Fardell and on the left flank, Shaun Carabott played in lieu of Shelom Magri. Up front, Nicholas Agius replaced Keyon Ewurum, but Agius had a wide task on the right, with Felippe Bugeja deployed as deepest striker.  

In an uneventful first half, neither side could leave their mark on the game. The Czechs’ ball circulation was simply too low to upset the Maltese. On 27 minutes, the visitors came close to break the deadlock but centre forward Lukas Branecky’s close-range attempt was saved by Niklas Vella. Two minutes before the break, the visitors were awarded dubious penalty for an apparent hands ball incident in the box. Adam Binar sent Vella the wrong way to put the Czechs one nil up at half-time.

The Czechs doubled two minutes into the second half when Vojtech Hranos had the better of Vella after a fluent attack of the visitors on the right flank. On 51 minutes, Hranos headed in goal number three from close-range, from a precise Daniel Rus cross from the left. Not much later on the other side, Jake Azzopardi tried his luck with a shot from the edge of the box but Czech goalkeeper Jesse Joeri Heerkens saved without difficulty. On the hour, Branecky missed a sitter from close-in from a Hranos cross. Two minutes later, Heerkens had to block an attempt by Jerome Baldacchino who was sent through on the right but fell inches short to connect. On 75 minutes minutes, Daniel Kubat should have scored but his close-range attempt ended up high over the crossbar from a corner-action. Substitute David Hajek hit the post with one minute regular time of the clock left. Hranos made his hat-trick complete one minute into stoppage time and with the very last kick of the match, Branecky even added the fifth goal for the Czechs.

Earlier on Saturday morning at the same venue, Scotland beat Northern Ireland 3-0 with two goals by Rory Wilson and one by Jacob MacIntyre. That means that Scotland is leading the group on maximum points, followed by the Czech Republic with four, Northern Ireland with one and Malta without points. Next Tuesday, the tournament comes to an end with Scotland playing Czech Republic in the morning and Malta playing Northern Ireland in the afternoon at the Centenary Stadium, kick off 16h. The first two qualify for the elite round, while the third-placed team remain with a chance to advance, depending on their record against the first and second-placed teams in the group, compared with other groups.

Malta
Niklas Vella, Shaun Carabott, Nic Briffa, Sheldon Borg, Kean Scicluna (Lukas Okeke 82), Lydon Seychell (Kewell Fardell 72), Thomas Melillo (Antiago De Flavia 72), Bradley Farrugia (Jerome Baldacchino 57), Jake Azzopardi, Nicholas Agius, Felippe Bugeja (Keyon Ewurum 57).
Coach: Ivan Woods

Czech Republic
Jesse Joeri Heerkens, Daniel Bouchner, Daniel Kubat, Mikulas Konecny, Jakub Setka (Frantisek Herak 67), Daniel Rus (Simon Tesai 82), Petr Zika (Jan Feit 46, David Hajek 57), Dominik Pech, Adam Binar (Lukas Saal 46), Lukas Branecky, Vojtech Hranos.
Coach: Petr Havlicek

Referee: Visar Kastrati (Kosovo)
Yellow cards: Agius, Azzopardi, Magri (M);Hajek (C)
Attendance: 185

Images copyright by Stephen Gatt