National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Nathan Stivala started the match with the kick off. In the 2nd match minute, U21 Malta was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Harry Bailey to maneuver through the defense. In the 10thth minute of the game Jules Megnet who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but U21 Malta's Giovanni Pace was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. When the match clock showed 10 minutes, the score became 0-1 when Jules Megnet sped through U21 Malta's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Giovanni Pace. 14 minutes into the match, U21 Switzerland's goal looked a bit too open when Nathan Stivala came free, but Pitt Fries reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 17 minutes U21 Malta's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Patrick Zingre who took care of the corner kick. Giovanni Pace took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Patrick Zingre, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Fred-Marc Kaur in the 22nd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Giovanni Pace saved U21 Malta from getting behind. Giovanni Pace showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Patrick Zingre, who was totally free with the ball in the 23rd minute. In the 24th minute of the match U21 Switzerland got a corner. U21 Malta's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Patrick Zingre ran over to the corner to take the kick. It was a well-played corner which Jules Megnet managed to volley towards the net. Unfortunately, he didn't get a great hit on the ball and it went out into the grandstand. In the 29th minute, Shaun Doublet reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Pitt Fries. The goal made the score 1-1. Hennes Wickihalter kicked well hit freekick during the 31st minute of the match. Shaun Doublet struck a weak shot in the 34th minute. Pitt Fries didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for U21 Malta. Pitt Fries made an important save on a dangerous shot by Glenn Schembri in the 39th minute. In the 39th minute, Julian Baldacchino hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 42nd minute, Nathan Stivala hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. When Rafael Zwygart came up free with the goalie in the 43rd minute, the U21 Switzerland fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Rafael Zwygart couldn't finish the play. Giovanni Pace took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Fred-Marc Kaur, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Giovanni Pace made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Pavel Ponikarovskiy in the 45th minute of play. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 1-1 after a close first half.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Rafael Zwygart to strike the kick off in the second half. Giovanni Pace showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Jules Megnet in the 50th minute of the match. After some careless play in the U21 Malta defense, Rafael Zwygart kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Giovanni Pace. The U21 Malta fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Giovanni Pace should have stopped the shot. Jules Megnet sent away a hard shot on goal in the 57th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Giovanni Pace showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rafael Zwygart in the 58th minute of the match. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Malta's zone, Rafael Zwygart stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Giovanni Pace came out of the goal and Rafael Zwygart tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. U21 Switzerland's Ralph Isaak was substituted for Fred-Marc Kaur. U21 Malta made a substitution. Josh Filletti replaced Glenn Schembri. U21 Switzerland made a substitution. Adrien Amrein replaced Jules Megnet. Shaun Doublet kicked well hit freekick during the 74th minute of the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Adrien Amrein got free with Giovanni Pace in the 75th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Adam Xuereb hit a great freekick 76 minutes into the match. Giovanni Pace made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Adrien Amrein in the 83rd minute of play. In the 86th minute, Nathan Stivala hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Giovanni Pace made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ralph Isaak in the 88th minute of play. U21 Switzerland's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.