National cup

National Stadium
Spectators: 1028 (Terracing: 772, Seating: 236, VIP seats: 20) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Julian Behrami got the match started through his kick off. If Hernández Fernández had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 5th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. U21 Albania's Markel Laraku proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 7th minute of the match, managed to save U21 Albania from getting a goal against them. With a little luck, U21 Albania's Markel Laraku got control of the ball when Derek Cooke tried to sneak it across the goal line. After 14 played minutes U21 Scotland got a freekick which was hit by Derek Cooke. In the 15th minute Julian Behrami shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Sean Barrie saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. If Julian Behrami had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 15th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. U21 Scotland's Sean Barrie played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Skënder Kotomelo in the 19th minute of play. 20 minutes had been played when some careless play by U21 Scotland's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Përparim Bajraktari was slow to take the kick. During this time U21 Albania's players had a chance to rest. After taking down the ball on U21 Albania's corner Përparim Bajraktari fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Sean Barrie quite easily take care of the ball. Sean Barrie took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Julian Behrami, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Hernández Fernández could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 24th minute of the match, but Markel Laraku made a huge save. 26 minutes into the match, Julian Behrami notched a goal, 0-1, to the right of U21 Scotland's Sean Barrie. Sean Barrie was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Hernández Fernández could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 28th minute of the match, but Markel Laraku made a huge save. When Julian Behrami came up free with the goalie in the 30th minute, the U21 Albania 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 Julian Behrami couldn't finish the play. Hernández Fernándezs short, quick shot in the 34thth minute got Markel Laraku to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. U21 Scotland were awarded a corner in the 36th minute after U21 Albania's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Hernández Fernández took the corner. In the 38th match minute, U21 Scotland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Sean McMaster to maneuver through the defense. U21 Scotland's Sean Barrie played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Përparim Bajraktari in the 38th minute of play. After having played for 41 minutes, Julian Behrami managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. U21 Albania's supporters crossed their fingers, but Julian Behrami was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Thanks to some nice moves Hernández Fernández could shoot a difficult shot in the 43rd minute, which Markel Laraku however easily saved by the left post. Markel Laraku took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Derek Cooke, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Hernández Fernández fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 46th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Markel Laraku having to interfere. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-1 lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Hernández Fernández to make the kick off. Hernández Fernández fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 51st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Markel Laraku having to interfere. Markel Laraku made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Hernández Fernández in the 53rd minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Hernández Fernández in the 54th minute of play forced U21 Albania's goalkeeper Markel Laraku to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Markel Laraku took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Hernández Fernández, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Dean Findlater made in the 61st minute of the game a quick throw-in and Derek Cooke immediately put the ball in play. In the 63rd minute of the match, Skënder Kotomelo got a very nice opportunity to score, but Sean Barrie was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. When Përparim Bajraktari fell near the penalty area in the 65th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored U21 Albania's protests and gave Përparim Bajraktari a yellow card for diving instead. Përparim Bajraktari hit a great freekick 65 minutes into the match. Përparim Bajraktari kicked well hit freekick during the 66th minute of the match. When the match had been going on for 67 minutes Hernández Fernández shot a great shot from long distance. It looked like a certain goal, but the audience witnessed a really smashing save by Markel Laraku when he caught the ball only just under the crossbar. In the 69th minute the ball was on its way in behind U21 Scotland's goalkeeper Sean Barrie, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Markel Laraku took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Brandon McConnach, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Markel Laraku took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Derek Cooke, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. An unexpectedly hard shot by Derek Cooke in the 83rd minute of play forced U21 Albania's goalkeeper Markel Laraku to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. U21 Albania made a substitution. Fllad Ademaj replaced Julian Behrami. Frai Shehu's late challenge caught a U21 Scotland's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Frai Shehu helped the player get up and apologised. After 89 played minutes U21 Albania got a freekick which was hit by Frai Shehu. Sean Barrie made a fantastic save in the 91st minute, when Fllad Ademaj sent off a good shot on target. Although U21 Scotland had been in control for most of the match, U21 Albania still came away with the win.