National Team Friendly

National stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Antonio Navarro took the kick off in the first half of the match. When Ecuador's Alejandro Espina in the 9th minute got a chance for a shot 9th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Malta's goalie prevented a goal. In the 10th minute of the match Ecuador got a corner. Malta's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Cordero Aberasturi ran over to the corner to take the kick. Ecuador's Ricardo Ceberiche played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by John Lennon in the 19th minute of play. After some careless play in the Malta defense, Alejandro Espina kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Leonardo Da Vinci. The Malta fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Leonardo Da Vinci should have stopped the shot. After some careless play in the Ecuador defense, John Lennon kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Ricardo Ceberiche. The Ecuador fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Ricardo Ceberiche should have stopped the shot. When Ecuador's Alejandro Espina in the 29th minute got a chance for a shot 29th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Malta's goalie prevented a goal. Angel Mena hit a great freekick 33 minutes into the match. Ricardo Ceberiche showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from John Lennon in the 36th minute of the match. Ecuador's Ricardo Ceberiche played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Antonio Navarro in the 39th minute of play. In the 42nd minute Daryl Mizzi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ricardo Ceberiche saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 44 minutes into the match, Ecuador's Alejandro Espina sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Leonardo Da Vinci narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Ricardo Ceberiche showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Antonio Navarro, who was totally free with the ball in the 46th minute. After the first half Malta were leading 1-2. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Alejandro Espina to strike the kick off in the second half. An unexpectedly hard shot by Antonio Navarro in the 54th minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Ricardo Ceberiche to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The throw-in from Edward Saliba in the 57th minute of the game was unfortunally taken care of by Ecuador's Pedro Velasco. An unexpectedly hard shot by Angel Mena in the 61st minute of play forced Malta's goalkeeper Leonardo Da Vinci to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. A collision led to Malta getting a freekick after 63 minutes play. Edward Saliba hit a great ball. A collision led to Malta getting a freekick after 65 minutes play. Edward Saliba hit a great ball. Flavio Cifuentes's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Leonardo Da Vinci read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 66th minute of play. If Ortiz Apellaniz had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 68th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Malta made a substitution. Pepe Ferreira replaced Edward Saliba. A collision led to Malta getting a freekick after 73 minutes play. Jonathan Sammut hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by John Lennon in the 78th minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Ricardo Ceberiche to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 80 minutes into the game, Nemanja Vidic was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Malta's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Ecuador the free kick. Nemanja Vidic kicked well hit freekick during the 80th minute of the match. Malta's Evan Vancell managed, thanks to a brazen rush, stole the ball on a throw-in made by Washington Piedrahita in the 82 minute of the game. Flavio Cifuentes took the ball and in the 83 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Leonardo Da Vinci. Leonardo Da Vinci dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 2-2. Leonardo Da Vinci showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Washington Piedrahita in the 92nd minute of the match. Leonardo Da Vinci didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Washington Piedrahita went, in the 92nd minute, to the upper right corner, 3-2 was the resulting score. Malta's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.