National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) U21 Austria's Dominic Haug started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. In the 4th match minute, U21 Albania was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Shkëlqim Xhika to maneuver through the defense. U21 Austria's attentive Jan-Moritz Weisheit managed to snatch the ball when Shkëlqim Xhika made a throw-in in the 12th minute of the game. U21 Albania's Laze Gjoka played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Lukas Podolski in the 13th minute of play. Laze Gjoka stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Lukas Podolski's shot from short distance in the 17th minute. In the 21st play minute Heiko Gräber came free and shot an unsuspected shot which went into goal from the right pole behind a surprised Laze Gjoka. 1-0. A collision led to U21 Albania getting a freekick after 24 minutes play. Luftëtar Myftiu hit a great ball. Laze Gjoka showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Lukas Podolski, who was totally free with the ball in the 24th minute. U21 Austria's Frederic Gschwendtner played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Januz Oparaku in the 26th minute of play. Frederic Gschwendtner made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Januz Oparaku in the 30th minute of play. The audience was convinced that Lukas Podolski's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Laze Gjoka was relentless in the 34th minute of the game. Frai Shehu scored 1-1 in the 38th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Frederic Gschwendtner, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. After having played for 43 minutes, Frai Shehu managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. U21 Albania's supporters crossed their fingers, but Frai Shehu was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Januz Oparaku was the one to do the kick off. 51 minutes into the match, U21 Albania's goal looked a bit too open when Lukas Podolski came free, but Laze Gjoka reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The audience was convinced that Dominic Haug's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Laze Gjoka was relentless in the 53rd minute of the game. Lukas Podolski's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Laze Gjoka read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 56th minute of play. In the 58th minute Frai Shehu shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Frederic Gschwendtner saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Frederic Gschwendtner stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Minir Noli's shot from short distance in the 62nd minute. 64 minutes in the game Shkëlqim Xhika did a throw-in, and the ball was quickly in game thanks to Frai Shehu. Laze Gjoka showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Dominic Haug, who was totally free with the ball in the 67th minute. Heiko Gräber kicked well hit freekick during the 70th minute of the match. U21 Austria made a substitution. Robin Schriebl replaced Dominic Haug. In the 72nd minute, Heiko Gräber hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 73rd match minute, U21 Albania was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Januz Oparaku to maneuver through the defense. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Robin Schriebl in the 74th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Laze Gjoka saved U21 Albania from getting behind. The audience was convinced that Robin Schriebl's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Laze Gjoka was relentless in the 74th minute of the game. When Robin Schriebl came up free with the goalie in the 75th minute, the U21 Austria 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 Robin Schriebl couldn't finish the play. Minir Noli sent away a hard shot on goal in the 79th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 83rd minute, Frai Shehu ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Frederic Gschwendtner was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-3. After a rather tough play, U21 Albania's Januz Oparaku got a free kick in the 86th minute. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Robin Schriebl in the 87th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Laze Gjoka prevented the ball from getting in the gole. 88 minutes into the match, U21 Albania's goal looked a bit too open when Jörg Moratschke came free, but Laze Gjoka reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Shkëlqim Xhika hit a great freekick 90 minutes into the match. Robin Schriebl fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 94th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Laze Gjoka having to interfere. U21 Albania's fans were overjoyed with their teams well-earned victory and stayed in the stadium long after the final whistle to celebrate the win.