Development Tournament: Under-16 National Team opens with a harsh defeat

An excellent Under-16 National Team rounded off the opening day of the Malta Development Tournament with a narrow defeat in a match that saw them up against Liechtenstein. The scoreline does not truly reflect what happened on the pitch. Cancelli's boys played with attacking intent and great composure, right from the off: after 3 minutes Biagioli earned a corner, from which Valentini narrowly missed the target. Thanks also to their high pressing, the Titana side kept their opponents penned in their own defensive third for long spells. The bad news of the opening quarter of an hour was Barbano’s injury; he was replaced by Dolcini. The substitute immediately caught the eye with a fine move down the right flank, though he could not quite pick out a team-mate in the middle. Instead, the move ended in a throw-in that allowed Liechtenstein to cross the halfway line for the first time: Tommaso Benvenuti halted the counter-attack by conceding a corner. And from that corner Liechtenstein, somewhat against the run of play, took the lead: the Sammarinese defence were slow to clear and Gritsch took full advantage of the Titans’ hesitation to find the net. The reaction from San Marino was excellent: they poured forward and soon created a good chance through a Yazici–Zafferani combination, but the latter could not give his shot enough bite. As the half moved past the half-hour mark, Riccardi came close to levelling with an effort that drifted just wide. Shortly afterwards Liechtenstein threatened again on the break, but Zafferani cut it out for a corner with a perfect covering run. As before, the ensuing scramble in the box proved excessively costly for the young Biancoazzurri: the ball fell kindly to Carroccia, who quickly slotted home the second. Alongside the scoreline, which did not truly reflect the balance of play, San Marino’s determination also doubled. Right at the end of the first half they had a double chance: first with a free-kick from Cervellini, diverted for a corner; then from the resulting set piece, which Riccardi swung to the far post where Dolcini volleyed just wide. Before the half-time whistle there was still time for another opportunity from a corner. The Liechtenstein defence deflected a header from Tommaso Benvenuti into the path of Zafferani, but the young No. 10’s effort also finished wide. The second half began with the introductions of Giacomo Benvenuti and Casadei. Switching to a 4-4-2, the Sammarinese side confirmed the intent to come back that they had shown at the end of the first half. Within two minutes, Tommaso Benvenuti caused chaos in the Liechtenstein defence on the corner of the box, but could not find a team-mate in the middle. The Titans’ pressure paid off in the 52nd minute: Cervellini latched onto a long ball from Giacomo Benvenuti and was brought down in the area. A clear penalty was awarded by the referee and entrusted to Giacomo Benvenuti himself, who converted with a shot down the middle. Having pulled one back, the Titans pushed on even more. A neat one-two between the Benvenuti twins following a corner created another threat for the Liechtenstein goal: Giacomo crossed for Tommaso, whose first-time effort flashed just wide. Meanwhile Cancelli also threw on Giacopetti and Domeniconi in an attempt to breach the Liechtenstein fortress, with the visitors now camped deep to protect their slender lead. In the 82nd minute, San Marino enjoyed a temporary numerical advantage, in line with one of the experimental regulations traditionally applied in Development Tournaments. Gritsch received a white card for unsporting behaviour and had to leave the pitch for eight minutes. During that spell came San Marino’s clearest chance of the second half, penalty aside: Cervellini broke into the area and cut the ball back for Tommaso Benvenuti, whose first-time strike crashed against the crossbar. In the final minutes Cavalli and Gennari also came on. The Titana side could only muster one more effort from Riccardi, which went wide. In the end, the 2-1 scoreline was harsh on the Titans, who had turned in a very good performance, and they will now face hosts Malta tomorrow (kick-off at 15:00). The Maltese, who opened with a 5-3 win over Gibraltar on penalties yesterday, currently sit second in the table on 2 points, behind Liechtenstein (3 points) and ahead of Gibraltar (1 point) and San Marino (0 points).

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Under-16 Development Tournament, Matchday 1 | San Marino – Liechtenstein 1-2 SAN MARINO Mularoni, Zafferani (from 60' Domeniconi), Valentini, T. Benvenuti (from 90' Gennari), Riccardi, Menicucci (from 46' Casadei), Cervellini, Barbano (from 16' Dolcini (from 84' Cavalli)), Giacobbi (from 60' Giacopetti), Biagioli (from 46' G. Benvenuti), Yazici Substitutes: Bernardi, Laglia Coach: Nicola Cancelli   LIECHTENSTEIN Schädler, Weissenhofer, Abidi, Gritsch, M. Beck (from 59' Konzett), Julian, Marxer (from 81' Shulz), Carroccia, Allgäuer, Wolf, Rizanaj (from 59' Verling (from 86' Lässer) Substitutes: L. Beck, Heeb, Ritter, Giorgetta, Hoop Coach: Michael Koller   Referee: Raiden Psaila (MLT) Assistant referees: Andrea Naudi, Wayne Sammut (MLT) Booked: Shulz, Abidi Sin Bin: Gritsch Scorers: 23' Allgäuer, 35' Carroccia, 53' pen. G. Benvenuti

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