Under-15, two 4-1 scorelines on day two: San Marino fall to Andorra

Andorra won their second match of the Under-15 Development Tournament as well and continue to sit clear at the top. Their closest chasers are now Gibraltar, who bounced back in style after their penalty shoot-out defeat to San Marino, coming from behind to beat Liechtenstein 4-1. On Sunday, the final showdown between Andorra and Gibraltar – currently separated by two points – will decide the overall winners of the tournament. San Marino were coming off their shoot-out victory over Gibraltar and were hoping to build on those good feelings. However, the match immediately became an uphill struggle for the young Titani, caught cold by Montané who, appearing to start from a suspicious position on Veiga Sanchez’s pass, rounded the onrushing Guerra and comfortably slotted home. Guerra did brilliantly in the 8th minute to deny Montané himself, this time flagged offside after a fine one-two with Veiga Sanchez. Moments later, the scorer of the opener sprinted to the byline and delivered a cross that Jourdain inadvertently diverted into his own net. Midway through the half, Montané lit up the contest again: Lebrón Gómez sent him through on goal and the forward unleashed a venomous diagonal effort that crashed against the base of the post with Guerra beaten. Shortly after, San Marino sounded a warning with Cupi, who tried his luck from distance, forcing Subiròs Moreno into a fine diving save. Andorra were not rattled; on the contrary, they were dangerous again through a slaloming run from Areny Alcobè, capped by a perfect cross for Veiga Sanchez, whose effort from inside the box gave those present the illusion of a goal: but the ball was the wrong side of the post. There was no illusion, however, with Dominguez’s close-range tap-in after Guerra’s outstanding save from the ever-dangerous Montané: Andorra 3-0 up. San Marino nevertheless tried to finish the half on the front foot. And in the 42nd minute they created their best chance of the half, with Gimeno Fornareva heading off the line to deny Maiani’s point-blank effort. Andorra responded in kind before the break: Veiga Sanches broke free down the left flank and delivered a low cross begging to be finished for Dominguez, who squandered his team-mate’s gift by firing wide.

San Marino had a scare straight after the restart. Da Costa Oliveira stuck out a foot to redirect Lebrón Gómez’s rather tame effort and almost wrong-footed Guerra. It was a chance simply squandered, though, by Da Costa Oliveira on the hour mark, when the Andorran forward made good use of Montané’s work to go clean through on Guerra, only to blaze wastefully over. Having weathered that storm, San Marino grew into the game and pulled one back on 68 minutes through Valentini, who shook off his marker on a set-piece routine (delivered by Jourdain), saw his first effort saved but was quickest to react to the rebound and made the most of his second attempt. Andorra quickly resumed their attacking and immediately restored their three-goal cushion: Guerra misjudged Areny Alcobè’s long-range effort and the ball ended up in the back of the net. Di Spirito’s boys poured all their pride into the closing stages, trying at least to narrow the deficit. Sensoli’s long-range attempt, held by the Andorran goalkeeper, was their final effort to alter the scoreline. The final whistle followed soon after, confirming Andorra’s second win from two and San Marino’s first defeat, with San Marino now facing the Liechtenstein test on Sunday (Dogana, 10:00 CET) as they look to finish the tournament in second place. Much will also depend, however, on the outcome of the clash between Andorra and Gibraltar: in today’s 4-1 win over Liechtenstein, Gibraltar’s goals came from a Moreno Ruiz brace (the first from the spot), Ferro and Castrey, after Kessler had given Roman Spirig’s side brief hope by scoring the opening goal in the 7th minute.