Malta U-21 were made to pay for a missed first-half penalty as they lost to Bosnia Herzegovina in a friendly in Zagreb.
Coach Gilbert Agius made four changes from the team that lost heavily to the Qatar Under 23 selection on Sunday.
Ayrton Attard sees his penalty saved by the Bosnia goalkeeper.
Cain Formosa replaced Amara Sylla in goal and players Jamie Sixsmith, Jeremy Micallef and Victor DeGiorgio started ahead of Ryan Tonna, Bradley Sciberras and Jamie Carbone.
Malta could have taken the lead after 12 minutes when they were awarded a penalty for a handball in the box. But from the spot, Ayrton Attard saw his shot saved by the Bosnian goalkeeper Nikola Cetkovic. From the rebound Aleandro Garzia’s effort was blocked.
Bosnia almost struck four minutes later when Elvis Mehanovic was denied by Formosa.
In the 32nd minute, Malta had another great opportunity to open the score. Jeremy Micallef, played a through ball to Garzia but his shot was saved by the Bosnian goalkeeper.
Four minutes into the second-half, Andrija Drljo missed the chance to hit home from close in following a tackle timed to perfection by the solid Glenn Attard.
In the 54th minute, Bosnia scored the winner. After winning the ball in midfield, David Cavic played a through ball to Anes Masic who beat the onrushing Formosa.
Four minutes later, Malta came close to equalise the game. DeGiorgio found himself in a very good position, but an extra touch took the ball out of play. and the chance went abegging
In the 69th minute, the Bosnians thought that they doubled their lead when Masic fired home but the goal was annulled for offside.
The Reds had the best chance to equalise on 73 minutes. Attard’s free-kick caused chaos in the opponents box and after a series of shots, the ball was cleared off the line.
Glenn Attard then saw his effort from point-blank range go over the bar, much to the disappointment of the Maltese.
Seven minutes from time, Andrija Drlyo dribbled into the box, put in a low dangerous cross, but the Maltese cleared.
MALTA: C. Formosa, A. Magri Overand, Z. Grech (45 A. Vella), M. Grima, A. Attard (86 J. Borg 86), J. Sixsmith (77 B. Sciberras), A. Garzia (77 C. Gauci), J. Micallef (65 J. Carbone), K. Mohnani (86 Z. Muscat), G. Attard (77 K. Theuma), V. DeGiorgio (65 G. Sciberras).
