National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Eduard Turčin got the match started through his kick off. In the 3rd minute, Vinko Papo got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 6th minute of the game Nikolas Shelgu made a throw-in which Artan Amiti played forward. 7 minutes into the match, U21 Croatia's Vinko Papo sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Gjon Dhami narrowly saved just below the crossbar. 8 minutes into the match, U21 Albania's goalkeeper Gjon Dhami had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Eduard Turčin. Nikolas Shelgu made in the 10th minute of the game a throw-in that took a bad bounce and was taken care of by U21 Croatia's Feliks Briški. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Albania's zone, Vinko Papo stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Gjon Dhami came out of the goal and Vinko Papo tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 17th minute Dorian Stoli shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Gabrijel Jovanovski saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 18 minutes into the match, U21 Croatia's Vinko Papo sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Gjon Dhami narrowly saved just below the crossbar. After 20 minutes, Nikolas Shelgu mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the U21 Albania and the U21 Croatia players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 20th minute, Nikolas Shelgu hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 21 minutes into the match, Vinko Papo had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Gjon Dhami. U21 Albania's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Vinko Papo was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-0. 24 minutes into the match, U21 Albania's goal looked a bit too open when Vinko Papo came free, but Gjon Dhami reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. U21 Albania's Gjon Dhami proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 25th minute of the match, managed to save U21 Albania from getting a goal against them. Vinko Papo sent away a hard shot on goal in the 27th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Gjon Dhami showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Vinko Papo in the 27th minute of the match. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Vinko Papo in the 30th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Gjon Dhami prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Gabrijel Jovanovski took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Dorian Stoli, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Vinko Papo hit a great freekick 33 minutes into the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Frai Shehu in the 34th minute of play forced U21 Croatia's goalkeeper Gabrijel Jovanovski to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. U21 Croatia's Feliks Briški quite brazenly broke a throw-in by Nikolas Shelgu, made in the 36th minute of the game. 37 minutes into the game, U21 Croatia's Vinko Papo nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Gjon Dhami made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-0. 42 minutes into the match, U21 Croatia's goal looked a bit too open when Dorian Stoli came free, but Gabrijel Jovanovski reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. U21 Albania's Latif Rugova managed, thanks to a brazen rush, stole the ball on a throw-in made by Vjeran Bulat in the 43 minute of the game.

The wind increased when Frai Shehu made the kick off in the second half. Gjon Dhami showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Trpimir Karačić in the 51st minute of the match. Kevin De Bruyne made a great header on U21 Croatia's corner, it was just that U21 Albania's Gjon Dhami managed to reach the ball for a save. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Vinko Papo during the 60th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. A hard shot by Nikolas Shelgu from long distance, 61 minutes into the match, got Gabrijel Jovanovski's attention. Through a fast twist with his body, he could stop the ball from going in on his right side. Gjon Dhami stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Vinko Papo's shot from short distance in the 65th minute. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Ilan Mak during the 66th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After 66 played minutes U21 Croatia got a freekick which was hit by Ilan Mak. The audience thought a goal was coming when Dorian Stoli got free with Gabrijel Jovanovski in the 68th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. U21 Croatia's Feliks Briški quite brazenly broke a throw-in by Nikolas Shelgu, made in the 74th minute of the game. Frai Shehu could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 76th minute of the match, but Gabrijel Jovanovski made a huge save. After a rather tough play, U21 Croatia's Bo Zidane got a free kick in the 78th minute. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Vinko Papo in the 81st minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Gjon Dhami prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Gjon Dhami made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Vinko Papo in the 92nd minute of play. Latif Rugova sent away a hard shot on goal in the 95th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. U21 Croatia were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of U21 Albania for a fine match.