Over aged Albania outclass Northern Irish youngsters

March 03, 2010| Altin Zeqiri, ALBANIAN TIMES

Albania beat Northern Ireland 1 - 0 in a friendly match in Qemal Stafa, Tirana.
All odds were for northern Irish side to win in Tirana but the classy Albanians were unbreakable.

British newspapers predicted 2 - 0 to the Irish side but they were basing the facts of better side in the FIFA world ranking with Northern Ireland ranked at the 39th place whilst Albania on the 96th place.

The only goal of the match for Albanians came on the 28th minute. The 33 year old Ervin Skela on his 60th international cap curls home a magnificent 25-yard free-kick after George McCartney had been hauled back for a challenge on Erion Bogdani. Albania gets the goal their first-half play deserves.

In the second half Stephen Craigan headed against the bar and then fired a shot against a post with Rory Patterson almost scoring from the rebound.

The match was played on a quagmire of a playing surface and Northern Ireland goalkeeper Maik Taylor was called into action on 24 minutes when he tipped over a long-range dipping effort from Skela.

Substitute goalkeeper Tuffey saved a Salahi header, and also a low drive from Bakaj.

Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington saw his side outplayed by Albania in the friendly in Tirana.

Albania were well in control and Angolli dragged a shot wide in the 42nd minute with the defence all at sea.

Northern Ireland’s record scorer David Healy was back in the starting line-up but Sammy Clingan was a late withdrawal with a virus and was replaced by Michael O'Connor.

Albania was by far the better side in the 90 minutes and had many chances to double the scoring. A well deserved win for the home side.

Albania: Hidi, Lila, Dallku, Vangjeli, Angolli, Lala, Curri, Bulku, Duro, Skela, Bogdani. Subs: Beqaj, Cana, Kapllani, Hyka, Bakaj, Vila, Salihi.

Northern Ireland: Taylor, Little, McGivern, McCartney, Craigan, O'Connor, McGinn, Davis, Healy, Lafferty, McCann. Subs: Tuffey, Carson, Kirk, Shiels, Patterson, Evans.

Referee: Elir Pilav (Sarajevo)

FIFA World Cup 1966
The first time that Albania competed for a place in the world's elite, for the 1966 World Cup in England, was in a match against Netherlands on 24 May 1964. Drawn in Group 5 with the Dutch were also Northern Ireland and Switzerland. Albania's only point in the qualification round came from a 1–1 draw at home to Northern Ireland in Tirana, which denied Northern Ireland a place in the Finals.

Rank – Team – Pts
1 – Switzerland - 9
2 - Northern Ireland – 8
3 - Netherlands – 6
4 – Albania - 1

Berisha: Main Square in Tirana in a catastrophic status

Erind Kurti, ALBANIAN TIMES

This is the picture today of Tirana’s main square which has been described by the prime minister as being in a catastrophic status.. Berisha has charged the minister of public works and transportation Sokol Olldashi with the task of getting the main square on its feet. This is the main square of the capital and it is a shame that the 10 million dollars donated for the project of Tirana’s main square renovation by the Kuwaiti government has not been done yet.

The Prime Minister delivered a harsh speech and described a very alarming situation of the square "Scanderbeg”. This step will ensure cooperation with local authorities, the Municipality of Tirana led by the socialist party leader Edi Rama. Edi Rama, the mayor of Tirana, has worked well and has developed Tirana to a whole new level, compared to the situation it was at when he was first elected. However it is clear there is a lot of work still to be done.

The local authorities received a $10 million donation by the Kuwaiti government in 2008 which was to renovate Scanderbeg square in the centre of Tirana but work has not yet begun. There have been many projects to bring Tirana to the level of other European capitals but so far those projects have only remained written down in paper.

The capital has much work to do when it comes to catching up with their European counterparts. Metro, rail line, tramway and even bus routes connecting the airport with Tirana have yet to be implemented! The population has increased by over a million in the last two decades and the infrastructure has changed alot but still most would agree, the traffic and public transport are in a disastrous status. The project for transforming the centre of Tirana which was drafted last year and the best architecture won by the French company has yet to see work starting.

The Municipality of Tirana led by the socialist party leader Edi Rama has been blaming the Prime Minister Sali Berisha for not paying for a small part of the ring road around the square. This has been given as the primary reason for the municipality of Tirana for not starting work! The article was published today in the municipality of Tirana site (http://www.tirana.gov.al/?cid=1,62,3343)

The municipality might well have that reason but they should have formally asked for the money long time ago rather then waiting for the government to give out. It is the citizens of Tirana that have elected the Mayor for the third time now but this time he has failed to commit to his promises.

Now the public works and transportation minister Sokol Olldashi, newly assigned with the task of transforming Tirana’s Scanderbeg square has seen resistance by the municipality authorities who refuse to support the minister in the start work on the square. This is only affecting the citizens of Tirana and indeed, the whole of Albania and is seen as another example of the socialist party preventing Albania from moving forward. The socialist party which has refused to enter the parliament since the June elections, has seen Albania being prevented from a free visa regime to the European Union.


Future Scanderbeg Square:

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