Hosts finish on a flourish

Serbia and Montenegro finished their UEFA European Under-19 Championship Elite round Group 7 campaign with maximum points as Marko Markovski's goal late in the first half secured a slender victory against the Republic of Ireland.

Maximum points
Having won both their first two games in the section, Zvonko Zivkovic's team were already assured of a place in this summer's final tournament in Northern Ireland, but nevertheless close to 2,000 spectators still turned out at the Vojvodina stadium in Novi Sad.

Markovski winner
With the pressure off, Serbia and Montenegro were able to relax and express themselves, although FK Zemun forward Markovski's strike two minutes before the interval was all they had to show for their efforts. Ireland, meanwhile, strove for an equaliser but were unable to break through, and ended the section in third position with one point, eight fewer than group winners Serbia and Montenegro.

'Great success'
"This is a great success for our football," said Zivkovic. "We must tried to use every chance on the European scene to show our quality and our country at the highest level. I'm very satisfied, my players showed so many good things. Also, I saw few weaknesses and those that I saw we shall eliminate in the future. The finals are a great challenge and we will prepare fully for that competition. But it's too soon to think about that now."