Genkov spot on for Bulgaria

Tsvetan Genkov's 87th-minute penalty left Bulgaria's UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-off against Belgium wide open after a 1-1 draw in Roeselare, in a match the hosts ended with nine men after a frenetic finale.

Late drama
Genkov kept his cool to slot past goalkeeper Logan Bailly with three minutes remaining after Jan Wuytens had handled inside the penalty area. Wuytens was dismissed for his troubles, making the lonesome walk down the tunnel just five minutes after Landry Mulemo had departed following his second yellow card. It had all looked very different when Belgium substitute Jonathan Legear fired in the rebound after Faris Haroun had been denied from the penalty spot in the 74th minute. Now, however, the Belgians must travel to Sofia on Wednesday with a difficult task.

Bozhinov absent
Belgium may draw strength from memories of their play-off this time last year when they won in Ukraine, although a subsequent home defeat left them eliminated. Jean-François de Sart's side began this game apparently determined to avoid a repeat against a Bulgaria team bereft of Juventus striker Valeri Bozhinov following his promotion to the senior squad. They struggled to convert possession into chances although the introduction of Legear provided significant attacking impetus.

Legear lift
The RSC Anderlecht winger's mazy running created chances for Haroun, Maarten Martens and Mohamed Messoudi, and when Nikolay Mihaylov parried Haroun's penalty with 16 minutes remaining it was little surprise that it was Legear who followed up to break the deadlock. But Mulemo's dismissal put the home side on the back foot, culminating in the penalty that Genkov tucked away to leave the sides all-square.