Ankara amateurs battle through in Croatia

A 3-0 win against English side Guernsey on the final day of the Group A preliminary round tournament in Croatia earned Turkey's Ankara a place in the next phase of Europe's top amateur competition.

With the sides level on four points going into their decider at the Pokraj Jadra Stadium, Hames Şentürk's side put an end to the Channel Islanders' dream of a place in intermediary round Group 4. With Guernsey down to ten men following goalkeeper Thomas Le Tissier's dismissal just before the break, substitute Atila Çetin broke the deadlock on 67 minutes, with Emre Yasin and Fatih Deniz adding two more in added time.

Atila was in raptures after the final whistle, telling UEFA.com: "I am so happy that I managed to score. We wanted this win so badly and we deserved it." Coach Şentürk felt that progress was no more than Ankara's performances had merited, adding: "It was a tough match but we deserved to go through because I think we played the best football in this tournament."

Ankara recovered from going a goal behind in their opening match to win 4-1 against Wales' Gwent County, while Guernsey drew their first fixture 1-1 against hosts Dalmacija. The Croatian side then held Ankara to a 0-0 draw on Matchday 2, while two Ross Allen goals either side of a Glyn Dyer effort helped Guernsey beat Gwent 3-0 in the all-British battle.