Late goals halt Latvia charge

Latvia 1-2 Hungary
After a solid 3-1 win in their opening fixture against Kazakhstan, Latvia fell to a defeat by Lothar Matthäus' Hungary in the next game of the Cyprus tournament and will now play off with a Belarus XI for third place on Saturday.

Quintet missing
Latvia coach Aleksandrs Starkovs lost the services of Marians Pahars, Maris Verpakovskis, Aleksandrs Kolinko, Jurijs Lajzans and Vitalis Astafjevs for Thursday's match at Tsirium Athletic Centre, Limassol, the quintet having returned to their clubs, and was therefore forced to reshuffle his side.

Changes to team
Valentins Lobanovs, Jurgis Pucinsks and Vladimirs Kolesnicenko were given a chance in midfield while Andris Vanins was handed the goalkeeper's shirt. Gatis Kalninš and the powerful Vits Rimkus linked up in attack, but failed to produce any significant openings early on.

Spurned penalty
In contrast, Hungary were awarded a penalty after just 15 minutes, however, Krisztián Kenesei spurned the opportunity to give his side the lead by blasting the ball against the post.

Midfield battle
The majority of the rest of the half was a midfield battle with little goalmouth action. Latvia nearly made the breakthrough just after the hour mark when Andrejs Rubins' cross found Kalninš but the young striker's header was saved by Hungarian goalkeeper Zoltán Végh.

Stepanovs opener
A few minutes later though Rubins' corner found defender Igors Stepanovs who leaded Latvia ahead. Everything was looking good for the Baltic side until Attila Tököli equallised in the 82nd minute after a goalmouth scramble and a Vanins error.

Kenesei winner
Latvia were still smarting three minutes later when Kenesei broke through and beat Vanins to score a dramatic winner for the Hungarians, who will now face Romania in Saturday's final. As for the Latvians, they turn their attention to Belarus as they continue their UEFA EURO 2004™ preparations.