Austria close on last-four berth

Austria continued their fine start to the UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals with a hard-earned 2-1 victory against Ukraine in St-Cyr-sur-Loire.

Into second
Paul Gludovatz's side built on the point they gained from a goalless draw with Portugal on Tuesday to move second in Group B with another solid display of teamwork and organisation. The result, together with England's 3-1 victory against the Portuguese in today's other game in the section, means that Austria climbed to second place in the table and require only a draw from their final group game to earn a place in the semi-finals.

Dorosh strikes
The match started brightly at the Stade Guy Drut, with Austria attacking from the kick-off. It was Ukraine - seeking to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat by England - who struck first in the fifth minute, captain Roman Dorosh collecting the ball in midfield and finding the bottom corner of the net with an accurate long-range effort.

Rapid response
The Ukrainian delight was short-lived though, and four minutes later Austria drove forward again and Cemil Tosun was fouled inside the penalty area by Dorosh. Austrian captain Daniel Gramann made no mistake from the spot, striking a powerful shot straight down the middle of the goal as Oleksandr Rybka committed himself to the dive.

Gramann glee
Two minutes later, Austria were in front. Striker Erwin Hoffer won a corner with an excellent run, and from the resulting kick Gramann scored his and Austria's second goal, giving Rybka no chance with an unstoppable shot into the top corner. Hoffer almost increased Austria's lead moments later when a mis-kick from Vadym Olishchuk left the striker clear on goal, but the Ukrainian defender recovered well to clear at the expense of a corner.

Forward momentum
Austria relaxed somewhat once they had the lead, allowing Ukraine to control the match. Dorosh pulled the strings in midfield and constantly tried to find striker Oleksandr Gladkyy, but without success. But in the ten minutes which followed half-time Austria enjoyed more possession, although neither side was able to dictate the game. In the the 50th minute, Austrian substitute Georg Lederer had a chance with almost his first touch of the ball, but shot straight at Rybka.

Austrian attacks
Ten minutes later, Hoffer produced a fine piece of skill in midfield to turn past two defenders and then held off a third, only to shoot centimetres wide. Lederer was then denied by Oleksiy Remezovskyy, before Ukraine enjoyed a ten-minute spell of pressure.

Late chances
Once again, Viktor Kaschey's side had little to show for their efforts, with Denys Dedechko's free-kick over the crossbar eight minutes from time their only real attempt on goal. Indeed it was Austria who came closest to scoring again, Lederer shooting narrowly over from the edge of the penalty area, but in the end the one-goal margin proved sufficient.