Slovakia and Hungary take their chance

Slovakia and Hungary moved comfortably through from UEFA European Championship qualifying round Group 10 at the expense of the Faroe Island and Andorra.

The leading pair were already assured of their places in the 30 November elite round draw ahead of today's group decider, when a 1-1 draw between the teams gave Slovakia first position on goal difference. The Faroe Islands finished third by the same reckoning after a goalless game against Andorra but have little chance of progressing.

Hungary showed their intent to end on top and went ahead ten minutes into the second half, captain Ádám Huller heading in the rebound after Slovakia goalkeeper Miloslav Bréda had blocked his initial effort. The hosts seemed set for victory but suddenly the visitors reasserted themselves and substitute Boris Pisár forced an equaliser with 16 minutes left when diverting a left-wing corner into the far corner.

Slovakia had previously beaten the Faroe Islands 3-0 and Andorra 5-0, Šimon Šmehyl scoring a hat-trick. Coach Anton Valovič told UEFA.com: "Hungary fought very hard and were tough opponents for us. We knew our capabilities and before the tournament we were confident we could be group winners. I am delighted that we were able to recover from a goal down and find an equaliser when the pressure was on us, so we have done our jobs and found the way to top the group."

Hungary also scored five without reply against Andorra, four of their goals coming in the second half from substitutes Márk Barcsay, László Kleinheisler and János Sipőcz. But they only defeated the Faroe Island 2-0 – Barcsay again coming off the bench to opening the scoring on 53 minutes.

Coach Ferenc Bene, the son of the famed former Hungary forward of the same name, said: "I think we deserved to win [the Slovakia game] and we should have won but we have less experience and have played too few international matches. In the last year we've had only six or seven games with the boys and I've only been coach since August.

"Now I know the boys and I think they have a promising future – in the last month they have developed well – our will to win is high and we're very motivated with clear goals. In the second half for five or six minutes Slovakia pushed us back and during that time we conceded an unlucky goal, but otherwise we dominated. We lost top spot both here and in the other two games where we didn't score enough goals; we wanted to go through with nine points. It was a good experience, though, and good for the boys to use in the future."