Turkey and Latvia make it through Group 9

Turkey topped UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round Group 9 in Northern Ireland, with Latvia stealing in to take second place with a 2-0 win against Luxembourg today.

Bursaspor prodigy Enes Ünal and Hayrullah Alici struck in the space of 13 second-half minutes to give Turkey a 2-0 victory over the hosts on the final day. Meanwhile, Vitālijs Vavilovs and Krists Kristers Gulbis were on target against Luxembourg for Igors Stepanovs's Latvia, allowing them to claim the runners-up spot ahead of Northern Ireland.

Turkey had received a scare in their opening game, with an Elvis Sousa goal and Jeff Flies's penalty leaving them 2-0 down against Luxembourg inside 15 minutes, but Hayrullah and Enes hit back before the break to salvage a 2-2 draw, despite Emirhan Aydoğan's red card. A Ņikita Juhnevičs effort earned Latvia a 1-0 success against Northern Ireland in Thursday's other matchday one fixture.

The home side bounced back two days later, beating Luxembourg 3-1. Adam Salley scored in the first minute, Jordan Thompson added another, and although Ben Kennedy was sent off on 33 minutes and Sousa pulled one back, Andrew Mooney settled matters deep in added time. Turkey went top, though, Enes registering with six minutes left to overcome Latvia 1-0, and his third strike in three Group 9 matches helped secure qualification on the last day of action.