Mata lays down early marker
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Article summary
Spain's Juan Mata is the early goalscoring pacesetter at the U19 finals with a first-day hat-trick but İlhan Parlak and Roland Lamah are hot on his heels.
Article body
The fifth UEFA European Under-19 Championships in Poland have got off to an entertaining start with the first four games producing no fewer than 19 goals and Spain striker Juan Mata helping himself to an opening-day hat-trick.
Mata finishes
The Real Madrid CF forward struck three times in his side's 5-3 defeat of Turkey, getting his second with a perfectly-flighted chip over goalkeeper Volkan Babacan and completing his hat-trick with practically the final kick of the match. Turkish forward İlhan Parlak, who scored five times in the Elite round, carried that form into the finals with two goals in Grodzisk Wielkopolska, although they were not enough to earn his side a point.
Lethal Lamah
The other player who struck twice on Tuesday had more to cheer as Roland Lamah's first-half double helped Belgium to a 4-2 defeat of the Czech Republic. Scotland's Steven Fletcher took his tally for the U19 season to eight, meanwhile, with the first goal in a 2-2 draw with Portugal, making him the competition's top scorer overall.
2005/06 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Top Scorers (after Matchday One)