Emre eases Turkey to victory

Group 4 hosts Turkey made a solid start to the UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round, two Emre Çolak goals in four second-half minutes defeating ten-man Azerbaijan in Eskisehir.

The home team began brightly, Necip Uysal going close early on, although Azerbaijan swiftly regrouped and might have been in front a minute before the break when Orkhan Hasanov capitalised on a defensive error. Turkey coach Kemal Özdeş introduced Orhan Gülle and Onur Karakabak at the break and the substitutes brought more energy to the attack, İsmail Odabaşı drawing a foul from Yasin Yagubzade and Emre converting the penalty to give Turkey a 55th minute lead.

The points were effectively safe three minutes later as Ali Kuçik provided the pass for Emre to apply a simple finish and double Turkey's lead. Any lingering Azeri hopes were ended by Tarlan Guliyev's red card for a late challenge on Emre with 20 minutes left, Özgür Çek and İsmail Odabaşı passing up chances to extend the Turkey advantage in the closing stages. Turkey could book a place in the finals in July on Friday if they beat Spain and Azerbaijan avoid defeat against Norway.