Nekhaychik edges Belarus through
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
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Belarus 1-0 Azerbaijan
FC BATE Borisov striker Pavel Nekhaychik scored the winner on his home ground as Belarus secured a play-off berth.
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![Belarus scorer Pavel Nekhaychik (right) looks to get in a cross under pressure from Bakhtiyar Soltanov of Azerbaijan Belarus scorer Pavel Nekhaychik (right) looks to get in a cross under pressure from Bakhtiyar Soltanov of Azerbaijan](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0257-0deab60925a9-133db0b5b93f-1000/format/wide1/belarus_meet_italy_in_the_play-offs.jpeg?imwidth=158)
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Pavel Nekhaychik struck a second-half winner as Belarus booked their spot in Friday's UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-off draw as one of the four best runners-up.
The evenly-contested Group 10 fixture seemed to be drifting towards a draw until FC BATE Borisov's Nekhaychik, on his home ground, turned in a deep cross from captain Stanislav Dragun. At that point, with Scotland drawing with Austria, Georgi Kondratiev's team were on course to progress as winners of the section. However, a late goal in Aberdeen helped Scotland to a 2-1 win which lifted them above Belarus on head-to-head record. Nevertheless, Belarus will enter Friday's draw for a two-legged tie in October.