Qualifying win for U20 finalists

By Igor Linnyk

Ukraine bolstered their UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying bid with a Group 2 win gained by a U20 team now on their way to the FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands.

Ukraine ahead
Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko's team were fourth at kick-off, up against a team yet to gain a point on their tournament debut. And it was another difficult night for Kazakhstan, as Ukraine dominated and went ahead 20 minutes in as Olexandr Aliyev converted a penalty after a foul on Olexandr Sytnyk.

Parity short-lived
Kazakhstan that gave themselves hope of a shock point as Alexey Shakin headed in a free-kick in the 31st minute. But the Ukrainians did not panic and before half-time the broke down the wing and Maksym Feshchuck applied a deadly finish.

New squad
The home team lowered the tempo after the break, but Aliyev and Volodymyr Samborskyy both went close. This Ukraine squad now go to the Netherlands, while an even younger team under Gennadiy Litovchenko will play their next U21 qualifier in Greece on Tuesday, when Kazakhstan welcome Turkey.