Poland ease past ten-man Hungary

Poland got their UEFA European Under-17 Championship campaign off to a bright start as they secured a comfortable 3-1 win against Hungary in a physical encounter in Roskilde.

Strong wind
The game got off to a rocky start, with both sides struggling to come to terms with a strong wind blowing across the pitch. The sides found it difficult to string more than a handful of passes together and the conditions hampered play throughout.

Early lead
However, Poland, who were favourites to win the match, still managed to take an early lead when neat interplay between Piotr Stawowy and Tomasz Szczepan sent Marcin Tarnowski clear with only Hungarian keeper Gábor Máthé to beat. Tarnowski kept his cool and left Máthé helpless with a clinical shot to put his side ahead.

Selei equaliser
Tarnowski found himself at the centre of the action again moments later, as he managed to get on the end of a cross from Mariusz Solecki but his close-range header bounced to safety via the outside of a post. Hungary were only occasionally able to relieve themselves of the Polish pressure, but András Sarlós's side still dragged themselves back into the match on the half-hour mark, when Poland's offside trap failed, leaving András Selei with an easy job to fire in the equaliser.

Kódöböcz sees red
With the wind at their backs, Poland regained the initiative in the second half and nearly doubled their lead when Tarnowski's free-kick went only centimetres wide of the target. Then, with 62 minutes on the clock, Hungary's hopes of an upset suffered a severe blow when Csaba Kódöböcz was sent off for a strong challenge on Krzysztof Kruczek. And Poland wasted no time making their numerical advantage count, as Szczepan converted a penalty after Máthé had brought Tarnowski down inside the area.

Solecki ends Polish show
Worse was to come for Sarlós's side in the 73rd minute, when Patryk Bulawa beat two defenders and cut the ball back to Solecki who scored from close range. Having been reduced to ten men there was no way back for Hungary, and Poland will now look to emulate the success of their U-16 side who won the UEFA U-16 Championship in Turkey in 1993.