Pirker goal edges out England

Austria finished the UEFA European Under-17 Championship on a high by securing a narrow 1-0 win against England in the third-place play-off.

Pirker decisive
Despite dominating for long periods, England failed to make the most of several clear chances and were made to pay when Daniel Pirker scored the decisive goal for Austria shortly after the break.

Huddlestone goes close
England began impressively, immediately forcing their opponents on to the back foot and should have gone ahead as early as the third minute when Tom Huddlestone's free-kick was well saved by goalkeeper Robert Olejnik.

Jarvis miss
Austria struggled to impose themselves on the game in the opening stages and in the 21st minute almost went behind again, when Ryan Jarvis was unable to prod in despite being clean through on goal after a defence-splitting pass from Dean Bowditch.

Schiemer chance
Austria's only genuine opportunity of the first half fell to Franz Schiemer, whose header skimmed past the outside of the left post following a cross from Helmut König in the 25th minute.

Pirker goal
Ernst Weber's side, however, were rejuvenated at the start of the second half and capitalised on one of their few sustained periods of pressure by collecting the vital goal in the 52nd minute, Pirker tapping in from close range when Patrick Mayer's free-kick took a deflection.

Doyle close
Nathan Doyle almost levelled in the 76th minute as his shot from distance cannoned off triumph, while Pirker's attempted chip in the dying stages nearly gave Austria a second goal.

Webber delight
Austria coach Weber praised the way his charges acquitted themselves. "We were very strong in defence and our three players who were suspended against Spain returned to the side," he said. "We knew how to defend our goal after we scored and have managed to achieve all our objectives. We have done much better than we expected to. Our first aim was to reach the semi-finals and after that everything was a bonus."

Peacock frustration
Weber's English counterpart John Peacock was disappointed. "It was a pity to finish in fourth place," he said. "Emotionally we were still feeling the consequences of being defeated by Portugal in the shoot-out in the semi-finals. We had two or three great scoring opportunities and didn't take them. A goal would have boosted our confidence."