Finland and Slovakia survive

Finland and Slovakia are the first two teams to qualify for the 2005/06 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite round draw after last-day victories ensured them the leading places in Group 7.

Hosts start well
The two sides met on the opening day of the qualifying round group in Tammisaari. Hosts Finland went ahead 26 minutes in through Patrik Lomski, and the same player struck again 16 minutes into the second half. Five minutes later Valeri Minkenen added a third, meaning Milos Rieciciar's 69th-minute effort for Slovakia only pulled the score back to 3-1.

Greece hold on
In Kerava, Greece survived a late scare to defeat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-2 in their opening game. Ioannis Papastathopoulos and Asterios Kaliampakas gave Greece a 2-0 lead with goals either side of half-time, and Papastathopoulos then converted a 56th-minute penalty. But just after the hour substitute Srdan Kacar responded for Bosnia-Herzegovina, and he struck a second three minutes from time.

Finland held
An eighth-minute Minkenen goal for Finland against Bosnia-Herzeogovina was cancelled out by an Adin Duafic effort 17 minutes later as the sides played out a 1-1 draw in Kerava, but the key Matchday 2 game was in Lohja as Slovakia ran out 7-0 winners against Greece. Milos Supak and Miroslav Stoch made it 2-0 to Slovakia at the break, and the latter made the most of a penalty 14 minutes into the second half.

Slovakian surge
But it was a three-goal burst in a five-minute spell that really hit Greece hard. In the 63rd minute Jakub Sylvestr got on the scoresheet, and four minutes later Stoch completed his hat-trick. Within seconds Robert Ujcik increased the lead, and the substitute claimed Slovakia's seventh on 77 minutes.

Duo through
Greece now needed a result against Finland, but it was the group hosts who won 1-0 to ensure first place, Akseli Pelvas on target 38 minutes in. That result meant a point would have been enough for Slovakia against a Bosnia-Herzegovina side requiring victory, but the Slovakians secured a 4-1 triumph. Sylvestr scored on 38 minutes and Mario Krzan made it 2-0 15 minutes into the second half. On the hour Sylvestr claimed another goal, and although substitute Andrej Markic pulled one back, another replacement, Radomir Trnovec, had the final word.