Slovakia spoil hosts' party

Norway 1-5 Slovakia

Vociferous backing
In front of 1,251 fans, Norway were keen to get their campaign under way positively. However Slovakia, who disposed of two-time European Under-18 champions Portugal in the intermediate round, wrecked the hosts' hopes thanks to first-half goals from captain Marián Kurty and Filip Šebo. After Norway's Kristian Onstad was sent off early in the second half, Roman Konecný and substitutes Tomáš Labun and Roman Jurko ran in further goals for Slovakia - with a late Christian Grindheim penalty giving the hosts some consolation.

Bright start by Slovakians
It was the Slovakians who started the brighter, with a couple of muscular runs from Kurty causing Norway problems. After their nerves eased Norway had three excellent chances to take the lead, but failed on each occasion - profligacy they would later come to regret. Firstly, neat play by Martin Wiig set up Tarjei Dale, who shot straight at Slovakian goalkeeper Peter Kostaláni.

Wiig chances
Wiig himself should have done better on 12 minutes when he found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper only to curl his effort wide. He was more unfortunate on 16 minutes when an instinctive finish spiralled over the crossbar after superb interplay between Dale and Grindheim.

Moen extends Kostaláni
For Slovakia, Juraj Halenár blasted just wide, but then, on 28 minutes, the deadlock was broken. Picking up the ball 20 metres from goal, and with barely any warning or backlift, the shaven-headed Slovakian captain Kurty blasted the ball past Larsen, to the obvious delight of the small but vociferous Slovakian contingent in the stadium. The Norwegians fell further behind ten minutes later when an exchange of passes between Igor Zofcák and Halenár freed Šebo to prod the ball past Larsen.

Changes at the break
Both sides made a change at the break with Norway bringing on an extra forward, Trond Olsen, in place of Dale, while Slovakia made a straight midfield swap withdrawing Miklas, who picked up a first-half booking for a challenge on Moen, in favour of Labun. However the key event of the half came six minutes in when Onstad was shown a red card for tugging the shirt of a Slovakian attacker as he burst through on goal, meaning he will miss his side's next game against Spain.

Slovakia look for a third
With a one-man advantage, Slovakia soon found a third goal when Konecný's 60th-minute volley shot through a sea of Norwegian defenders and past Larsen. With the game won Slovakia felt confident enough to withdraw Šebo, bringing on Tomáš Sloboda in his place. To set the seal on an impressive evening's work Slovakia added a further two goals on 70 and 86 minutes through close-range efforts from substitutes Labun and Jurko.

Heart for Norway
Norway gained some heart in the 89th minute when Grindheim coolly dispatched a penalty but after this defeat they will go into Tuesday's game against Spain looking to show more solidity. "Before the match we thought we had a chance," said Norway coach Bjørn Hansen after the match. "I had seen them play on videos and in the first 30 minutes I think we produced three big chances. Then [we conceded] two easy goals, both of them went via a Norwegian leg, then we started the second half and one player was sent off and then I think the match was lost."

Polák delighted
Meanwhile Slovakia, who face neighbours the Czech Republic the same day, are, on this form, real chance contenders to win the championship. Coach Peter Polák was understandably delighted with his side's performance. "At first we played a little bit riskily," he said. "We gave away some chances to Norway so it wasn't so good a start as I'd wished. But for the rest of the match we were the best team. I am satisfied with the play. After 20 minutes we took over the match and we were the best team and I also I am satisfied very much with the goals."