Jasinski joy for Poland

Poland's hopes of reaching the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals were boosted by a narrow 1-0 win against mini-tournament hosts Austria in the first round of matches in Group 6.

Only goal
Lukasz Jasinski's strike 16 minutes into the second half proved enough for victory at the Sparkassenstadion in Gleisdorf in front of around 750 fans, who ensured the compact ground was virtually full.

Midfield struggle
Neither side was able to create much in the way of clear goalscoring opportunities in a first half that was largely confined to the midfield third of the pitch.

Low finish
Poland defended solidly and the only goal of the game arrived a minute past the hour, Jasinski bursting through on the right to slide a low shot past goalkeeper Robert Olejnik. Austria strove for a way back into the game, but the Polish defence and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski were equal to anything the hosts could throw at them.

'Tight as expected'
"We knew before the game that it would be tight but thankfully we managed to score," said Poland coach Andrzej Zamilski. "We had never played Austria before and we did not know what to expect. However, we have games against Scotland and Finland to come and we have played those two sides before, so we think we have a chance."

Everytihng to play for
Austrian coach Ernst Weber said: "A draw would have been a fair result. Poland are a very good team and we have to accept the fact we were beaten. But the fact that Finland also won by a single-goal margin means everything is still open in the group."

Thursday games
Finland defeated Scotland 1-0 in Tuesday's other game in the section, ahead of Thursday's games between Poland and Scotland and Austria and Finland. "We are sharing the hotel with Finland and prior to the today's game we said that Saturday's match between us will decide the section," Zamilski added. "It seems as though we were right."