Greece leave it late
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Article summary
Greece 2-1 Austria Balafas Sotiris scores an added-time winner to move Greece clear at the top.
Article body
An added-time strike from Sotiris Balafas saw Greece defeat Austria and help them move clear at the top of Group 5 in the Elite round of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
Late winner
Austria dominated the opening 20 minutes with Emin Sulimani and Patrick Mayer going close. However, it was Greece who took the lead with their first clear-cut chance of the game after 30 minutes, through Lazoros Christodopoulos. Austria continued to apply pressure and looked to have earned a valuable point with ten minutes remaining when Theodoros Tripotseris put through his own net. But in the dying seconds Balafas struck to give Greece victory, moving them three points ahead at the summit following Slovakia's 2-0 loss against Scotland.
Austria eliminated
Greece require one more point against Slovakia on Tuesday to guarantee qualification, while Austria face Scotland on the same day, though the mini-tournament hosts can no longer progress after failing to collect a single point from their opening two games of the Elite round.