Hoffer inspires Austrian waltz

Erwin Hoffer was in awesome form, scoring twice as Austria booked a place in the last four of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship with a 4-1 victory against Group A rivals Belgium in Wronki, although a second-half booking means the striker will be suspended against Spain.

Absorbing contest
Hoffer broke the deadlock on 16 minutes, collecting a well-weighted through-ball from Daniel Sikorski and firing past Davino Verhulst. It sparked an absorbing contest as Kevin Mirallas saw his 33rd-minute penalty pushed against the post and Roland Lamah twice and Hoffer were similarly denied before half-time substitute Massimo Moia equalised with a stunning strike six minutes after entering the fray. But the evening belonged to Hoffer who restored the Austrian advantage three minutes later and goals from Michael Madl and Daniel Gamann, the second a penalty, completed the win.

Belgium bow out
It means Belgium have failed to reach the knockout stage for five successive tournaments. Having conceded four against Poland on Thursday, Marc Van Geersom's side - shorn of the suspended Timothy Dreesen – were on the back foot as early as the fifth minute when Hoffer hit a low, powerful effort which forced Verhulst to awkwardly push it around the post. The goalkeeper then misjudged the resulting corner, but was fortunate the ball fell to Lamah who cleared at the back post.

Lamah threat
The forward was soon in more familiar territory, linking up with Sébastien Pocognoli on the left to create a fine opportunity for Mirallas but with only the goalkeeper to beat he blazed over. Within two minutes Belgium were behind, as Sikorski and Hoffer combined and the pair almost repeated the feat midway through the half but an off-balance Hoffer sliced wide. It was not all one-way traffic, with Lamah causing problems at the other end, earning a penalty just after the half-hour mark when he drew a foul from Daniel Gramann but Mirallas was denied as Zaglmair saved with the aid of the post.

Second-half dominance
It was the cue for a bizarre spell as Lamah fired a blistering effort against the other upright soon after and it was still shuddering when the he hit it again with the rebound. Hoffer did the same at the other end, but Moia was far more accurate after the restart, finding the top corner from distance. Parity was short-lived as Hoffer restored the lead with a superb pinpoint finish and although Belgium went close to levelling again, their evening was to end in disappointment as Madl and Gramann completed a 4-1 defeat that meant they finish fourth in Group A and miss out on a 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup spot.