Early goals see off Slovakia
Friday, June 3, 2005
Article summary
Portugal 2-1 Slovakia Early goals from Filipe Oliveira and Hugo Viana make it six wins out of six.
Article body
Portugal now have the last remaining perfect record in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying as they defeated Slovakia to maintain their Group 3 dominances.
Early goals enough
The points were all but sealed inside ten minutes, as Filipe Oliveira and Hugo Viana both struck from inside the area. In the second half, the visitors tried to get back to the game and after Varela and Paulo Sérgio both missed chances Slovakia brought some excitement back to the match when Matus Kozacik scored from close-range 14 minutes from time.
Strong lead
But Portugal kept control of the ball and now lead Russia by six points. The second-placed team can halve the gap when they play Latvia on Saturday but Portugal can then steal a march again in Estonia on Tuesday. Slovakia remain three points behind Russia, at least until tomorrow's game, and require victory in Luxembourg in midweek to keep their bid for a play-off place on course.
