Last-gasp Podlogar rescues Slovenia

Matej Podlogar came off the bench against Malta to score four minutes into added time and move Slovenia three points clear at the top of UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying Group 2.

When Terence Vella equalised for the visitors with 13 minutes left Slovenia's hopes of a fourth win in five outings were in the balance. However, after entering the fray not long after that goal, Podlogar showed his striking instinct, pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty box and scoring from five metres.

The early exchanges had gone as expected, with Dejan Lazarevič putting Slovenia ahead from Boban Jovič's perfectly-weighted pass. The home side were handed a warning on 52 minutes when Vella forced Jan Oblak into service, but they failed to heed the threat and the forward levelled as 90 minutes approached. Slovenia were not to be denied, however, as Podlogar proved.