Resurgent Norway see off Spain

Norway kept their hopes of reaching the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship semi-finals alive by securing their first win in Group A against Spain. Second-half goals from Gunhild Herregården and Hege Hansen helped the two-time finalists to maximum points and left Spain – who registered late on through Joana Flaviano – on the verge of elimination.

Fast start
Despite the high temperatures, Norway started at a fast pace and were soon peppering in shots. Ida Elise Enget sliced her side's first attempt wide from distance before June Tårnes fired in two efforts in the space of a minute, both comfortably saved by Spain goalkeeper Laura Rafois. Jarl Torske had been disappointed by Norway's first-half display in the opening game against Italy but the coach must have been reassured this time as the white shirts continued to flood forward with menace.

Golden opportunity
Rafois needed to be alert to save at the feet of Ingrid Ryland on 12 minutes after a good run and cross from Ingvild Isaksen from the right, then the lively Enget directed Herregården's free-kick straight at the Spanish No1. Ignacio Quereda's team were in need of respite and María Alharilla Casado almost provided some on the half hour, flicking the ball over Mayte Casas only to see her shot saved by Ingrid Thorbjørnsen low down. The Scandinavian outfit finished the half strongly, however, with Tårnes firing over a golden opportunity from close range following Isaksen's cut-back and Katrine Andresen following suit just moments later.

Downward header
The pattern of the game remained unchanged after the break and though Silvia Meseguer had one speculative effort saved by Thorbjørnsen, it came as no surprise when Norway opened the scoring on 58 minutes. Andresen's right-sided corner was perfectly weighted for Herregården, whose downward header skated into the bottom-left corner. Torske's team almost doubled their lead, again from a corner, although this time Maren Mjelde's powerful header was blocked on the line.

Hansen strike
Itxaso Nabaskues and Sara González were introduced for Spain but it was Norway's substitute Hansen who made the biggest impact, beating the offside trap before drilling a low shot under Rafois to effectively end the Spanish challenge 15 minutes from time. There was still time for Flaviano to curl a lovely free-kick into the top corner in the dying seconds but it was not enough for Spain, whose bid ended when Italy beat France in the second game of the day. Norway, meanwhile, meet the hosts on Sunday in a match to decide the second qualifier from Group A.