Zurawski puts Poles 5 points clear

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KIELCE, Poland -- A first half strike by Maciej Zurawski gave Poland a 1-0 win over Armenia on Wednesday that put them five points clear in Euro 2008 Group A.

Put in by a sharp Michal Zewlakow pass in the 26th minute, Zurawski cut inside two defenders before curling a drive past keeper Roman Berezovsky.

The goal was a relief for the Poles, who dominated throughout but had initially looked bereft of ideas against a well-organised visiting side.

After the goal, Zurawski, Jacek Krzynowek and Zewlakow all went close to adding a second, while new playmaker Lukasz Gargula had three opportunities to put the game beyond Armenia after the break.

It took Armenia 50 minutes to register a first shot on goal.

"For sure, this was a harder match than Saturday's," Gargula told public television. "We had a lot of chances and I missed two or three in particular. It could have been better, but they didn't give us much room."

The win gives the Poles 16 points from seven games, five points ahead of Finland, Serbia and Portugal, who have all played six matches.

Serbia and Portugal fought out a 1-1 draw in a highly entertaining Euro 2008 Group A qualifier in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Tiago fired Portugal into a fifth-minute lead and Bosko Jankovic put the Serbs back on level terms in the 37th minute to the delight of a raucous 51,000 home crowd.

Both sides missed plenty of chances in a pulsating match whose outcome left them level on 11 points from six matches along with Finland, who suffered a 1-0 setback at Azerbaijan earlier on Wednesday. All three are five points behind group leaders Poland.

Swerving shot

Portugal took the lead with their first meaningful venture into the Serbian half when Tiago unleashed a swerving shot from 20 meters that sailed over keeper Vladimir Stojkovic who was caught out of position.

The Serbs piled on the pressure and came close to drawing level through Nemanja Vidic before Jankovic equalised with a diving close-range header from Dejan Stankovic's corner.

The visitors nearly went ahead less than a minute later when Nuno Gomes slid in at the near post and fired just wide while Jankovic and Milos Krasic tormented the Portuguese defence with darting runs at the other end.

Stojkovic denied Tiago twice after the break when he produced acrobatic saves to keep out venomous long-range shots from the Lyon midfielder.

The keeper also did well to parry a 75th-minute free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a quiet game on the left flank.

Azerbaijan defeated a previously unbeaten Finland to record only their third win in 34 qualifiers since they first started playing them in 1994.

Substitute Emin Imamaliyev got the winner eight minutes from time, firing home from a corner.

Despite the setback, Roy Hodgson's Finland are still up the pack chasing a place in the next year's finals.

Hodgson said: "It's a huge setback, but we'll get over it."

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