European 2008 round-up: Armenia shock Poland

Armenia beat Poland 1-0 to cause an early upset on Wednesday, the last night of Euro 2008 qualifiers this season.  Poland, who remain top of Group A, lost valuable points in their bid to qualify for the European championship finals for the first time after Hamlet Mkhitaryan scored with a 70th-minute free kick.

In other early action, Scotland maintained their drive towards the finals from a tough Group B with a 2-0 win in the Faroe Islands in Toftir, while Finland kept alive their slim hopes with a 2-0 Group A win over Belgium in Helsinki.

Ex-Chelsea manager Ian Porterfield, who took over Armenia's national team less than 10 months ago, hailed their victory in Yerevan as one of the biggest in the history of the former Soviet republic.

'It is a great day for Armenian football,' said the 61-year-old Scot, who returned to the job in March after battling intestinal cancer.  'The whole team played well but I want to say special thanks to goalscorer Hamlet Mkhitaryan and goalkeeper Gevorg Kasparov. They deserve special praise.'

Scotland, who did not play on Saturday and slipped back to fourth in the Group B standings behind France, world champions Italy and Ukraine, put themselves back in the mix with a 2-0 win over the Faroes with first half goals from Shaun Maloney and Garry O'Connor.

Elsewhere in northern Europe, an owl held up play for six minutes when it landed on the pitch in Helsinki during Finland's match with Belgium.  The Finns, who have never qualified for a major tournament, won with goals from Jonatan Johansson and Alexei Eremenko.  Belgium lost for the fifth time in eight qualifiers and played most of the second half with 10 men after Marouane Fellaini was sent off after 52 minutes for a second yellow card.

Norway also maintained their belief with a convincing 4-0 win over Hungary in a Group C match in Oslo while Israel won 2-0 in Andorra in a Group E game.  Wednesday's qualifiers are the last until the competition resumes early next season after a four-month break.