Holmar close to finals

Defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson is on the brink of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals after Iceland won 2-1 in the first leg of their play-off with Scotland in Reykjavik on Friday night.

Jamie Murphy put the visitors in front on 19 minutes before Johann Gudmundsson equalised just after the half-hour mark. Substitute Almarr Ormarsson fired in 12 minutes from time to give Iceland a crucial lead going into Monday's return in Edinburgh when a draw or victory would send them through to the summer finals.

The highly-rated Eyjolfsson, who was cautioned in the 25th minute and will therefore be suspended for the second leg, is the son of Iceland coach Eyjolfur Sverrisson and has been a mainstay of their qualification programme. Should they make it through to the final tournament, it will be the first time the nation has ever played in a major UEFA or FIFA finals.