The Malta International Airport football team is in with a chance for the top prize at the European Airports Football Championships, being held in London, after winning two games and drawing a third on the first day.

In the morning games, valid for the first round of the competition, the MIA team first struggled to beat the Hannover side, thanks to a solitary goal scored by Shaun Magro - who plays for Mqabba - late in the game.

They then rose to the occasion to overcome Birmingham 3-0. Magro was again the protagonist with two early goals and, as the English side pressed to get back in the game, George Mallia, who plays for Premier League club Birkirkara, headed home a wonder goal on a perfect cross by Jeffrey Zammit midway through the second half.

Birmingham beat Hannover 5-0 to finish second in the group behind the Maltese side.

The first match of the second round was played in the afternoon, and against Stanstead it turned out to be a tough game.

Stanstead took the lead late in the first half but eight minutes after the interval, Mallia curled a superb freekick past the wall and in the top corner of the net to draw level.

The competition continues today with the last two games of the second round, to be played at the West Ham training grounds, which also served as the venue yesterday.

MIA will play against Cork and London City. A place in the top two of the group will guarantee qualification to the semi-final.

The semi-finals and final will be played this afternoon at Upton Park, the home stadium of West Ham.

Matches are played with two halves of 20 minutes each.

Fifteen teams are participating. Athens, who were supposed to have played in the MIA first group, dropped out at the last minute.