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Guardian Unlimited, UK
Soccer-Serbia buoyed after stormy draw in Portugal
Please read in third para 'Group A' (corrects from Group E)
By Zoran Milosavljevic
BELGRADE, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Serbia kept alive their
hopes of reaching the Euro 2008 finals with a 1-1 draw
in Portugal on Wednesday, in a match that was marred
by ugly scenes at the final whistle.
Players pushed and shoved each other after Serbia left
back Ivica Dragutinovic had been sent off in stoppage
time and Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari appeared
to throw a punch at him by the touchline.
The result means Serbia, fourth in Group A on 16
points from 10 matches, will qualify for next year's
tournament in Austria and Switzerland if they win
their remaining games -- away to Armenia and
Azerbaijan and at home to Kazakhstan and Poland.
A 0-0 draw at Finland left Poland top of the group
with 21 points from 11 matches ahead of the Finns on
19 from 11 and Portugal on 17 from 10.
"The draw against group favourites Portugal may turn
out to be a vital point because it left our fate in
our own hands," Serbia captain Dejan Stankovic told
reporters.
"We were able to get a result in spite of a poor first
half because our coach Javier Clemente made the right
substitutions after the break," he said.
Clemente finished the match with three strikers on the
pitch and the gamble paid off when centre back
Branislav Ivanovic swept home an 88th-minute equaliser
from a goal-mouth melee.
"I made the decision at halftime because I knew we had
to throw caution to the wind to score and it made no
difference whether we would lose 1-0 or 2-0," the
57-year old coach said.
Serbia were lucky to be only trailing 1-0 at halftime
but looked a different team in the second half and
deservedly drew level after pinning back the hosts.
Portugal appealed for offside when Ivanovic scored but
German referee Marcus Merk ignored their protests and
television replays showed the ball had come off a
Portuguese defender.
"I crept into the penalty box and reacted
instinctively. It's my first goal for Serbia and I
will remember it for the rest of my life," Ivanovic
said.
Soccer-Serbia buoyed after stormy draw in Portugal
Please read in third para 'Group A' (corrects from Group E)
By Zoran Milosavljevic
BELGRADE, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Serbia kept alive their
hopes of reaching the Euro 2008 finals with a 1-1 draw
in Portugal on Wednesday, in a match that was marred
by ugly scenes at the final whistle.
Players pushed and shoved each other after Serbia left
back Ivica Dragutinovic had been sent off in stoppage
time and Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari appeared
to throw a punch at him by the touchline.
The result means Serbia, fourth in Group A on 16
points from 10 matches, will qualify for next year's
tournament in Austria and Switzerland if they win
their remaining games -- away to Armenia and
Azerbaijan and at home to Kazakhstan and Poland.
A 0-0 draw at Finland left Poland top of the group
with 21 points from 11 matches ahead of the Finns on
19 from 11 and Portugal on 17 from 10.
"The draw against group favourites Portugal may turn
out to be a vital point because it left our fate in
our own hands," Serbia captain Dejan Stankovic told
reporters.
"We were able to get a result in spite of a poor first
half because our coach Javier Clemente made the right
substitutions after the break," he said.
Clemente finished the match with three strikers on the
pitch and the gamble paid off when centre back
Branislav Ivanovic swept home an 88th-minute equaliser
from a goal-mouth melee.
"I made the decision at halftime because I knew we had
to throw caution to the wind to score and it made no
difference whether we would lose 1-0 or 2-0," the
57-year old coach said.
Serbia were lucky to be only trailing 1-0 at halftime
but looked a different team in the second half and
deservedly drew level after pinning back the hosts.
Portugal appealed for offside when Ivanovic scored but
German referee Marcus Merk ignored their protests and
television replays showed the ball had come off a
Portuguese defender.
"I crept into the penalty box and reacted
instinctively. It's my first goal for Serbia and I
will remember it for the rest of my life," Ivanovic
said.