MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 23:14:39| >> :600:215539269:215539269:
[monks data]
European Under-21s Championship | Group Stage
Jun 20, 2017 at 5pm UK
 

2-2

Gacinovic (24'), Djurdjevic (90')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Bardhi (64' pen.), Gjorgjev (83')

Serbia Under-21s, Macedonia Under-21s play out entertaining draw

Serbia Under-21s and Macedonia Under-21s play out a 2-2 draw in their Group B fixture at Under-21 Euro 2017.

Serbia Under-21s and Macedonia Under-21s have played out an entertaining 2-2 draw, but both nations are now on the brink of elimination from Under-21 Euro 2017.

It appeared as though a late effort from Nikola Gjorgjev had won it for Macedonia, but Uros Djurdjevic's last-minute header got Serbia back on level terms.

The result leaves the teams below both Spain and Portugal in Group B, but one more win for either of those sides will leave both Serbia and Macedonia out of the running for the semi-finals.

Throughout the first half Serbia looked a class above their opponents, but somehow they remained on level terms after squandering three clear-cut chances in the opening quarter of an hour.

Nemanja Maksimovic was the first player to miss, with his half-volley from eight yards being directed over the crossbar, before Mijat Gacinovic drilled a 20-yard volley over despite having time and space.

Moments later, Marko Grujic glanced a header wide of the post as Macedonia struggled to get out of their own half but on 24 minutes, Serbia finally went in front.

Despite having two penalty appeals turned down, the ball fell to Gacinovic who found a way past Igor Aleksovski for his third goal for his country.

As half time edged closer, Grujic hit a shot straight at Aleksovski from around the penalty spot, and he was nearly made to pay when Enis Bardhi's free kick forced a save out of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

Macedonia needed to improve after the restart and they did just that as Bardhi forced Milinkovic-Savic into another save from a free kick, but Serbia hit straight back with Gacinovic just missing out on getting a touch to a through-ball.

There was a suggestion that Serbia were starting to deal with what Macedonia had to offer but on 63 minutes, they were gifted a chance to get back on level terms when Andrija Zivkovic handled inside the penalty area.

Bardhi was given responsibility from 12 yards and he made no mistake as he found the corner with a confident effort which left Milinkovic-Savic not needing to dive to his left.

Due to their respective results on Saturday, both nations were in a position where a draw was realistically not enough to give them hope of remaining in the tournament, but neither team threw caution to the wind ahead of the closing stages.

However, with seven minutes remaining, Macedonia completed the turnaround through Gjorgjev, who cut inside onto his right foot before sending a deflected effort past Milinkovic-Savic from 20 yards out.

It did not take long for Serbia to mount a response with Ognjen Ozegovic being denied from close range, but Serbia had their equaliser with a minute of normal time remaining as Djurdevic headed home at the back post.

Moments later, Zivkovic hit the post with a header for Serbia but after missing out by the smallest of margins, it left both nations to contemplate a probable exit from the tournament.

ID:300875: cacheID:300875:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5002:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur FC is congratulated on scoring the opening goal by Son Heung-min during the UEFA Europe League match between Qarabag FK and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Tofig Bahramov Republican stadium on November 26, 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Read Next:
Europa League roundup: Spurs, Bilbao progress
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
10am
Blanch
Nadal
10am
Cachin
Ofner
10am
Elahi Galan
Bautista-Agut
10am
Gasquet
Sonego
10am
Hanfmann
Mensik
10am
Koepfer
Carballes Baena
10am
Kovacevic
Medjedovic
10am
Lajovic
Monteiro
10am
Machac
Ruusuvuori
10am
Michelsen
Fonseca
10am
Nishioka
Auger-Aliassime
10am
O'Connell
Arnaldi
10am
Purcell
Giron
10am
Ramos-Vinolas
Kotov
10am
Tabilo
Cobolli
10am
Zhizhen
Kecmanovic
10am
Azarenka
Maria
10am
Eala
Cirstea
10am
Annie Fernandez
Potapova
10am
Gauff
Rus
10am
Keys
Camelia-Begu
10am
Podoroska
Navarro
10am
Karolina Schmiedlova
Jabeur
10am
Swiatek
Wang
10am
Baez
Van Assche
10am
Coric
Zverev
10am
Martin Etcheverry
Shapovalov
10am
Humbert
Van De Zandschulp
10am
Hurkacz
Draper
10am
Marozsan
Cerundolo
10am
Paul
Klein
10am
Rublev
Bagnis
10am
Altmaier
Fils
10am
Darderi
Fritz
10am
Griekspoor
Daniel
10am
Munar
Struff
10am
Musetti
Seyboth Wild
10am
Navone
Rune
10am
Shevchenko
Alcaraz
10am
Alexandrova
Krueger
10am
Andreeva
Noskova
10am
Bejlek
Kalinskaya
10am
Boulter
Montgomery
10am
Bronzetti
Rybakina
10am
Collins
Danilovic
3pm
Cristian
Krejcikova
10am
Dolehide
Kalinina
10am
Garcia
Wang
10am
Linette
Sabalenka
10am
Pavlyuchenkova
Saville
10am
Sorribes Tormo
Svitolina
10am
Vekic
Sakkari
11.30am
Arango
Yastremska
11.30am
Osaka
Samsonova
11.30am
Ostapenko
Bouzas Maneiro
1pm
Haddad Maia
Errani
2.30pm
Lourdes Carle
Kudermetova
2.30pm
Mertens
Stephens
Tables header RHS


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!