Croatia relinquished a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 draw with Group D opponents Czech Republic in a Euro 2016 match that was spoiled by crowd trouble.

Ivan Perisic opened the scoring for the team not long after the half-hour mark, while Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic doubled Croatia's advantage in the second half.

Milan Skoda got on the scoresheet for Czech Republic, but the closing stages of the match were marred when flares were thrown onto the pitch from Croatia's fans.

A scuffle then broke out between supporters in that end of the stadium, resulting in a brief halt in the match while stewards dealt with the situation.

Once the game restarted, Czech Republic were given a slice of hope when referee Mark Clattenburg signalled for a penalty following a handball by Domagoj Vida, and Tomas Necid slotted home in the 93rd minute.

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It was an emotional start to the game as Croatia captain Darijo Srna sobbed during his country's national anthem as he remembered his father, who died a few days ago.

The Czechs struggled to find their feet in the game, and they had a nervy moment in the second minute when goalkeeper Petr Cech's attempted clearance ended up going out for a corner, but it came to nothing.

Rakitic looked dangerous early on when he cut inside from the right before playing a crisp one-two with Mario Mandzukic, but the Barcelona man's shot was blocked.

The first real chance for Croatia came in the 21st minute when Mandzukic whipped a low ball into the feet of Perisic in the box, but the midfielder failed to get a clean strike on the ball.

Cech was called upon to make a low save when another one-two between Rakitic and Mandzukic resulted in the former drilling a shot towards goal.

The breakthrough came seconds later when Perisic charged into the box before finding the bottom corner, and Croatia entered the half-time break in a commanding position.

Czech Republic provided a more competitive second half as Ladislav Krejci tried to test the goalkeeper with a shot in the area, but Danijel Subasic got hands on the ball.

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Rakitic doubled Croatia's lead shortly after with an attractive goal as he knocked it over Cech to find the back of the net, but the Czechs caused a scare with a goal of their own.

Croatia dominated the game, but their opponents provided a tense finish when a cross from the outside of Tomas Rosicky's boot found Milan Skoda, who unleashed a powerful header past the keeper from 12 yards out.

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There was a brief halt in play in the 86th minute to remove flares from the pitch, but after the restart, the Czechs were able to nab a second goal when Vida was rightfully penalised for a handball in the penalty area.

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Necid calmly smashed the ball home to give his side a dramatic late point, meaning that Croatia lead the group with four points, while Spain are one point adrift, Czechs are third and Turkey have not yet picked up a point.

Written by
Danielle Joynson