Serbia waltz to victory in Vienna

Serbia capped a triumphant footballing week as the seniors trounced Austria 3-1 in Vienna, while the under-21s qualified for the European Championships. Their confidence high after a convincing 3-0 defeat of Lithuania on Saturday, there was always a danger of complacency creeping in against an Austrian side, reeling from a dismal 1-1 draw away to the Faroes. Serbia waltz to victory in Vienna However, new coach Radomir Antic seems to have instilled a new urgency and work ethic in the Serbian side, something sadly lacking in previous years. In front of an estimated 10,000+ Serbian fans in the packed Ernst Happel stadium, the White Eagles pulled off one of their most impressive away performances in recent times. With 15 minutes on the clock, Milos Krasic picked up a loose ball inside the Austrian half, and with the defenders expecting a pass, the CSKA Moscow player struck an exquisite shot past goalkeeper Alex Manninger from 30 yards. Just three minutes later the lead was doubled. Marko Pantelic shook off two defenders down the inside-right channel before striking a low shot across Manninger. The keeper got fingers to the ball and managed to turn it onto the post but Milos Jovanovic was on hand to roll the rebound in. After 24 minutes the match was effectively over as a contest. Pantelic, in one of his finest performances in a Serbian jersey, slid a pass through through to Obradovic, who cut inside on to his supposedly weaker right foot, before curling an inch-perfect shot into the Manninger’s bottom left corner. Karel Bruckner’s men had the crossbar to thank for averting the onset of a possible rout when Prodl deflected a Jovanovic cross from the left past his own keeper, but the ball rebounded to safety. Following this near-miss, Serbia took their foot off the pedal considerably, and seemed content to see the match out. Austria did their best to get back into the game, but, again, it was the visitors who came closest to grabbing a fourth, when on the hour mark, that man Pantelic picked the ball up in midfield, shrugged off a couple of defenders, before a unleashing a shot from some 25 yards. The ball deflected off Prodl again, looped over the keeper, but the unfortunate striker had to look on in agony again as the ball struck the bar. Ten minutes from time, the home side restored some semblance of respectability to the scoreline. Marco Janko was put through one-on-one with the keeper, and the striker finished coolly to rekindle a glimmer of hope for the Austrians. However, that was to be the last real action of the match as Serbia retained their lead at the top of Group 7 with 9 points. Lithuania stay level on points after a nervy 1-0 home win against the Faroes. Group favorites Romania and France trail on four points each. Earlier in the day, Serbia’s under-21 side booked their place in the European Championship finals, as Slobodan Krcmarovic’s team, despite being depleted of nine first-team regulars, beat Denmark 1-0 at the Marakana for a 2-0 aggregate victory. Dejan Stankovic challenges for the ball in midfield (FoNet)

Serbia waltz to victory in Vienna

However, new coach Radomir Antić seems to have instilled a new urgency and work ethic in the Serbian side, something sadly lacking in previous years.

In front of an estimated 10,000+ Serbian fans in the packed Ernst Happel stadium, the White Eagles pulled off one of their most impressive away performances in recent times.

With 15 minutes on the clock, Miloš Krasić picked up a loose ball inside the Austrian half, and with the defenders expecting a pass, the CSKA Moscow player struck an exquisite shot past goalkeeper Alex Manninger from 30 yards.

Just three minutes later the lead was doubled. Marko Pantelić shook off two defenders down the inside-right channel before striking a low shot across Manninger. The keeper got fingers to the ball and managed to turn it onto the post but Miloš Jovanović was on hand to roll the rebound in.

After 24 minutes the match was effectively over as a contest. Pantelić, in one of his finest performances in a Serbian jersey, slid a pass through through to Obradović, who cut inside on to his supposedly weaker right foot, before curling an inch-perfect shot into the Manninger’s bottom left corner.

Karel Bruckner’s men had the crossbar to thank for averting the onset of a possible rout when Prodl deflected a Jovanović cross from the left past his own keeper, but the ball rebounded to safety.

Following this near-miss, Serbia took their foot off the pedal considerably, and seemed content to see the match out. Austria did their best to get back into the game, but, again, it was the visitors who came closest to grabbing a fourth, when on the hour mark, that man Pantelić picked the ball up in midfield, shrugged off a couple of defenders, before a unleashing a shot from some 25 yards. The ball deflected off Prodl again, looped over the keeper, but the unfortunate striker had to look on in agony again as the ball struck the bar.

Ten minutes from time, the home side restored some semblance of respectability to the scoreline. Marco Janko was put through one-on-one with the keeper, and the striker finished coolly to rekindle a glimmer of hope for the Austrians.

However, that was to be the last real action of the match as Serbia retained their lead at the top of Group 7 with 9 points. Lithuania stay level on points after a nervy 1-0 home win against the Faroes. Group favorites Romania and France trail on four points each.

Earlier in the day, Serbia’s under-21 side booked their place in the European Championship finals, as Slobodan Krčmarović’s team, despite being depleted of nine first-team regulars, beat Denmark 1-0 at the Marakana for a 2-0 aggregate victory.