Fortune favours Croatia in Sarajevo

A stroke of luck gave Croatia victory against UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round Group 2 hosts Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Croatia had the better of play but with 15 minutes left the score was 1-1. Then Bosnia-Herzegovina goalkeeper Kristijan Jajalo misjudged Ivan Kukavica's back pass and the ball rolled in.

Croatia had most of the possession but forwards Kruno Ivančić and Marko Livaja were having little joy up front. Ivančić did force a save from Jajalo and the deadlock was finally broken seven minutes before the break, Ivan Aleksić surprising the hosts with a quickly-taken free-kick from 20 metres out.

Bosnia-Herzegovina equalised on 51 minutes, Zdenko Bilač sending forward a long ball met by a powerful shot from substitute Deni Mirza at the edge of the box. Livaja nearly restored Croatia's lead within two minutes but Jajalo pulled off a double save. However, the goalkeeper's day was to turn decisively with the winning goal.

Croatia coach Ivan Gudelj said: "We had more luck then Bosnia-Herzegovina. We played well only in patches, while our opponent were very aggresive. The most important thing is victory. A good start is very important in this kind of tournament."

On Sunday his team face a Romania side that today lost 4-1 to Portugal. The winners await Bosnia-Herzegovina, whose coach Velimir Stojnić said: "I think we played better than Croatia, but didn't convert our chances. We must stay focused, as nothing is yet decided in this group."