Veselinovic hurts hosts' hopes

By David Farrelly at The Showgrounds

Borko Veselinovic extended his rich scoring run by providing Serbia and Montenegro with victory against a gritty Northern Ireland side.

Late winner
The FK Partizan striker controlled the ball inside the Northern Irish penalty area 13 minutes from time before blasting it into the top left-hand corner of Paul Willis's net for his third goal of the finals. It was rough justice on Mal Donaghy's side who, having lost their opener 1-0 to Greece, showed that they were a match for a side which found goals easy to come by in their 4-2 win against Germany on Monday.

Saturday deciders
Donaghy's team will need to find their goalscoring touch against Germany on Saturday if they are to remain in the competition. The hosts require a three-goal victory and must also hope Greece, who Germany defeated 3-0 today, lose to a Serbo-Montenegrin side who need only a point to progress.

Decent opportunities
Although the first half was devoid of goals, both sides created some decent opportunities. Serbia and Montenegro, who were slow into their stride against Germany before scoring four second-half goals, almost took the lead in the opening minute when Nebojša Marinkovic shot wide after both Kyle McVey and Andrew Cleary failed to deal with a bouncing ball on the edge of the penalty area.

Hosts go close
But the Serbo-Montenegrins did not have it all their own way against a Northern Irish side who looked to retain possession with five midfield players before springing forward. From one such raid, captain Kieran McKenna grazed the top of the crossbar from 20 metres after Serbia and Montenegro failed to clear Dermot McCaffrey's long throw.

McVey heroics
The Serbo-Montenegrins hit back on the half-hour when Milan Perendija's header from Marinkovic's corner forced McVey to clear off the line. Then Veselinovic collected Marinkovic's through-ball but, with only Willis to beat from ten metres, the Partizan forward screwed his shot wide.

Marinkovic free-kicks
Until Veselinovic's venomous finish, the Serbo-Montenegrins found it difficult to create a scoring chance from open play. Indeed, their two best efforts prior to the goal came from two well-struck Marinkovic free-kicks which Willis did well to divert around his post on each occasion.

Late chances
The Northern Irish also had their chances as legs tired during the second half. Thomas Stewart lost his footing just as he was about to shoot following a neat interchange involving Johnny Steele and Michael Carvill, then Christopher Turner's excellent crossfield pass was volleyed narrowly wide by Matthew Doherty. The hosts will need to find the target on Saturday.