Veselinovic inspires decisive victory

By Andrew Haslam at The Oval

A clinical display of first-half counterattacking football earned Serbia and Montenegro a stylish win against Greece and a place in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship semi-finals as the winners of Group A.

Third victory
Captain Borko Veselinovic did most of the damage, scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament at either end of the first period, with fellow striker Nemanja Arsenijevic heading a second in the 16th minute. Zvonko Zivkovic's side therefore clinched the section by three points from Germany having won all three games, and face Group B runners-up England in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

Fresh faces
For Greece, Dimitris Sotiriou replaced Alexandros Kasmeridis in goal, while Stefanos Siontis and Charalampos Perperidis also came into the starting lineup after the 3-0 reverse against Germany on Matchday 2. Serbia and Montenegro matched the Greeks' 4-4-2 formation, Arsenijevic and Vladimir Bogdanovic the new names in Zivkovic's starting XI.

Flying start
Serbia and Montenegro started the sharper, and Arsenijevic had already had a shot blocked before winning a penalty in the fourth minute after being tripped by Euripidis-Grigorios Makos just inside the Greek area. Veselinovic sent Sotiriou the wrong way from the spot.

Headed second
Greece staged a brief rally after the goal, and Antonis Petropoulos, in particular, and Perperidis threatened with angled efforts from the left but a minute past the quarter-hour, Serbia and Montenegro doubled their lead. Nebojša Marinkovic's left-wing corner was met at the near post by Arsenijevic's powerful downward header, which bounced into the far corner of the net.

Veselinovic strikes again
Again Greece responded positively to conceding and enjoyed a short spell of pressure, but the Serbo-Montenegrins continued to threaten the Greek defence at regular intervals, Veselinovic slicing a volley wide before the third goal arrived two minutes before half-time. A ball over the top was not properly dealt with by the Greek defence and left Veselinovic clear, and the captain kept his composure to send a left-foot shot beyond Sotiriou.

Battling Greece
Greece nevertheless began the second period in determined fashion, with Antonis Rikka's long-range shot following a nice passing move tipped over by Aleksandar Jovic, before the Serbo-Montenegrin goalkeeper gathered a Lazaros Christodopoulos free-kick from the left-hand corner of the penalty area at the second attempt. Petropoulos also tested Jovic as Nikolaos Nioplias' side produced a spirited second-half display, but the damage had already been done, the result leaving Greece third in the section on three points.