Smiljanić backs Serbs to push on
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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Serbia captain Milan Smiljanić praised his team-mates for their encouraging display in holding Italy 0-0 in Helsingborg – and warned their future opponents that this was just the start for Slobodan Krcmarević's men.
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Serbia captain Milan Smiljanić praised his team-mates for their encouraging display in holding Italy 0-0 in Helsingborg – and warned their future opponents that this was just the start for Slobodan Krcmarević's men.
'Very happy'
"I am very happy with my team, we all wanted to win and we might have done with a bit of luck," Smiljanić, his Carlsberg Man of the Match trophy in hand, told uefa.com. "I hope we'll have more luck in the next game and get a win. If we win the next game we are in the semi-final." While that may not be technically true, Serbia will certainly be strongly placed if they beat Belarus in their second Group A fixture on Friday.
'We'll get through'
Serbia took four points off Belarus in qualifying for this UEFA European Under-21 Championship and will fancy their chances against a side beaten 5-1 by Sweden earlier on Tuesday. "Belarus are a good team but I believe in our team and that we will win," Smiljanić, the RCD Espanyol midfielder, added. "We know Belarus very well because we played them twice in the qualifiers. We know them well and we'll be ready for them, but it was very important we didn't lose today. If we play like tonight we'll get through, and we have to continue to show our character in the next two games."
Late push
Serbia's Manchester United FC winger Zoran Tosić admitted that their first intention against Italy had been to "defend our goal". Hence a cagey first-half performance by the eastern Europeans, who had only two shots on goal in that period to the Azzurrini's ten. "It was a tactical game; we were well-organised and the whole team played very well in defence," Tosić said. Yet the Serbs came out of their shell after the interval, registering seven shots to the opposition's eight. Moreover, while Italy's Sebastian Giovinco missed when clean through, Serbia came close to snatching victory in the closing phase with Nenad Tomović forcing a scrambled save by Andrea Consigli, Gojko Kačar volleying against a post and Tosić whistling a free-kick just wide.
Ambitions
"We were much better in the second half; we had three good chances and hit the post once," Tosić continued. His fellow wide attacker Miralem Sulejmani confessed that after sizing up their rivals before the break, Serbia readjusted their ambitions after it. "The coach told us at half-time that we should play a bit more and not only defend," the AFC Ajax player said. "In the second half we started to attack more, had a few chances but couldn't score." Despite the stalemate, Krcmarević's men were satisfied, albeit aware they must build on this showing against Belarus. "The next game will be different," said Tosić. "This was a tactical game – the next game will be more open with more chances. I hope we are clever enough to win it."