I'd like to hear all of the naysayers now, the ones who wanted Austria to duck out of the party they're hosting. They looked far from overmatched in this one, gaining more and more momentum as things progressed. No, they didn't get any points from it, and realistically these were points they sorely needed if they harbored any illusions about actually advancing, but the home crowd in Vienna rallied behind them and they earned a lot of respect with this result. Again, this was a game only saw bits and pieces of, but the Austrians were a questionable penalty kick away from a scoreless draw. Luka Modric converted the PK in the 4th minute, which proved to be the game-winner; I'm not sure if it was a PK or not, I probably wouldn't have called it that early on in the corner of the box, where the guy didn't appear to be in a serious position to actually score, but I don't think it's a terrible call, either (I know, I know, posting cursory reviews of the games, not taking a position on a controversial call--what kind of blog is this? trust me, it'll get better). If Austria can win or draw against a reeling Poland squad on Thursday, it could make the match against neighboring Germany awfully interesting next week. They didn't look like the 92nd-ranked team in the world yesterday, forcing Croatian keeper Stipe Pletikosa to make some nice saves late and generally holding their own. Croatia did control the tempo more in the first half, but they managed just one shot on target and have to improve if they want to make a run in this tournament. Croatia takes on Germany on Thursday, while the co-hosts entertain Poland. Both games will be played in Austria.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Austria 0-1 Croatia
I'd like to hear all of the naysayers now, the ones who wanted Austria to duck out of the party they're hosting. They looked far from overmatched in this one, gaining more and more momentum as things progressed. No, they didn't get any points from it, and realistically these were points they sorely needed if they harbored any illusions about actually advancing, but the home crowd in Vienna rallied behind them and they earned a lot of respect with this result. Again, this was a game only saw bits and pieces of, but the Austrians were a questionable penalty kick away from a scoreless draw. Luka Modric converted the PK in the 4th minute, which proved to be the game-winner; I'm not sure if it was a PK or not, I probably wouldn't have called it that early on in the corner of the box, where the guy didn't appear to be in a serious position to actually score, but I don't think it's a terrible call, either (I know, I know, posting cursory reviews of the games, not taking a position on a controversial call--what kind of blog is this? trust me, it'll get better). If Austria can win or draw against a reeling Poland squad on Thursday, it could make the match against neighboring Germany awfully interesting next week. They didn't look like the 92nd-ranked team in the world yesterday, forcing Croatian keeper Stipe Pletikosa to make some nice saves late and generally holding their own. Croatia did control the tempo more in the first half, but they managed just one shot on target and have to improve if they want to make a run in this tournament. Croatia takes on Germany on Thursday, while the co-hosts entertain Poland. Both games will be played in Austria.
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