Inspired Serbia snatches final draw against Slovenia | Football news

Serbia’s players had plenty of reasons to be excited ahead of Thursday’s Group C match against Slovenia. Earlier in the week, the Serbian Football Federation was charged by UEFA for inappropriate behavior by its supporters during the clash against England. They then threatened to withdraw from the euro and accused Croatian and Albanian supporters of chanting hate speech. There was a lot of noise but not for the right reasons.

On the field, Serbia lost their first match against England, one of the tournament favorites, but the character they showed by not conceding a goal in the second half would have given them confidence. And before kick-off against Slovenia, a message from tennis legend Novak Djokovic, Serbia’s most famous athlete, was broadcast on the big screen at the Allianz Arena in Munich to provide the final touch of motivation.

It all culminated in an inspired performance from Serbia who scored in the 95th minute to snatch a 1-1 draw against Slovenia. Luka Jovic’s header into the bottom corner, which was the last play of the match, kept the Eagles in contention for a place in the round of 16. Slovenian players and fans were left in disbelief. They gave everything, but it wasn’t enough as their opponents simply refused to accept defeat.

Slovenia, who themselves equalized late in their opening match against Denmark, started aggressively and dominated most of the first half. Jan Mlakar forced an early save from Predrag Rajkovic, before Timi Max Elsnik hit the post with a powerful shot.

But Serbia continued to endure waves of attacks and finally created their own chance in the 42nd minute when Aleksandar Mitrovic managed to get a shot on target.

The start of the second half, however, was a different story as Serbia created three chances in the first five minutes. Mitrovic was again denied at close range by Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Jaka Bijol then almost missed a clearance in his own goal, before Mitrovic headed another chance just over.

However, it didn’t take long for Slovenia to regain their momentum. Benjamin Sesko had a beautiful curling shot from distance, but Rajkovic rose to the occasion and made an equally impressive save.

Finally, in the 69th minute, the deadlock was broken thanks to a superb effort from Zan Karnicnik. The right-back collected the ball deep in his own half and cut back to make a powerful run up the pitch. He then found Elsnik on the left wing who played a well-weighted pass into the far corner where Karnicnik had reached to finish the clinical move. Minutes later, Karnicnik produced another heroic effort to deflect Mitrovic’s shot onto the post from inside the penalty area.

Even if the Slovenian supporters were rejoicing in the stands while waiting for a very first victory at the Euro, Serbia continued to believe in it and seek to equalize. And they finally found one in the most dramatic fashion when Jovic headed the ball home from Ivan Ilic’s corner to close out the game. The AC Milan striker had his shirt pulled but remained calm to score with a header.

“It’s of course amazing to score like that, but I would easily change that to win,” Jovic said after the match. “I’m happy we got the first point and stayed in the game. Heads held high and we are now fully focused on Denmark.