13 September 2007, by Marco Pereira & Tom Kundert

Portugal see two points slip away after another late equaliser

Portugal 1-1 Serbia

Portugal conceded another late goal in the dying minutes of their Euro 2008 qualifier against Serbia to draw 1-1. Simao opened the scoring early for the Portuguese with a wonderfully taken free-kick which gave Portugal a 1-0 lead for most of the game.

But disaster struck in the 87th minute as Serbia’s Ivanovic scored a controversial equaliser. The final whistle brought chaotic scenes as Portugal coach Luiz Filipe Scolari and Serbian defender Dragutinovic came to blows.

Portugal started on the attack and were rewarded on 10 minutes when Ronaldo won a free kick in dangerous position just outside the box. As he has done countless times throughout his career, Simao Sabrosa flighted a perfect shot over the wall and into the corner of the net to get the capacity crowd in good voice.

Serbia had a triple opportunity to level the scores shortly after when Alves and Meira blocked two successive close range efforts by the visitors, with a third strike going over the crossbar.

Gomes hits woodwork

Portugal were unlucky not to double their lead in the 19th minute when a Nuno Gomes header bounced back off the post and Deco’s ensuing shot from the rebound was instinctively stopped by Stojkovic.

Serbia stepped up the pressure midway through the second half when Javier Clemente decided that his team should adopt the aerial game. Balls swung into the box by the Serbs were giving the Portuguese defence constant headaches.

Serbia’s persistence paid off late in the match when Ivanovic converted a Stankovic free kick. A high ball pumped into the box was not dealt with by the Portuguese rearguard. The ball bobbled around the six-yard box and fell kindly for Ivanovic to find the net from close range.

However, TV replays clearly showed that the Serbian goalscorer was more than a metre offside before receiving the ball.

Post-match brawl

The match ended on a sour note after an altercation between coach Scolari and Dragutinovic led to an ugly melee. It all started when Quaresma was surrounded by several Serbian players and Scolari stepped in to attempt to break up the fracas.

Heated words were directed towards the Portugal coach by Dragutinovic, which Scolari did not take kindly to and the Brazilian struck out at the Serbian player but did not appear to make contact. This provoked a ballistic reaction from the Serb, and both men had to be restrained as they seemed intent on coming to blows. Dragutinovic was shown a red card.

Punishments and fines will certainly be handed down after Uefa’s disciplinary committee have reviewed the reports, television images and conducted hearings.

After a third consecutive draw the Portuguese remain in third place of Group A with 17 points, two points behind Finland and four behind group leaders Poland.

Nevertheless, all is not lost for Portugal as they are still very much in the hunt for a Euro 2008 berth, but the team cannot drop any points from their remaining four matches. Portugal next play two are matches away in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in mid October.

PortuGOAL man of the match: Bosingwa
Another magnificent performance from the FC Porto right-back, exemplary both when attacking and defending.

Portugal:
Ricardo, Bosingwa, Fernando Meira, Bruno Alves, Paulo Ferreira, Maniche (Raul Meireles, 82), Petit, Deco (Joao Moutinho, 76), Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes (Ricardo Quaresma, 64), Simao
Yellow Cards: Petit

Serbia:
Stojkovic, Rukavina, Dragutinovic, Vidic, Ivanovic, Tosic (Zigic, 61), Stankovic, Kovacevic, Krasic (Pantelic, 61), Kuzmanovic (Duljav, 71), Jovanovic
Yellow Cards: Stojkovic, Dragutinovic, Vidic
Red Cards: Dragutinovic

Goals:
[1-0] Simao, 10
[1-1] Ivanovic, 87