Serbia come from behind to sink Northern Ireland
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
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Serbia 3-1 Northern Ireland
The hosts were forced to come from behind in Gornji Milanovac but did enough to inflict a fourth successive Group 9 defeat on the visitors.
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Serbia inflicted a fourth straight defeat on Northern Ireland as three second-half goals helped them come from behind to take the spoils in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying Group 9.
After a quiet first period, the visitors' hopes of earning their first points in the section gained a boost as James Gray fired them ahead on 54 minutes. However, David Morgan turned into his own net to restore parity, before goals from Luka Milunović and Uroš Vitas secured the home success.
There was barely a chance of note in the first half but things immediately picked up in the second and Gray took advantage of confusion in the Serbian defence to head Stephen Robinson's men into the lead. Morgan put the ball into his own goal under pressure from Miloš Jojić on 63 minutes, though, and Serbia were in front almost instantly as Milunović rifled in their second a minute later. Vitas wrapped up the victory, nodding Aleksandar Kovačević's header past Conor Brennan.
