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Skorpil unmoved by Czech drama

Coach Ladislav Škorpil maintained his cool despite the Czech Republic's dramatic UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-off finale in Sarajevo last night.

Czech Republic coach Ladislav Škorpil maintained his cool despite his side's dramatic Under-21 play-off finale against Bosnia-Herzegovina last night.

Dramatic game
Leading 2-1 from last week's home leg, the Czechs' hopes of reaching the finals of the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Netherlands seemed to be fading in the return fixture in Sarajevo when Sejad Salihović put the home side ahead. That strike gave Bosnia-Herzegovina the advantage on away goals.

Škorpil calm
Tomáš Frejlach then equalised for the Czechs with seven minutes to go, restoring their advantage in the tie and ultimately putting them in the finals for the first time since they won the 2002 title in Switzerland. "I have seen plenty of games like this in 37 years on the bench and I never lost the hope of qualifying," said the 61-year-old Škorpil.

'We deserved it'
"We deserved it, although the game was tense," he added. "We made matters complicated for ourselves on the way to the finals when we did not profit from a couple of chances in the first half at home and conceded the goal from nowhere. I am sure we can achieve something more at the finals."