Iceland down Czech Republic to top Group A
Friday, June 12, 2015
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Iceland 2-1 Czech Republic
Aron Gunnarsson and Kolbeinn Sigthórsson's goals helped the hosts win a top-of-the-table clash in Reykjavik to take control of Group A.
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• Iceland go top of Group A by beating previous leaders
• Bořek Dočkal rifles visitors ahead before Aron Gunnarsson equalises
• Kolbeinn Sigthórsson's 76th-minute clincher makes it five wins from six
• Hosts gain revenge for November defeat in Plzen by same scoreline
• Next games: Netherlands v Iceland, Czech Republic v Kazakhstan (3 September)
Iceland are in charge of UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group A after coming from behind to defeat the Czech Republic in a top-of-the-section clash in Reykjavik.
Going into the game a point behind the Czech leaders, the hosts were out for revenge after dropping their only points of the campaign so far in Plzen in November. It did not look like they would get payback when Bořek Dočkal rifled in the opener from the edge of the area for the visitors in the 55th minute, but Aron Gunnarsson and Kolbeinn Sigthórsson both found the target to leave the home fans believing that a first appearance at a major finals is imminent.
With group supremacy at stake the pressure was palpable in the opening period, with both sides struggling to create chances. However, there were opportunities at either end for Tomáš Necid, who headed wide from close range, and Gylfi Sigurdsson, seeing a free-kick superbly saved by Petr Čech in the visiting goal.
Things opened up as the second half got under way and it was Heimir Hallgrímsson and Lars Lagerbäck's team doing the pressing, yet they were undone ten minutes after the restart. Necid held the ball up on the edge of the box and laid off to Dočkal, who lined up his sights and rocketed a right-footed drive into the top corner.
That merely served to fire up the Icelanders who were level five minutes later as Ari Skúlason lofted a ball over the Czech defence for his captain Gunnarsson to race on to and plant a header past Čech. Iceland cranked up the tempo and were rewarded 14 minutes from time, Sigthórsson pouncing on indecision in Pavel Vrba's defence to expertly round the goalkeeper and slip the winner into the net.