Serbia 0-0 Finland: Scrappy draw

Group A

	Serbia 0 - 0 Finland
0		0

Serbia and Finland stayed in contention for a berth at the Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland after a 0-0 draw in their Group A qualifier on Saturday.

The result left the Finns second in the group on 18 points from 10 matches, one point adrift of leaders Poland who were away to Portugal later on Saturday.

Third-placed Portugal had 15 points from eight matches before the game with Poland, while Serbia were on 15 from nine.

Serbia dominated a scrappy affair but their unfamiliar 4-5-1 formation with Danko Lazovic as the lone striker produced hardly any clear-cut chances against a firm Finnish defence.

Lazovic missed the best chance for the home side in the first half when he directed a poor close-range header at keeper Jusi Jaaskelainen with the goal at his mercy.

Jaaskelainen did well to keep out a ferocious Bosko Jankovic free kick shortly before the break and enjoyed a stroke of luck when Dejan Stankovic fired just wide of the far post.

Serbia introduced towering striker Nikola Zigic and Milan Jovanovic in the second half but faded in the closing stages and it took a last-gasp clearance from Branislav Ivanovic to stop Mikael Forssell from scoring at the other end.

Jovanovic and Antonio Rukavina came close with desperate long-range efforts in stoppage time and Serbia were jeered off the pitch by the 15,000 home crowd after the final whistle.

Source: Soccernet.com