portugal level in bosnia and herzegovina published: friday 11 november 2011, 22.17cet bosnia and herzegovina 0-0 portugal vedad ibiševic missed a great chance late on to give safet sušic's men the initiative after a first leg that portugal had the better of. by andy brassell from stadium bilino polje
bosnia and herzegovina and portugal could not be separated after a lively 0-0 draw in their uefa euro 2012 play-off first leg, played in front of a noisy, passionate crowd at a sold-out stadium bilino polje.
after a first half bossed by paulo bento's side, the home side came back strongly in the second period. they will travel to the lisbon's estádio do sl benfica on tuesday with real hope of qualifying for their maiden major final tournament.
raul meireles had the first sight of goal in the ninth minute after being deftly set up by hélder postiga, but asmir begovic dived smartly to smother the midfielder's effort. as portugal began to control proceedings, postiga again threatened, firing over from the edge of the area. when cristiano ronaldo cut in and shot as the half-hour approached, only a heroic block by adnan zahirovic maintained parity.
captain emir spahic - the only available member of safet sušic's first-choice defence – led a strong rearguard action as the hosts began to launch a series of counterattacks. the crowd again burst into life as their side tested rui patrício for the first time in the 32nd minute, senad lulic blasting an effort from range at the goalkeeper.
bosnia and herzegovina seemed lifted by their raucous fans as the second half began, but they could have easily gone behind in the 51st minute, when ronaldo raced clear from nani's cute flick but steered the ball wide. as sušic's men gained a foothold, portugal began to create chances, however. postiga shot wide when well placed after joão moutinho's free-kick fell to him in a crowded penalty area, then ronaldo tested begovic following a surging run past three players.
sušic made a double change to force the issue as the match reached its final quarter, bringing on vedad ibiševic and darko maletic. the former had an excellent chance to break the deadlock but was off-balance as he received zvjezdan misimovic's cross to the far post.
the pair again combined in the final ten minutes, when misimovic produced another superb pass to send the tsg 1899 hoffenheim striker clear. with time to compose himself, ibiševic blazed a shot high over the bar and thereby banished any hope of taking a lead into the second leg.
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