Goal.com

Jun 19, 2009 9:35:37 PM

Belarus held Serbia to a disappointing stalemate. Goal.com rated the players on show...

Belarus

Pavel Chesnovsky – 5: Can be pleased with a clean sheet but was not ever truly extended in the Belarus goal. Punched an awful lot of balls which he could easily have caught

Igor Shitov – 5: After the mauling from the first game, he can consider himself slightly fortunate to have been given a second chance. Looked nervous initially, and never looked comfortable in possession. 

Dmitri Verkhovtsov – 6: Showed a bit more class after Tueday night's disaster against Sweden, with a couple of well-timed tackles on Serbian attackers. 

Nikolai Osipovich – 5: Came in from right-back and looked like he could form a more solid partnership with Verkhovtsov, although it may have been a different story if Serbia had tested them a bit more.

Maksim Bardachov – 4: The only change in the defence from the Sweden game, but failed to cope with Tosic, especially in the first half, when he let the Serbian forward turn on numerous occasions on to his stronger left foot from the right flank. Should have shown Tosic to the flank, but never got close enough to do so. 

Leonid Kovel – 5: Deserves some credit for closing down Tosic after he escaped Bardachov on numerous occasions, and had one wild shot in the second half, but ended up dropping on to the defence as the match wore on. 

Mikhail Sivakov - 5: The Cagliari midfielder came in for the match against Serbia and at least helped to quell the threat of Tosic from the right. However, he struggled to make much for Belarus in the attack.

Sergei Kisliak – 5: Failed to show the shooting form that got him a goal in the first game against Sweden. Spent most of the evening manning the defensive barricades in the midfield. 

Mikhail Afanasiev – 4:  The captain once again totally failed to justify his presence on the pitch down the right flank. 

Sergei Krivets – 5: Could have been the one player who might have injected some quality into proceedings from Belarus’ perspective but failed to get on the ball enough. Harsh to expect one man to do all the work, but top quality players can drive a team on. Unfortunately Krivets doesn’t fall into this category. 

Vladimir Yurchenko – 4.5: Worked hard up front on his own, but had precious little support. Played one promising ball into the box from the right flank in the first half.  Taken off in the second half. 

SUBS

Andrei Chukhley – 5: Second half arrival for Afanasiev to bolster the midfield. Managed to keep Serbia back, but never broke forward. 

Anton Putsilo – 5: Came on with 15 minutes to go for Yurchenko but made the same impact as the man he replaced – none.

Aleksandr Volodko – n/a: dropped for the game after struggling in the midfield against Sweden, but didn’t get enough time against Serbia to redeem himself

Serbia

Zeljko Brkic – 6: A virtual bystander all evening, Brkic caught what came his way, which was precious little.

Nenad Tomovic – 5: More than comfortable in defence, but scored a low mark for failing to get forward and use the space that Tosic left behind when he drifted in-field

Jagos Vukovic – 6: A quiet evening for Vukovic, who dealt with the minimal threat that came his way from Yurchenko and Kryvets

Nemanja Pejcinovic – 7: Looked like the one player who might be able to break the deadlock from set pieces. Got himself on to the end of a couple of balls, and missed Serbia’s best chance of the night scooping an effort over from close range. 

Nikola Petkovic – 6: Looked quite lively when breaking forward and had no defensive concerns throughout the game. Actually was a little unlucky to be taken off midway through the second half, as he might have been able to open the Belarus defence up.

Ljubomir Fejsa – 5: With little defensive duties to occupy him, Fejsa should have pushed further forward to try and positively influence the game in the final third. As the match wore on, he played one or two promising square passes, but with little penetration

Milan Smiljanic – 5: Like Fejsa, he had few concerns regarding the opposition, but range of passing was disappointingly limited after a good first game against Italy

Gojko Kacar – 5: After impressing in an unusual position against Italy, high hopes were held of Kacar after being returned to his more accustomed midfield berth.  However, despite trying hard to influence matters, played with little quality throughout. 

Marko Milinkovic – 4.5: Taken off at half-time after failing to make any impression down the left hand side. 

Zoran Tosic – 6.5: From open play looked promising especially in the first half when he beat Bardachov on numerous occasions. Should have stuck to the right flank but started to drift as the match wore on, becoming less effective in the process

Miralem Sulejmani – 4.5: Has already shown on several occasions that he isn’t a targetman, and without one alongside him, he looks lost.  Exactly the case this evening asked to play in a central role without anyone to win balls for him. Had one chance after being played in by Kacar just after the break, but lashed it wide of the post. 

SUBS

Ivan Obradovic – 5: After his introduction at the break, he looked like he might be able to sort Serbia out, but as the second half wore on he became less effective. Looked like he was still struggling with the injury that ruled him out against Italy, and compounded matters by getting booked. 

Nemanja Tomic – 5: Left on the bench after ankle injury but thrown on with just about 30 minutes to play. However, made little noteworthy contribution

Rade Veljovic – n/a: Thrown on with barely minutes to play in the second half as some kind of after-thought and had no time to make a meaningful contribution to Serbia’s cause. 

Walter Townsend, Goal.com

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