HAMBURG: European Championship newcomers Georgia held the Czech Republic to a 1-1 draw on Saturday (Jun 22), taking a shock lead through a Georges Mikautadze penalty before an equaliser off the chest of Patrik Schick.
Though Georgia will be proud of a first point at a major tournament against a team ranked 40 places higher, it could have been even better, substitute Saba Lobjanidze squandering a glorious chance to win the game at the death.
Both teams have one point from two games and need to win their final Group F match to progress to the knockout stages in Germany.
In an intense game at Hamburg’s Voklsparkstadion, Mikautadze sent Czech goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek the wrong way with his spot-kick in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time after a handball by Robin Hranac.
The 23-year-old Mikautadze’s second goal of the tournament sent Georgia’s white-clad fans into ecstasy.
That came against the run of play after the Czechs had dominated, with Schick having two efforts well saved, Vaclav Cerny scuffing the ball when it looked easier to score, and Adam Hlozek having a goal disallowed for handball.
Schick got the equaliser the Czechs deserved, however, in the 59th minute, steering the ball in with his chest after Ondrej Lingr’s glancing header from a corner bounced off the post.
In a concern for the Czechs’ next game against Turkey, Schick – joint top scorer with five goals at the last Euros – limped off soon after his goal.
“Of course, 1-1 is not enough for us. We were better, we had more chances. Their goalie caught everything in the first half, then the penalty came,” said Schick, whose goal took him past Milan Baros as top Czech scorer at European Championships with six.
“In the end we were able to equalise. We were going at them but we were not able to score a second goal and we made a stupid mistake and could have lost.”
LOBJANIDZE’S BIG MISS
As in their opening match against Turkey, Georgia relied on stout defending and counterattacks against the Czechs, who had 55% of possession and 26 attempts on goal.
“We had a bit of a bad luck today, we had chances to win, but in the end we managed to draw and the point may after all mean qualifying, we have no options left but to win against the Turks,” Lingr said.
For Georgia, winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, nicknamed “Kvara-dona” by fans in comparison with Argentina’s great Diego Maradona – was a menace while Anzor Mekvabishvili squandered a great chance to give Georgia a 2-0 lead.
But it was Lobjanidze who will have sleepless nights after he missed his big opportunity in front of the main Georgian fans’ section to write his name into history.
Instead of hitting the ball low into one of the spaces either side of goalkeeper Stanek, he leant back slightly and the ball went over. Lobjanidze sank to his knees distraught at the final whistle seconds later and was consoled by team mates.
“He’s a great football player and he will definitely score a goal in the coming matches. Of course, it was a very important moment, but he needs to keep going,” said Georgia’s goalkeeper and man of the match Giorgi Mamardashvili.
“He should be proud because we earned our first point against the Czech Republic.”
