Euro 2012: Quarter-finals: Portugal overcome Czech Republic with Ronaldo’s strike

szólj hozzá: CZE 0 – POR 1
Joao Moutinho’s 79th minute cross was met emphatically by Cristiano Ronaldo as he rifled a header past Petr Cech, an old foe from his Premiership days. Moutinho and Nani were the pick of the players as the Portugese midfield dominated the second half proceedings with the Czechs increasingly hemmed in their own half. The 1-0 scoreline flatters as the Portugese could have scored at least on three other occasions with the woodwork denying Ronaldo twice.
The first half saw Ronaldo at his petulant best as he came close but couldn’t quite deliver.
At the half he had the look and demeanour of a disgruntled seal beaten to a school of fish by a more aggressive rival. His already prominent shoulder blades flared out in resignation, his greased hair looked even more beaten down; he exited the pitch barking at his team mates for better service.
The first half highlights here >>
Ronaldo is easy to caricature but in this competition he’s come through when Portugal needed him. He’s on course to becoming the Euro’s top scorer with Mario Gomez his main competition. We will see the Bayern Munich striker in action tomorrow against Greece.
Portugal will be without Helder Postiga in the semi-final against Spain or France suffering a hamstring injury that saw him stretchered off in the first half and subbed by Hugo Almeida.
The Czechs had a lot of the ball in the first half in the opening 15-20 minutes but were unable to create many chances. Only one attempt on target compared in to Portugal’s eight. They have some bright sparks. Attacking talent in Vaclav Pilar and Petr Jiracek while David Limbersky and Michal Kadlec shone in defense.