European Qualifiers: Sweden beat Liechtenstein 2-0 to claim first victory in Group G ================================================== Sweden picked up their first win in Euro 2016 qualifying, beating Liechtenstein 2-0 in their Group G encounter at the Friends Arena in Solna. In a quiet first half, Erkan Zengin found the target for Sweden, who were missing leading scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic due to an Achilles problem. Jimmy Durmaz doubled their advantage a minute after the break for a Sweden side desperate to register their first win of the campaign after draws against Austria and Russia. Shots on goal were plentiful for the home side, although efforts on target less so with Durmaz and Johan Elmander twice failing to test Cengiz Bicer early on. After 26 minutes Seyhan Yildiz was replaced by Daniel Brandle in what seemed like a tactical change before Bicer was called into action, holding onto Albin Ekdals effort. Sweden were dominating possession but were struggling to break down Liechtenstein, who held Montenegro to a 0-0 draw on Thursday. Emil Forsberg missed the target from 20 yards, but Sweden found the net instead of the stands after 33 minutes when Zengins deflected shot looped over Bicer and nestled into the bottom corner. Sweden went two up a minute after the restart when Bicer miscued a clearance to Durmaz, who poked past the unfortunate stopper. The hosts took their foot off the pedal with chances few and far between, although Branimir Hrgota should have at least tested Bicer late on when his close range header sailed over the bar. Andreas Isaksson was finally called into action in injury time, parrying Michele Polverinos long-range effort. Source - Sky Sports
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 20:50:58 +0000