Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Final spot sealed by the Croats
CROATIA comfortably negotiated the second leg of their play-off tie against Greece with a goalless draw sealing their place at next summer’s World Cup.
The hosts started the game at a quick tempo without ever troubling Croatia, who eventually managed to get their foot on the ball and slow the pace right down.
Croatia looked dangerous for the first time midway through the first half when Ivan Perisic skipped past a challenge and cut into the penalty area before dragging his low shot wide.
The Inter Milan playmaker went closer just before half-time when his 25-yard effort struck a post with goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis well beaten.
It was a rare occasion that Croatia stepped out of second gear while at the other end of the pitch a stubborn defence frustrated Greece.
The hosts continued to see a lot of the ball but you could see that belief draining from them as the minutes ticked by.
With Greece still needing three goals, they made an attacking substitution just before the hour mark by introducing Kostas Fortounis and Giannis Gianniotas from the bench but it was to little avail.
A third substitute, on with just 12 minutes remaining, Dimitrious Pelkas thought he had made an immediate impact by pulling a goal back but he was flagged offside.
Danijel Subasic was given some work to do for the only time in the game with four minutes to go when Panagiotis Tachtsidis shot tamely at him.