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Turkey missed a penalty in injury time before drawing 0-0 with Austria on Tuesday to boost its chances of finishing second in Euro 2012 qualifying Group A.
Midfielder Arda Turan saw his weak effort saved by Austria goalkeeper Pascal Gruenwald, who had given away the penalty by fouling Burak Yilmaz in the area.
Turkey is now two points clear of Belgium with two games remaining, while fourth-place Austria has been eliminated. Germany had already won the group with the maximum 24 points from eight matches.
In the next round on Oct. 7, Turkey hosts Germany and Belgium takes on Kazakhstan, while Austria travels to Azerbaijan.
''We have taken a big step towards Euro 2012 today,'' Turkey's Dutch coach Guus Hiddink said. ''Austria was looking for revenge after some poor results so I think that getting a 0-0 here is a good result for us.''
Turkey, coming off a dramatic 2-1 win over Kazakhstan on Friday with a winning goal in stoppage time, dominated for most of the match but missed several chances to further improve its qualifying position.
''It's typical Turkish - doing it the hard way when you could also do it the easy way,'' Hiddink said.
Turkey's midfield was weakened by the absence of the injured Emre Belozoglu and the suspended Selcuk Inan, who got a red card in the closing minutes against Kazakhstan. Captain Servet Cetin and midfielder Yekta Kurtulus returned from injuries.
Eight players in the starting lineup were lacking competitive match practice as the start of the Turkish league has been postponed in conjunction with an ongoing match-fixing investigation.
Turkey gained control 30 minutes into the match, though Umut Bulut missed the target from a rebound off a Gruenwald save and Yilmaz saw his header go just wide.
Turkey created danger in the second half when Bulut hammered the ball over. A few minutes later, Yilmaz saw his header from a cross by Sabri Sarioglu hit the bar.
Austria came closest in the 84th when Martin Harnik saw his goal disallowed for offside by Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco.
''Our performance was OK,'' Austria coach Dietmar Constantini said. ''But if you don't qualify, you have failed. I am not sure about my future as a coach of this team but I won't decide on that.''
Constantini had made two changes to the team that lost 6-2 at Germany on Friday. Goalkeeper Christian Gratzei was dropped in favor of Gruenwald, who made his first appearance, while defensive midfielder Paul Scharner returned from suspension.
Austria dominated possession in the opening half hour but struggled to find gaps in Turkey's defense. Winger Marko Arnautovic came closest with two attempts from outside the penalty area. His first shot was saved by Volker Demirel, the second went just over the bar after being deflected by a defender.
Austria, which had lost seven of its last eight matches, has never qualified for the European Championships but took part in the 2008 event as a co-host with Switzerland.
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Austria: Pascal Gruenwald, Ekrem Dag, Franz Schiemer, Emanuel Pogatetz, Christian Fuchs, David Alaba, Paul Scharner, Julian Baumgartlinger, Daniel Royer (Erwin Hoffer, 67), Martin Harnik, Marko Arnautovic (Stefan Maierhofer, 90).
Turkey: Volkan Demirel, Sabri Sarioglu, Cetin Servet, Egemen Korkmaz, Hakan Kadir Balta, Selcuk Sahin, Mehmet Topal, Yekta Kurtulus, Arda Turan, Burak Yilmaz (Gokhan Tore, 90), Umut Bulut.
