A goal in the 86th minute by substitute Mate Bilic gave Croatia a
1-0 victory Wednesday over Austria in an international friendly.
Bilic slid the ball past Austria goalkeeper Jurgen Macho from
a pass by Drago Grabic.
Croatia dominated the match throughout but saw several good
chances thwarted by Macho, who saved close-range shots from Luka
Modric, Nikica Jelavic and Bilic.
"We played well and deserved to win," Croatia coach Slaven
Bilic said. "I am proud of this achievement from my team."
Austria's best chance came after 20 minutes when Marc Janko
volleyed just wide from a right-wing cross by Martin Harnik.
Harnik and Umit Korkmaz were back after more than a year out.
"We would have been very lucky with a 0-0 result," Austria
coach Dietmar Constantini said. "Macho had a super day and we were
just not able to cause Croatia too much trouble."
The match was interrupted for several minutes in the second
half for poor visibility due to smoke after fans threw fireworks
onto the pitch.
Both Austria and Croatia failed to qualify for the World Cup
in South Africa, which starts June 11.
Lineups:
Austria: Jurgen Macho, Sebastian Proedl, Aleksandar Dragovic,
Manuel Ortlechner, Christian Fuchs, Martin Harnik (Florian Klein,
46), Franz Schiemer, Zlatko Junuzovic, Umit Korkmaz (Christopher
Drazan, 73), Roman Wallner (Christoph Leitgeb, 63), Marc Janko.
Croatia: Danijel Subasic, Ivan Strinic, Josip Simunic,
Tomislav Dujmovic (Nikola Pokrivac, 78), Gordon Schildenfeld,
Darijo Srna, Ognjen Vukojevic, Mario Mandzukic, Luka Modric, Nikica
Jelavic (Drago Gabric, 67), Mladen Petric (Mate Bilic, 60).
