Zoran Tosic scored in the 65th minute Friday as Serbia rallied to beat Northern Ireland 2-1 in a European Championship qualifier.
Gareth McAuley gave the Northern Irish the lead in the 40th minute when he looped a header over Serbia goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic, connecting with a long free kick sent into the penalty area by Chris Brunt.
But Marko Pantelic equalized in the 65th with a low shot from 11 yards (meters) through the legs of goalkeeper Lee Camp from a pass by substitute Milan Jovanovic, and Tosic made it 2-1 with a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area into the upper right corner of the net.
''I don't understand why my players were so nervous in the first half,'' Serbia coach Vladimir Petrovic said. ''I'm not satisfied how they played, but a win is a win.''
The Northern Irish were left ruing a great chance to double their lead just a minute after the opener, when Kyle Lafferty's shot from close range went over the bar.
''If we had scored, the match from there on would have been much different,'' said Northern Ireland coach Nigel Worthington. ''My boys played well in the first half, but tonight that was not enough.''
After dominating in the first half, Northern Ireland went into defense in the second, with the Serbs creating chances and often piercing through the visitors' often panicky defense.
The match was played without any home fans because of a UEFA ban after Serbian hooligans rioted during a qualifier against Italy in Genoa in October. Some 250 Northern Ireland fans were allowed into the sprawling Red Star stadium that sounded eerily quiet on Friday.
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Lineups:
Serbia: Zeljko Brkic, Aleksandar Kolarov, Milan Bisevac, Branislav Ivanovic, Neven Subotic, Zoran Tosic, Adem Ljajic (Milan Jovanovic, 46th), Marko Pantelic, Dejan Stankovic, Nenad Milijas (Milos Ninkovic, 46th), Milos Krasic (Radoslav Petrovic, 86).
Northern Ireland: Lee Camp, Craig Cathcart, Jonny Evans, Gareth McAuley, Chris Baird, Corry Evans (Pat McCourt, 86th), Samuel Clingan, Jonny Gorman (Warren Feeney, 78th), Kyle Lafferty (David Healy, 46th), Chris Brunt, Aaron Hughes.
