Wales beats Montenegro 2-1 in Euro 2012 qualifying

Wales beats Montenegro 2-1 in Euro 2012 qualifying

Published Sep. 2, 2011 11:36 p.m. ET

Montenegro lost 2-1 at Wales in European Championship qualifying on Friday to damage its hopes of finishing top of Group G.

The Welsh came into the match having lost all four of their qualifiers, but Steve Morison's tap-in in the 29th minute - his first international goal - put them ahead and a crisp finish by Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey in the 50th doubled the lead.

Stevan Jovetic's fierce 71st-minute strike set up a tense finish at the Millennium Stadium but Montenegro couldn't find an equalizer, leaving the team three points behind group leader England with two games left.

''England, even before the group started, were the clear favourites and now they are in a good position,'' Montenegro coach Zlatko Kranjcar said. ''But remember their last game is in Podgorica (in Montenegro) and if we're prepared we could be in a position to fight back for first place.

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''We won't surrender. England will not scare our players, we will be ready for them.''

Wales can do Montenegro a favor by beating England at Wembley on Tuesday, although it will be without new Liverpool signing Craig Bellamy because of suspension.

''I'm pleased for the players more than anything,'' Wales coach Gary Speed said. ''They've put lots of effort in without much reward and now they've got that reward.

''I hope that will do us the world of good. We've got some fantastic players but you do need that belief and that will give us that after a win against the team top of the group.''

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Lineups:

Wales: Wayne Hennessey, Chris Gunter, Darcy Blake, Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor, Joe Ledley, Aaron Ramsey (Andrew Crofts, 64), David Vaughan, Gareth Bale (Robert Earnshaw, 90), Steve Morison (Hal Robson-Kanu, 83), Craig Bellamy.

Montenegro: Mladen Bozovic, Sasa Balic (Milan Jovanovic, 83), Radoslav Batak, Stefan Savic, Elsad Zverotic, Simon Vukcevic, Milorad Pekovic, Nikola Drincic, Stevan Jovetic, Radomir Djalovic (Dejan Damjanovic, 57), Mirko Vucinic (Andrija Delibasic, 78).

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