National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10307 (Terracing: 7731, Seating: 2370, VIP seats: 206) Silvije Debrecin made the kick off and thus started the match. Ralf Beckers showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Silvije Debrecin in the 7th minute of the match. When Heli Moser came up free with the goalie in the 9th minute, the U21 Austria fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Heli Moser couldn't finish the play. U21 Austria's Dustin Mudra got a good chance for a goal in the 11th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 12 minutes into the game, Lukas Riedel was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. U21 Austria's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave U21 Croatia the free kick. In the 13th match minute, U21 Austria was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Lukas Riedel to maneuver through the defense. 15 minutes into the game, Dustin Mudra cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Zdravko Ivin was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. With a little luck, U21 Austria's Ralf Beckers got control of the ball when Branislav Klakočar tried to sneak it across the goal line. Silvije Debrecin had several of the U21 Austria's defenders around him in the penalty area when he, after 19 minutes of play, received a pass and succeeded in some way to shoot a shot which went straight ahead into goal. This resulted in a 1-1 score and a disappointed Ralf Beckers as he didn't even see the shot coming. Ralf Beckers took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Vlatko Mažibrada, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 27 minutes U21 Austria's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Ljubomir Potkonjak who took care of the corner kick. The corner ended in Ljubomir Potkonjak almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but U21 Austria's Ralf Beckers did a great save. After 30 played minutes U21 Croatia got a freekick which was hit by Jure Sirotić. After recieving a nice pass, U21 Austria's Heli Moser tried to score from far away in the 31st minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. Silvije Debrecin could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 38th minute of the match, but Ralf Beckers made a huge save. A collision led to U21 Croatia getting a freekick after 40 minutes play. Višeslav Lisinski hit a great ball. 44 minutes into the match, U21 Austria's goalkeeper Ralf Beckers had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Silvije Debrecin. U21 Croatia made a substitution. Zdravko Mehulić replaced Višeslav Lisinski. U21 Croatia made a substitution. Lino Pintarić replaced Ištvan Cicvarić. U21 Austria made a substitution. Tom Schopp replaced Bobbi Schweiger. After 46 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for U21 Croatia! Disappointed in the 1-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Stefan Greil stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Ralf Beckers showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Branislav Klakočar in the 58th minute of the match. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Silvije Debrecin in the 63rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Ralf Beckers prevented the ball from getting in the gole. The supporters of U21 Austria booed when U21 Croatia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 65 match minutes in a wonderful position. Silvije Debrecin didn't get a good kick on the ball. With a little luck, U21 Croatia's Zdravko Ivin got control of the ball when Stefan Greil tried to sneak it across the goal line. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Marijan Ivelić in the 68th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Ralf Beckers saved U21 Austria from getting behind. A collision led to U21 Austria getting a freekick after 69 minutes play. Dustin Mudra hit a great ball. Marijan Ivelić's late challenge caught a U21 Austria's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Marijan Ivelić helped the player get up and apologised. A collision led to U21 Croatia getting a freekick after 70 minutes play. Marijan Ivelić hit a great ball. In the 71st minute, Stefan Greil hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Branislav Klakočar received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 72nd minute. Ralf Beckers tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Dustin Mudra could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 74th minute of the match, but Zdravko Ivin made a huge save. Zdravko Ivin showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Tom Schopp, who was totally free with the ball in the 76th minute. After 85 minutes U21 Croatia's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Heli Moser who took care of the corner kick. Silvije Debrecin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 93rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ralf Beckers having to interfere. Stefan Greil could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 95th minute of the match, but Zdravko Ivin made a huge save. During the 98th minute of the match Lukas Riedel completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Lukas Riedel a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. In the 99th minute, Lukas Riedel hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The U21 Croatia supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching U21 Austria's performance. The match ended with a win for U21 Austria.