Bosnia and Herzegovina’s national football team played to a dramatic 2-2 draw against Cyprus tonight in Larnaca, a result that considerably dims their World Cup qualifying hopes. Teh match, part of the sixth round of qualifiers, saw the Bosnian squad face a tenacious Cypriot side that proved to be a tough opponent throughout the first half, creating a number of promising scoring opportunities.
Despite the challenges, Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to find the back of the net twice through well-executed plays. However, Cyprus managed to equalize in the dying moments of both halves, denying bosnia and Herzegovina a crucial victory and leaving them with a sense of what might have been.
Bosnia and Herzegovina drew first blood in the 10th minute. Following a corner kick from Alajbegović,Katic showed excellent anticipation,rising above the defense in the penalty area. His initial header was saved by the Cypriot goalkeeper, but the rebound fell kindly to Katic, who calmly slotted the ball into the net for his first goal in the national team jersey.
The lead was doubled in the 36th minute thanks to an own goal from the Cypriot goalkeeper. Alajbegović delivered a hazardous cross directly towards the goal,which the keeper attempted to catch. However, the ball slipped through his grasp and trickled over the line, giving Bosnia and Herzegovina a pleasant two-goal cushion.
Cyprus, however, refused to go down without a fight. They pulled one back just before halftime through Laifis. After Tzionis struck the woodwork,Laifis was quickest to react to the rebound,firing the ball past the Bosnian goalkeeper,Vasila.
The home side, who enjoyed a significant portion of possession and territorial advantage in the first half, had two golden opportunities to level the score through Pittas. Pittas found himself with clear sight of goal on two separate occasions but failed to convert, missing the target on both attempts.
In the second half, Cyprus continued their aggressive pressing game, but Bosnia and Herzegovina’s defense held firm generally speaking. On the counter-attack, coach Sergey Barbarez’s squad had chances to extend their lead through the promising young talents Bajraktarević and Memic. Yet, the score remained unchanged until the referee’s added time, when Cyprus managed to snatch a point.
A foul by Kakoulli inside the Bosnian penalty area led to a penalty kick after a VAR review. Pittas stepped up and calmly converted the spot-kick, securing the 2-2 draw for Cyprus.
In a heart-stopping moment in the 11th minute of stoppage time,Bosnia and Herzegovina had a golden opportunity to snatch all three points. Omerović delivered a pinpoint pass to Beširović, who found himself unmarked just ten yards from goal. Though, he couldn’t capitalize on the excellent chance, firing his shot wide.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina lineup for this match included: nunić (from 46′), Muharemović, Tahirović (from 90′ besirović), Dedić, gigović (from 65′ Bašić), Džeko, Šunović, Katic, alajbegović (from 65′ Bajbregović).
In the other Group H fixture, Austria comfortably defeated San marino 10-0.
The group standings now see Austria leading with 15 points. Bosnia and Herzegovina sits in second place with 13 points, followed by Romania in third with seven. Cyprus has five points,while San Marino remains at the bottom with zero points.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will have a bye in the next round of qualifiers on October 12th and will instead play a pleasant match against Malta.The other upcoming fixtures in Group H are Romania vs. Austria and San Marino vs. Cyprus.
