Serbia coach ruing mistakes in draw with Cameroon
"We are frustrated as we wanted the win and had the match in our hands but our silly mistakes allowed Cameroon to avoid defeat," Stojkovic said after the match.
Serbia’s head coach Dragan Stojkovic said they were frustrated with two mistakes in the defence to squander a two goal lead and draw 3-3 with Cameroon in a Group G match on Monday at the FIFA World Cup.
After defeats in the opening matches against Switzerland and Brazil, Cameroon and Serbia were on the brink of exit and both hoped to clinch a victory at the Al Janoub Stadium.
After the six-goal thriller, they kept hopes alive of entering last 16 with one point each. But the fate is not in their hands as the tournament favorite Brazil will meet Switzerland, both of whom has got three points, on Monday night.
“We are frustrated as we wanted the win and had the match in our hands but our silly mistakes allowed Cameroon to avoid defeat,” Stojkovic said after the match.
“We made two huge mistakes in the defence. At this level it is very dangerous to go high up when your opponent has the ball. It is difficult to understand and completely unnecessary.”
On a sunny afternoon, Jean-Charles Castelletto scored from close range in the 29th minute after a corner from the left.
Serbia turned the game around thanks to two quick goals in first-half stoppage time. Strahinja Pavlovic rose above Cameroon defenders to head home after the free-kick was lofted into the box, leveling the score at 1-1.
Two minutes later, Serbian playmaker Sergej Milinkovic-Savic struck a low shot to put his side 2-1 ahead at halftime.
Eight minutes after the restart, Aleksandar Mitrovic, the central forward in a 3-4-2-1 formation, who also hit the post for Serbia in the first half, made it 3-1 with a tap-in after fluent short passes from teammates.
Cameroon, seeking their first victory at the World Cup finals since 2002, responded with courage and efficient counterattack.
Vincent Aboubakar delivered a lob to ease the pressure in the 63rd minute and ran in space to lay the ball across from the right for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to tap home three minutes later.
Cameroon’s coach Rigobert Song said he was happy that the players rallied back after Serbia scored two goals in stoppage-time.
“What matters is the mindset and the collective spirit and in that regard we played a great game. We showed fighting spirit,” he said.
