Austria take heart in fight to the end display

Vienna & Zagreb: Co-hosts Austria put aside the disappointment of losing their debut in Euro 2008 against Croatia and took heart from a bright second-half display which could yet bode well for their next must-win games.

A fourth-minute penalty, which left Austria in disarray and their fans in stunned silence, was enough to secure Croatia victory despite an unconvincing performance overall.

Austria, however, bounced back to lay siege in the latter stages of the match and give coach Josef Hickersberger optimism that they can still worry Poland when they meet on Thursday.

Poland lost their Group B opener 2-0 to Germany in Klagenfurt, also on Sunday. "One can see that there is a development. We are in great shape and are learning from match to match," Hickersberger said.

"We need goals against Poland, and then points against Germany. It won't be easy, but it is still possible."

Lost nerve

Having lost their nerve in the wake of the penalty, Hickersberger's team started to take the game to the Croatians after he introduced Ivica Vastic and Umit Korkmaz midway through the second half.

The coach explained that the strategy was to throw caution to the wind for the last 30 minutes.

Hickersberger added that it was too early to say which team or changes in tactics would be introduced against Poland, adding that all-out attack from the start could prove difficult.

"You can only play as offensively as the opponent lets you, and when the Croatians were fresh we saw what good players they were," he said.

"On the other hand, of course, Poland need to be approached with different tactics than Croatia."

Austria, ranked 92nd in the world had been widely expected to lose all their group stage games before the tournament started. The co-hosts next take on Poland in Vienna on Thursday and then Germany, also in the Austrian capital, on Monday.

Media bashing

Separately, newspaper headlines in Zagreb cooled considerably on monday after croatia's unconvincing 1-0 victory over Austria. In the run-up to the match, Croatian media had expected much more from their team than a narrow win.

"Three coveted points won, but without a game," was the headline in the Jutarnji List Daily, followed by a comment how Croatia's "tame performance destroyed the euphoria" from a few days ago.

The 24sata tabloid struck a similar line, saying: "Croatia overcomes austria, but leaves a poor impression."