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By Zoran Milosavljevic BELGRADE, Oct 8 - Serbia's Spanish coach Javier
Clemente was happy with the commitment and fighting spirit his
team demonstrated in a 1-0 win over Belgium in their Euro 2008
Group A qualifier on Saturday. "We did a good job and I am overjoyed with the commitment,
the work rate and the fighting spirit the lads showed," Clemente
told reporters. "It is so important to see that they are playing their
hearts out even if when they are not performing well. With all
their strengths and weaknesses, I am proud of these players and
they are the best we've got. "There were mistakes too but that's part of the game and we
controlled it for more than an hour. Belgium came storming back
but (keeper) Vladimir Stojkovic rescued us with a couple of
excellent saves." The victory left Serbia top of a tight group with seven
points from three matches, two more than Finland and three ahead
of Portugal, Belgium and Poland. Serbia's pressure paid off when Nikola Zigic broke the
deadlock in the 54th minute but the home side were forced to
hang on desperately in the closing stages as the Belgians hit
the woodwork twice. "It was a team effort and my goal came after some good team
play too," said Zigic, who swept home a perfect low cross from
left back Ivica Dragutinovic after some hard work by right wing
Ognjen Koroman. "The important thing is that we won and we can now look
forward to Wednesday's match with Armenia. Another victory would
leave us firmly in the driving seat and that's why we must stay
focused," the Racing Santander striker said. Captain Dejan Stankovic believes a succession of home wins
would put Serbia in a good position to reach the finals in
Switzerland and Austria. "It is absolutely crucial to win all our matches in Belgrade
and I think we can do that," he said. "It is early days yet and this group, the only one with
eight rather than seven teams, is like a mini championship so I
really wouldn't complain over a run of 1-0 wins at home."
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