Sverkos sneaks in to break up Swiss party

This is Euro 2008, not the FA Cup, so there were no shocks or fairytales in the opening game. Just a small Alp of controversy that denied Switzerland a deserved point, but was accepted with good grace.

A goal from Vaclav Sverkos settled the matter in the Czech Republic's favour, though Switzerland protested long and loud that they should have had a penalty near the end. They had a case too, but the Italian referee missed Tomas Ujfalusi's blatant handball and the co-hosts were left to regret their lack of a clinical finish in the long periods of the game when they were superior. 'It was a non-decision on the part of the referee,' said Köbi Kuhn, the Switzerland coach. 'You can make your own mind up about what took place, but I don't want to comment on it.

'Portugal lost their first game four years ago and still made the final. I congratulated my team on what they did today - their heads should be high. What they need to do now is drink a lot, eat a lot and forget about this result.'

Wacky, these Swiss. It cannot be easy fitting cows, snow, waltzes, skiers, balloons, yachts and Alpine scenery into a 15-minute opening ceremony. But a cast of hundreds in Basle managed it with such slick efficiency that by the time a screech of fireworks announced the anthems were about to begin, spectators were unsure whether they had entered a trippy dream or woken up in the middle of The Magic Roundabout

If it was a cunning plan by the Swiss to disorientate their opponents, it initially seemed to work. Switzerland were by far the more energetic, attacking side in the first half-hour, and while the finish or the final ball rarely matched their workrate, Petr Cech was glad to see an Alexander Frei shot roll wide in the third minute and was subsequently required to save from Valon Behrami, Gokhan Inler and Frei again.

All this was before Diego Benaglio in the Swiss goal had faced a proper shot or Jan Koller had been able to get on the end of a cross. The big Czech centre-forward was mostly involved in a link role in the first half, though playing largely on his own up front he was short of players to link with. It took over half an hour for Jaroslav Plasil to send in the sort of cross Koller appreciates, and even then he put it too far ahead of its target. Plasil had better luck with a low cross five minutes later that found its way to Libor Sionko's feet, but not past the watchful Ludovic Magnin, who never left Sionko on his own for a second.

As half time approached the Czechs were looking more like their old selves, even if Plasil was struggling (who wouldn't?) to live up to his billing as the new Pavel Nedved. Switzerland would ordinarily have been happy to reach half time on level terms, though they lost their brightest attacker and captain when Frei damaged his knee in an awkward fall after a foul by Zdenek Grygera. It appeared to be a bad fall rather than a bad foul, and his tears of pain and frustration as he left the arena suggested it was a recurrence of his cruciate knee problem.

Magnin took over the captaincy for the second half and almost immediately brought a save from Cech. Hakan Yakin, the replacement for Frei, sent a free-kick narrowly too high then alertly found Gelson Fernandes in the box on the next attack, only to be denied by the offside flag. A David Rozehnal interception snuffed out a brief half-chance when Tranquillo Barnetta had a sight of goal, before the Czechs withdrew Koller after 56 minutes, either on account of his age - 35 - or because he had not seen the ball for almost as long.

Switzerland had gained the upper hand again, and their best chance of scoring arrived in the 65th minute when a Behrami cross from the right presented Yakin with a free header. He should have forced a save from Cech at the very least, but instead he managed to miss the target by a distance.

That suggested it might not be Switzerland's day, and the co-hosts' luck ran out five minutes later. A tired Swiss clearance reached half way, but was nodded powerfully back by Tomas Galasek and ran all the way through to the substitute Sverkos, who stayed onside and supplied a tidy finish. 'You need fast players in the second half,' Karel Brückner, the Czech coach, said modestly, when congratulated on the success of his substitution.

It was no more than the Swiss crowd had been expecting, really. Kuhn's team gave a decent account of themselves and did not let anyone down, and though they should have had a penalty for deliberate handball, Swiss fans will have noted with resignation that when the referee waved play on, Cech made an outstanding save from Marco Streller and Johan Vonlanthen could only smack the rebound against the crossbar.

Good teams take their chances, a point made by Ujfalusi, who with majestic insensitivity Uefa managed to make man of the match. 'The important thing is that we won,' the Czech captain said. 'Winning your first match is always important, even if we can play better.' And the handball? 'That is a situation that has to be seen by the referee. He made his decision and we played on.'

Last word to the stoical Kuhn, who has been tending his sick wife in hospital all week in addition to preparing his team for a national trial. 'This is football,' he said. 'It's not about justice.'

Taken from the Guardian/Observer