Czechs through as Poles’ dreams dashed

The Czech Republic qualified for the Euro 2012 quarter-finals dashing the dreams of co-hosts Poland with a 1-0 win in their Group A match on Saturday.

A well-taken goal by Petr Jiracek in the 72nd minute, after being set-up by Milan Baros, was enough to separate the sides in a match the Poles could have had wrapped up by half-time.

The Poles should have taken the lead in the 10th minute as Robert Lewandowski had a superb chance, a finely-worked move by Poles saw him free on the left but he fired his shot wide.

Petr Cech was easily the busiest of the two goalkeepers and twice he saved his side, the best of the two when he got down smartly to turn away Sebastian Boenisch’s fierce long range shot for a corner.

The Czechs had suffered a blow before the match as inspirational playmaker Tomas Rosicky was ruled out having failed to win his race to recover from a calf injury he suffered in the 2-1 win over Greece on Tuesday.