Czech Republic's Vaclav Sverkos was delighted with his first ever international goal, but admitted he did not hit it cleanly.
Match-winner concedes goal was fortunate
Czech Republic striker Vaclav Sverkos was delighted with his first ever international goal, but admitted he did not hit it cleanly.
The 24-year-old was eager to get onto the pitch during the opening match of Euro 2008 against Switzerland, and his dream came true when he came on for veteran Jan Koller.
In only his third cap for the national side, Sverkos found the net 15 minutes after coming on when he latched onto a through ball and put the ball past Diego Benaglio.
However the pacey forward feels lucky that his strike, which came off of his right shinpad, was not as clean as he would have liked.
"I wanted it that way, no, I'm kidding. I did not hit it well," Sverkos said.
"I'm glad that it went in and meant three points for us. I really was a little bit nervous when I came on. It was my first big match at a big tournament."
Praise
His strike was the only goal of the game in the Group A opener, and the Banik Ostrava forward has earned the praise from the man he came on for, and the country's top scorer, Koller.
But taking the powerful striker's place is something Sverkos said he is unlikely to do on the Euro 2008 stage.
"I'm just happy to be here at all. The main thing is for us to be successful as a team. I've got to work hard and run hard," he said.
