A Balkan battle between Serbia and Albania was always likely to be tasty, and the fact that both nations are directly battling against each other for the playoff spot in Group K raised the stakes here.
One could have been forgiven for expecting that it would lead to a frantic start from both sides, but it was in fact quite the opposite, with little to report in the final third.
The first sighting either side had of the goal came after 25 minutes, when Duaan Vlahovic rolled his marker and unleashed a powerful 30-yard strike which needed saving impressively by Thomas Strakosha.
The chances were now flowing for the Juventus man, who squandered an even bigger opportunity to hand his side the lead a matter of minutes later. Lazar Samardzic did the heavy lifting in the build-up, picking out the unmarked Vlahovic, who could only steer a volley wide of the target from no more than 10 yards out.
Serbia dominated swathes of the first half, but they were hit with the ultimate sucker punch with the last kick before the break. Arlind Ajeti’s attempted volley on the edge of the area was so wayward it fell perfectly for Rey Manaj, who made no mistake with his volley, powering home into the corner to hand Albania a half-time lead.
Serbia knew that defeat here would see them relinquish control in the race for second place in Group K, and, evidently unwilling to do so, they started the second half on the offensive.
Record scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic came within a whisker of getting the Serbs back on level terms within 10 minutes of the restart when he headed narrowly over, before the influential Vlahovic fired over from inside the area just after the hour mark.
So many missed chances didn’t deter the hosts from continuing to stream forward, and another big opportunity came and went when the unmarked Vasilije Kostov could only fire an effort into a host of Albanian bodies from 12 yards.
The visitors offered precious little in an attacking sense after the break as they tried desperately to preserve their lead, and despite Serbia boss Dragan Stojkovic throwing rafts of attackers onto the pitch, his side simply couldn’t break Albania down.
Victory could prove to be key for the Red and Blacks’ World Cup hopes as they now lead Serbia by four points in second place, but with both these sides still having to play England across the final three rounds, second spot in Group K is still firmly up for grabs.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rey Manaj (Albania)
