Pavel Srnicek 1968 - 2015

The former Newcastle goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek’s funeral will take place in the Czech Republic on Monday. Srnicek died on Tuesday at the age of 47 after the decision was taken to switch off his life support machine.

The 49-times-capped Czech Republic international had been in an induced coma since suffering a cardiac arrest while out running in his home town of Ostrava before Christmas.

Funeral services, to which friends and colleagues have been invited, will take place at the Ostrava Vitkovice house of mourning between 2pm and 5pm on Monday 4 January.

Srnicek became a big favourite with Newcastle fans during his first spell at St James' Park between 1991 and 1998.

He returned to the club on a season-long deal in September 2006 but was released in May 2007 after making 190 appearances across his two spells.

Srnicek also played for Sheffield Wednesday, Portsmouth and West Ham in England, and made 49 appearances for his count

Further details are available at www.pavelsrnicek.com.

#RIP 

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Czech Republic Name EURO Squad

2012 Czech Mate in Montenegro

The Czech Republic will compete in their fifth successive UEFA European Championship finals after winning 1-0 in Podgorica to complete a 3-0 aggregate play-off success against Montenegro.

Michal Bílek's Czechs arrived with a two-goal advantage from the first leg and had to weather a second-half storm. They finally ended the hopes of their hosts with nine minutes remaining when Petr Jiráček broke through Montenegro's defence and calmly beat Mladen Božović.

For Montenegro it brought a sad conclusion to their maiden EURO qualifying campaign, and Branko Brnović's men will rue the chances they missed after the restart when they had the Czechs under severe pressure.

Awash with red and yellow, a noisy Stadion Podgorica urged Montenegro on from the outset but the home side struggled initially to open up a well-organised Czech rearguard. Bílek's side had an extra man in midfield and it took the hosts 40 minutes to create the game's first real opening as Dejan Damjanović picked up a pass by Elsad Zverotić, turned Michal Kadlec in the box and shot wide from some 14 metres.

The second half proved a different story. Montenegro found an extra level of energy and pinned the Czechs back only to find Petr Čech in top form. Six minutes after the break, Mirko Vučinić and Fatos Beqiraj exchanged passes, and the Juventus striker found the unmarked Damjanovič who fired in a shot kept out by a combination of Čech's reflexes and the crossbar.

Five minutes later Montenegro came again, but from Zverotić's corner Vučinić somehow headed over from five metres. Montenegro were looking a threat from almost every attack, but could find no way past the brilliant Čech who twice thwarted Vučinić.

By the closing stages, Montenegro had five forwards on the field but Czech defenders Roman Hubník and Tomáš Sivok were getting their heads to a succession of balls into the box and the visitors duly broke to rub salt into the wounds with Jiráček's strike.

Bilek's Czechs Lead in Podgorica

As his side prepare to defend a 2-0 play-off lead in Podgorica on Tuesday, Czech Republic coach Michal Bílek believes his side only need to score to take a chance that "should not be missed" to qualify for UEFA EURO 2012 at the expense of a Montenegro side, whose forward Stevan Jovetić insists the tie is "far from over".

The visitors have the upper hand in their UEFA EURO 2012 play-off second leg Václav Pilař's powerful strike and Tomáš Sivok's last-gasp header earned the Czech Republic a two-goal advantage to take to Montenegro. However, in order for Bílek to breathe more easily he has called upon his charges to score one more goal.

"If we score once, Montenegro must get four, which will be very, very difficult," said Bílek. "We are expecting a difficult game, in front of a passionate crowd and we must be prepared for that. We know that we have only played the first half, but it is a good result so far and this chance should not be missed.

"In the first match we kept the ball and, at the same time, denied their very talented individuals by defending well. They only had a few chances at the beginning of the second half, but we had Petr Čech at his best. They will be dangerous at home, but I am convinced that we will play at same level on Tuesday."

Stevan Jovetić, meanwhile, is convinced the home side can turn the tie on its head after a disappointing first-leg display that has not caused his side to give up hope of a first finals appearance. Having recorded group stage victories against Wales, Bulgaria and Switzerland, by 1-0 scorelines, Montenegro need to go one better and score at least twice to get back into the tie, as they did against England, when they rallied from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw.

"If we can score twice against England, we can score twice against the Czechs too," said Jovetić. "We didn't show anything in the first leg – our performance was well below our best level – so I am sure that we will be much better at home. We haven't lost hope."