Vucinic lauds Juve spirit

Mirko Vucinic has put Juventus's Coppa Italia semi-final elimination of AC Milan down to selfless commitment and courage. The Montenegro forward scored a stunning winner in extra-time as Antonio Conte's men drew 2-2 on the night to secure a 4-3 aggregate victory and book a meeting with either Siena or Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico on 20 May. The hosts were forced to dig into their reserves, though, when Milan hit back after Alessandro Del Piero's first-half goal had extended Juve's overall lead to 3-1. Djamel Mesbah's header reduced the deficit, before a superb turn and strike by Maxi Lopez drew Milan level nine minutes from the end to force the tie into extra-time. However, after 96 minutes Vucinic unleashed a shot into the top left-hand corner as Juventus moved into the final. The former Roma forward told the club's official website: "Milan caused some difficulties, especially with their ball possession. "But we managed to clinch this overall victory thanks to our drive, determination, fast running and sacrifice. You can consider the covering work carried out by wingers and midfielders. And in extra-time our strengths weren't wasted." Last night's goal was a third in four games for Vucinic, who is now enjoying a strong run of form. He said: "I was playing well even before but goals didn't come. Now I'm scoring with continuity, but this isn't the main aspect. "The most important thing is that the team achieves positive results. The fundamental aspect was to get through to the final. We wanted to, exactly like our fans did."