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On the doorstep Colombia is a win away from taking Copa championship
Updated: Friday July 27, 2001 12:43 AM
MANIZALES, Colombia (AP) -- Victor Aristizabal's athletic goal in the 63rd minute assured Columbia a 2-0 win over Honduras Thursday and a spot in Sunday's final against Mexico. It also virtually guaranteed high-scoring honors for the 27-year-old striker, who had been tied at five goals with Costa Rica's Paulo Wanchope. His closest rival is Honduras' Amadao Guevara, with three. But it meant more to Colombians, who celebrated with chants of "Ole" and an explosion of joy in the stands and the streets when the game ended. The commemoration seemed unlikely just four weeks ago when the tournament was almost called off because of political violence. "I dedicate the goal to this beautiful country we have," Aristizabal said. "We had never experienced this. I dedicate it to a happy people that could be one of the best countries in the world." For Honduras, the loss ended a storybook run in the continent's oldest and most prestigious tournament. A last-minute replacement for Argentina, Honduras won the hearts of fans as they upset Bolivia, Uruguay and Brazil en route to the semifinals, and will face Uruguay for third place. "Colombia knew how to take control and that unbalanced us," said Honduran coach Ramon Maradiaga. "I congratulated the players in the locker room and told them they should be proud." Colombia came storming out and trapped Honduras in their own end. Within five minutes they had put four shots on the Honduran goal, the start of what would be a long night for keeper Noel Valladares. Defender Gerardo Bedoya put Colombia up 1-0 in the sixth minute with a booming left-footed shot from the corner of the area that found the far upper corner. The goal was the first Honduras had given up since its opening game, a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica. But there were no giant-killing heroics for Honduras this night. The team was stymied by the swarming Colombian defense and didn't get a shot on goal for the first half hour. "Those first 20, 25 minutes were good, too good, difficult to match," said Colombian coach Francisco Maturana. Still, the Hondurans battled back. Their best chance came on a line-drive free kick from 23 meters (25 yards) by Amado Guevara at 30 minutes, which keeper Oscar Cordoba leaped to knock away from the upper left corner. In the second half, Honduras threatened again on a Julio Cesar Leon free kick from near the left corner that bounced off the crossbar. "I am an unconditional fan of Honduras since the first time I faced them," Maturana said. "Honduras is a team in constant evolution, that knows what it wants." But Colombia was constantly buzzing the Honduran goal and Valladares made trouble for himself when he failed to clear a cross, and Giovanny Hernandez fired a testing shot on the rebound. Minutes later, Valladares mishandled a Mario Yepes header and Ivan Cordoba nearly put in the rebound. In the 63rd minute, Aristizabal took a cross from Freddy Grisales, trapped the ball on his chest and fired as he spun to make it 2-0. David Ferreira had a last chance for Honduras, but his turnaround shot from in close went wide six minutes from time. Lineups: Colombia: Oscar Cordoba, Ivan Lopez, Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, Mario Yepes, Gerardo Bedoya, Freddy Grisales, Fabian Vargas, Juan Carlos Ramirez, Giovanny Hernandez, Elkin Murillo (John Restrepo, 90)and Victor Hugo Aristizabal (Eulalio Arriaga, 71). Honduras: Noel Valladares, Samuel Caballero, Ninrod Medina, Limbert Perez, Ricky Garcia (Reinaldo Pineda, 60), Carlos Guty, Robert Bernardez, Julio Cesar Leon, Amado Guevara, Danilo Turcios (Mario Rodriguez, 67) and Saul Martinez (Marvin Brown, 73). Referee: Mario Sanchez, Chile
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