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Titlists shaky Santa Cruz lifts Bayern Munich 1-0 over BoavistaPosted: Tuesday February 26, 2002 5:11 PMUpdated: Tuesday February 26, 2002 7:23 PM
MUNICH, Germany (AP) -- Bayern Munich saved a desolate performance with a late charge Tuesday against Boavista, with Roque Santa Cruz scoring the gamewinner in the 1-0 Champions League victory. The Paraguayan forward's third goal of the competition this year, a header, came in the 81st minute and ran the defending champions unbeaten streak in the competition to 16 matches. The Portuguese side played the German team even for most of the match, showing a Bayern in desolate form for long stretches, but faded in the last 20 minutes. "They're defensive specialists, that's why they're in the second round," said Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. "They didn't let us play, that's why it was so hard for us." Santa Cruz's header, meeting Bixente Lizarazu's cross and bouncing it into the goal, came amidst of flurry of Bayern chances at the end, a concerted charge to pull out a much needed home win in Group A. Manchester United and are Munich are now knotted at eight points with two rounds left, while Boavista is teetering on elimination at four points. Bayern, as the 30,000 fans at Olympiastadion began booing, went from the 29th minute to the 60th minute without taking a single shot in a sluggish performance. "We have a super team but you couldn't see that today -- I don't know why," said Bayern's Brazilian striker Giovane Elber. Boavista seemed to take control of the match to start the second half with Alexandre Goulart giving Munich a scare in the 46th minute. Entering the match just seconds earlier, he rifled a shot off the right post, with Ollie Kahn having to stretch just to gain a piece of the ball with his fingers. Boavista forward Martelhino, whose trouble finishing probably cost his side a goal, gave the Munich backline trouble several times. It started in the second minute when Martelhino was sprung free on a through pass, but blasted the ball outside the left post. Munich now has become an expert in minimalism, having picked up its eight points in the group on just three goals. Boavista, which appeared to have the Germans on the verge of a loss several times, turned into the 27th straight Champions League opponent that has failed to win at Munich's Olympiastadium. Although Boavista would have deserved a win through much of the match, the Portuguese team's collapse on defense at the end invited a Bayern attack that came in waves. Even before Santa Cruz's goal, the Bayern chances included a 74th minute attempt by Claudio Pizarro that struck the left post and a free kick goal called offside. SummaryBayern Munich 1 Boavista 0 -- result Champions League second stage, Group A Scorer: Roque Santa Cruz 81 Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 30,000 Teams: Bayern Munich: 1-Oliver Kahn; 2-Willy Sagnol, 4-Sammy Kuffour, 12-Robert Kovac, 3-Bixente Lizarazu, 23-Owen Hargreaves, 11-Stefan Effenberg, 16-Jens Jeremies (14-Claudio Pizzaro 61); 7-Mehmet Scholl (13-Paulo Sergio 76), 24-Roque Santa Cruz, 9-Elber (17-Torsten Fink 83) Boavista: 1 Ricardo Pereira, 28-Jose Bosingwa, 6-Erivan Lima, 5-Pedro Emanuel, 19-Mario Loja, 3-Fernando Avalos, 7-Jorge Silva, 37-Erwin Sanchez (Rui Lima 78), 16-Joaquim Martelinho, 11-Elpidio Silva (30-Alexandre Goulart 45), 20-Jorge Couto (8-Duda 66) Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway)
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