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Group Six Roundup Spain stretches lead with win over ArmeniaPosted: Wednesday April 02, 2003 5:35 PMLEON, Spain (AP) -- Diego Tristan, Ivan Helguera and Joaquin Sanchez scored second-half goals Wednesday as Spain defeated Armenia 3-0 in a 2004 European Championship qualifier and stretched its lead at the top of Group 6. Spain leads the group with 10 points, four more than Ukraine. Greece, which won 2-0 in Northern Ireland earlier Wednesday, also has six points. Armenia drops to fourth place with four points while Northern Ireland has one. All five teams have played four matches. The victory extended Spanish coach Inaki Saez's unbeaten run to eight matches since replacing Jose Antonio Camacho after last year's World Cup. Spain was made to work hard for its victory by an Armenian team which didn't deserve to lose by such a heavy margin and occasionally threatened through some well-worked moves. Armenia made a surprisingly good start, with midfielder Artur Petrosian and striker Artavadz Karamian enjoying chances in the first 20 minutes. Tristan, who had been recalled for the match, wasted several early opportunities and then saw his powerful header well saved by goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky in the 27th minute. The Deportivo de La Coruna striker's near miss was the closest Spain came to scoring before halftime as it struggled against Armenia's disciplined defense. Armenia continued to impress after the interval and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas was forced to rescue his side in the 53rd minute when he dived to parry Artavazd Karamian's fierce shot. A minute later, Saez replaced FC Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez, who had been tightly marked throughout, with Valencia winger Vicente Rodriguez in a bid to gain greater attacking width. The switch brought its reward in the 63rd minute as Vicente found space on the left and his low cross was sidefooted home by Tristan. With Armenia looking second best for the first time in the match, Spain extended its lead five minutes later when Helguera sent a downward header past Berezovsky from Vicente's corner. Armenia recovered its composure after the double blow but conceded a third goal in injury time when substitute Sanchez, a 42nd minute replacement for the injured Joseba Etxeberria, chipped over Berezovsky. Spain hosts Greece in its next group match on June 7, while Armenia visits Ukraine on the same day. The match was the first international match to be played at Leon's 13,000 capacity Antonio Amilivia stadium, the home of third-division Cultural Leonesa. Lineups: Spain: Iker Casillas; Miguel Salgado, Carlos Marchena, Ivan Helguera, Raul Bravo; David Albelda, Xavi Hernandez (Vicente Rodriguez, 54th); Juan Carlos Valeron (Ruben Baraja, 64th) Joseba Etxeberria (Joaquin Sanchez, 42nd); Diego Tristan, Raul Gonzalez. Armenia: Roman Berezovski; Yeghishe Melikian, Arutyun Vardanian, Sargis Hovsepian, Karen Dokhoian; Artur Petrosian (Artur Mkrtchian, 80th), Artur Voskanian, Albert Sarkisian, Romik Kachandryan (Gamlet Mkhitarian, 84th); Artavazd Karamian, Arman Karamian. Referee: Alon Yefet (Israel). Greece scores easywin over Northern IrelandBELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- Two-goal Angelos Charisteas gave Greece a comfortable 2-0 victory over nine-man Northern Ireland in their European Championship qualifying game on Wednesday after the home team had James Quinn and Keith Gillespie sent off. The Werder Bremen forward gave the visitor a third minute lead at Windsor Park and added the second in the 56th against a struggling team which hasn't scored in eight games in more than year. The result mean the Greeks now have six points from four games and stand a good chance of gaining at least a runners up qualifying place but Northern Ireland is rooted at the bottom with just one point. After Northern Ireland goalkeeper Maik Taylor had beaten out a shot from Stylianos Giannakopoulos, Greece took the lead after three minutes when Charisteas rounded Taylor to score after Vasilios Tsartas had created the opening. Charisteas went close again in the eighth minute following a cross from Stelios Giannakopoulos, but Taylor saved again. Quinn, who plays in the Netherlands for Willem II, needed treatment in the 20th minute after a strong challenge from Sotirios Kyrgiakos. He looked dazed when he reappeared but forced Antonis Nikopolidis to make a good save when he connected with a free kick from Gillespie. But the forward added to Northern Ireland's problems when he was sent off seven minutes before half time for lunging at Georgios Karagounis. The home team kept pressing for an equalizer but conceded a second goal in the 56th minute when a poor back pass from George McCartney let in Charisteas and he scored from close range. Gillespie was sent off in the 69th minute after picking up his second yellow card for a foul on Kyrgiakos. The Irish nearly ended its miserable run without a goal in the 83rd minute when Mark Williams' shot come back off the crossbar. Lineups: Northern Ireland -- Maik Taylor, Aaron Hughes, Stephen Craigan, Mark Williams, George McCartney, Keith Gillespie, Stephen Lomas, Damien Johnson, Grant McCann, David Healy, James Quinn. Greece -- Antonis Nikopolidis, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Stelios Venetidis, Nikos Dabizas, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Pandelis Konstantinidis, Theorodos Zagorakis, Giorgios Karagounis, Angelos Charisteas, Vassilis Tsartas, Demis Nikolaidis. Referee -- Grzogorz Gilewski, Poland. |
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