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Fortunate South Africa earns draw with Paraguay thanks to late PKPosted: Sunday June 02, 2002 3:45 AMUpdated: Monday June 03, 2002 2:05 AM
BUSAN, South Korea (AP) -- Quinton Fortune banged in a last minute penalty to pull South Africa back from two goals down and earn his side a 2-2 tie in the opening game of World Cup Group B against Paraguay. Paraguay -- widely regarded as the favorite -- dominated in the first half, their dogged defense effectively closing down the South African team. But the aging South American side tired in the second half and allowed the more youthful Bafana Bafana -- "the boys" -- to show their exuberance and energy. (South Africa exorcises ghosts of 1998.) "We didn't have our legs or our heads today," said Paraguay's Italian coach Cesare Maldini after the match. "Today we were outplayed," he conceded. But he insisted that the absence of goalkeeper and captain Jose Luis Chilavert, serving out the last of a four-match suspension for spitting on a Brazilian opponent in the qualifiers, made no difference.
"There were two matches today," said South African coach Jomo Sono. "The second half was ours and the first half was theirs." Paraguay took the lead in the 39th minute when Roque Santa Cruz headed Francisco Arce's beautifully targeted free kick past South Africa's onrushing keeper Andre Arendse. Santa Cruz -- a 21-year-old forward who plays for Bayern Munich -- nearly scored again five minutes later, but the blistering shot was deflected off the line by Arendse, as was one further fine goal shot. Santa Cruz, or "Babygol" to his many devoted fans, had several other near misses in the first half, standing up to his reputation as a brilliant attacking star on the defensive squad. The South Americans made it two in the 56th minute, when Arce curled a 25-meter (yards) free kick into the top left corner, beyond the outstretched arms of the diving Arendse. "I'm sad because we could have won the game and we blew it," said Santa Cruz after the match. "We're not in the position that we'd hoped to be in. We can't allow a repeat of this against Spain," he said of the squad's next match in Group B. Slovenia is the remaining team. As the second half progressed, Bafana Bafana started to "dance" as Somo had ordered. (South Africa celebrates Cup draw.) Sustained pressure on the goal paid off when Teboho Mokoena lashed the ball on to the feet of Paraguayan defender Estanislao Struway, who deflected it into his own net from close to the penalty spot in the 63rd minute. Then in the dying seconds of the game, the referee deemed that Paraguay goalie Ricardo Tavarelli pulled down Sibusiso Zuma -- whose skilled dribbling and rapid sprints made him the South African man of the match -- and awarded a penalty. Manchester United winger Quinton Fortune made up for his disappointing first-half performance. He slammed the ball into the corner of the net and the South Africans went wild, jumping over the pitch fencing to salute their fans. "We kept working and believing," said Fortune. "We put pressure on them. We kept putting pressure on them. We knew they would start tiring." South Africa was widely considered the weakest of Group B, and Paraguay will now be looking to repeat its 1998 victory over Spain when it forced the Spaniards to a shock first round exit. "We were nervous in the first half as it was our first game. But then we got over the stage fright," said Sono. The game was bad-tempered at times, with referee Lubos Michel of Slovakia handing out eight yellow cards -- four to each team. The match was played in front of a crowd of 25,000 -- less than half the capacity of the Busan stadium. Santa Cruz comes of age for ParaguayParaguay striker Roque Santa Cruz has been hailed in some quarters as a raw diamond and the new Marco van Basten by others, but the 2002 World Cup could be the stage where he comes of age. The 20-year-old, labeled the great hope of Paraguayan football, produced an eye-catching performance in the 2-2 draw against South Africa on Sunday which marked him out as a player to watch in the tournament. Santa Cruz, tall and lanky but with excellent control, proved a real handful for the Bafana Bafana defense, heading Paraguay into a 39th minute lead with a close range header from Francisco Arce's curling free-kick. Despite registering his first World Cup goal, Santa Cruz said his joy was tinged with disappointment after his side blew a two-goal lead as South Africa rallied late in the game. "Of course, I am happy to score," Santa Cruz, nicknamed "Babygol," told reporters. "But it's difficult to celebrate after we did not win." Sprawling saves The striker might have won a penalty just 40 seconds into the game when he tumbled under a Lucas Radebe challenge, and twice forced Andre Arendse into sprawling saves from powerful headers. But he became a peripheral figure in the second half as Paraguay defended further and further back, forcing the striker to track back deep into his own territory as well. "South Africa are a good side and we could not get any attacks going in the second half," he added. "They pinned us back and I think we have time now to work on some things in training. "But I am happy with my form and I hope I can score a few more goals." Santa Cruz was snapped up by Bayern Munich at the age of 17 after just one season of prolific scoring for Paraguayan side Olimpia, where he made his professional debut aged just 15. He netted five times in his first season in Bavaria but spent most of the time on the bench. But last season he was an automatic starter and carried his form back to Paraguay in the World Cup qualifiers where he scored three times and set up many more goals. Many wondered whether Bayern had been wise to spend 12 millions marks (US$5.42 million) on such raw talent, but the proof is now there for all to see -- this time the whole world will take note of the name Roque Santa Cruz. SummaryParaguay 2 South Africa 2 - resultWorld Cup, group B Scorers: Paraguay - Roque Santa Cruz 39, Francisco Arce 55 South Africa - Estanislao Struway 63og, Quinton Fortune 90pen Yellow cards: Paraguay - Julio Carlos Caceres 34, Denis Caniza 64, Ricardo Tavarelli 90, Juan Carlos Franco 90 South Africa - Aaron Mokoena 3, Pierre Issa 8, Benni McCarthy 37, Sibusiso Zuma 45 Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 25,186 Paraguay (5-3-2): 22-Ricardo Tavarelli; 2-Francisco Arce, 4-Carlos Gamarra, 5-Celso Ayala, 18-Julio Cesar Caceres, 21-Denis Caniza; 6-Estanislao Struway (17-Juan Carlos Franco 86), 8-Guido Alvarenga (14-Diego Gavilan 66), 10-Roberto Acuna; 9-Roque Santa Cruz, 11-Jorge Campos (16-Gustavo Morinigo 73) South Africa (5-4-1): 16-Andre Arendse; 2-Cyril Nzama, 3-Bradley Carnell, 4-Aaron Mokoena, 13-Pierre Issa (9-McDonald Mukansi 27), 19-Lucas Radebe; 6-Macbeth Sibaya, 7-Quinton Fortune, 12-Tebeho Mokoena, 15-Sibusiso Zuma; 17-Benni McCarthy (23-George Koumantarakis 78) Referee : Michel Lubos (Slovakia) Linesmen: Igor Sramka (Slovakia) Curtis Charles (Antigua)
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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