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Zdrakov save preserves draw
Bulgaria finishes match against Paraguay with 10 men
Posted: Friday June 12, 1998 10:47 AM
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Anatoli Nankov attempts to tackle Paraguay's Jorge Campos (AP) |
MONTPELLIER, France (AP) -- Bulgarian goalkeeper Zdravko Zdravkov
leapt high to his right to deny Paraguayan counterpart Jose Luis
Chilavert from converting a second-half 25-yard free kick, leaving
the two sides with a goalless draw in their World Cup opener
Friday.
The Bulgarians played the final two minutes with only 10 men
after Anatoli Nankov earned his second yellow card. Paraguay had two
good chances following the sending off, but failed to convert.
Chilavert, famous for coming forward on set pieces and as an
extra attacker, curled a left-footed blast over the wall in the
78th minute, only to hve Zdravkov punch away the shot as it
approached the crossbar.
Saudi referee Abdul Rahman Al-Zeid awarded the free kick when
Trifon Ivanov hauled down Paraguayan forward Jorge Campos.
Paraguay dominated the second half, getting several chances
before Chilavert's free kick.
"We lacked poise to finish the plays," Paraguay coach Paulo Cesar Carpeggiani said. "We always missed the last pass."
Hristo Stoichkov set up the best Bulgarian opportunity in the
second half when he charged into the box from the left, crossed the
ball to an unmarked Luboslav Penev, who blasted high from six yards
with only Chilavert to beat.
"We had some tactical errors on both sides of the defense," Carpeggiani said. "But we made some adjustments and improved in the second half. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to win. We lacked the finishing touch."
The match was a game of missed opportunities.
Stoichkov hit the post in the 35th minute, beating two defenders
and knocking the ball off the upright with a left-footed shot which
had Chilavert totally beaten.
Miguel Benitez (right) fends off the challenge of Ivaylo Petkov to control the ball (AP) | |
The Bulgarians, considered favorites in the Group D match,
opened up with several swift atacks and a shot by Kressimir Balakov
that just missed in the second minute.
Two minutes later, Stoichkov was upended in the Paraguayan box
but his pleas to Al-Zeid went unheeded.
The Paraguayans rarely threatened the Bulgarian goal, taking 19
minutes before Carlos Morales got their first shot, a free kick
that had to be stopped by Zdravkov with a diving save.
Their best chance of the half came in the 40th minute when
forward Jose Cardoso was left all alone in the Bulgarian penalty
area, but his shot from 15 yards skidded wide of the right post.
Stoichkov was yellow-carded in injury time for a reckless
tackle.
Lineups
Paraguay: Jose Luis Chilavert, Carlos Gamarra, Celso Ayala, Pedro
Sarabia, Roberto Acuna, Carlos Paredes, Miguel Benitez, Julio Cesar
Enciso, Carlos Morales (Denis Caniza, 45th minute), Jose Cardozo
(Cesar Ramirez 70), Jorge Campos (Juan Yegros, 77th).
Bulgaria: Zdravko Zdravkov, Radostin Kischishev, Trifon Ivanov,
Ivaylo Petkov, Zlatko Yankov, Krassimir Balakov, Ilian Iliev
(Daniel Borimirov, 80th), Anatoli Nankov, Ivaylo Iordanov, Hristo
Stoichkov, Luboslav Penev (Emil Kostadinov, 69th).
Referee: Abdul Rahman Al-Zeid, Saudi Arabia.
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