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Rieper heads Denmark to 1-0 victory
Posted: Friday June 12, 1998 04:48 PM
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Free fall: Denmark's Thomas Helveg is tackled from behind by Khamis Al Owairan (Shaun Botterill/Allsport) |
LENS, France (AP) -- Defender Marc Rieper showed his strikers the
way to goal Friday, heading Denmark to a 1-0 victory over Saudi
Arabia in their opening World Cup Group C match.
Rieper rose unmarked in the box in the 68th minute to secure the
points for the Danes in a scrappy match that Denmark thought they should have
won by more than one goal.
"I was very happy with the way we played and I a delighted to
score a goal for Denmark," Rieper said.
"We created a lot of chances so we should have won by a bigger
margin."
Denmark dominated possession in the first half but could not
convert its superiority into a goal before 38,140 fans at the
41,275-seater Stade Felix Bollaert stadium.
Brian Laudrup and his older brother Michael caused problems for
the Saudi defense with quick passes and inventive running off the
ball, but nobody could provide the finishing touch and as the half
wore on Saudi Arabia grew in confidence and began to pose a threat.
Early in the match the Saudis continually squandered possessionwith inaccurate passing seemingly taking time to warm up on a cold
day in this northern French coal mining town.
Saudi coach Carlos Parreira, who led Brazil to World Cup victory
four years ago, praised the Danes, but also said his team had
acquitted itself well.
"We played against a good team with nice players and they did
well," he said. "My players should leave with their heads up. We
played tough against a good team."
Saudi Arabia played well, especially in the second half,
Parreira said, but added that bad passing let them down. "We gave
away so many balls, so we lost a little control." he said.
Denmark's best chance to open the scoring came when a flicked on
pass fell to Ebbe Sand in the 18th minute but his close range shot
flew over the bar.
Jorgensen wasted another good opening in the 32nd when Brian
Laudrup sliced open the Saudi defense with an angled, forward pass.
But the Udinese striker, well clear of the defense, fired well wide
from close range.
In the 36th minute, Rieper headed on a long throw-in by Martin
Jorgensen and then pounced on the ball as it deflected off Michael
Laudrup's chest, but Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al Deayea got down
quickly to save Rieper's shot.
The Saudis' first attempt on goal did not arrive until the 26th
minute when Ibrahim al Shahrani's long range shot flew high and
wide of Peter Schmeichel's goal.
But it was the Saudis who came closest to breaking the deadlock
before the break.
From a 42nd minute free kick just outside the area, Saeed
Owairan touched the ball to Khalid al Muwalid who stopped it for
Owairan to shoot. The curling left foot effort looked destined to
creep just inside the post but Schmeichel, at full stretch, tipped
the shot wide.
"They had that good free kick which Peter Schmeichel saved
brilliantly but, apart from that, I thought we had them under
control," Rieper said.
Denmark slowed the game down at the beginning of the second half
but still strugled to find a path through Saudi Arabia's defense.
Denmark finally found a way to the net in the 68th minute when
Brian Laudrup crossed from the right to Rieper in the center who
headed past Al Deayea.
The chance was gifted to the Danes by some sloppy Saudi
defending, at least one defender playing Jorgensen onsde and the
Dane passing to Laudrup who fed Rieper.
Saudi Arabia nearly pulled back a quick equalizer but Ibrahim al
Shahrani's flicked header drifted wide after a good cross from the
right by Mohammed al Jahani.
Denmark and Saudi Arabia both were making their second
appearances in the World Cup finals. The countries reached the last
16 in their previous visits to the finals, Denmark in 1986 and
Saudi Arabia in 1994.
Lineups
Denmark: Peter Schmeichel, Michael Schjonberg, Marc Rieper, Jes
Hogh Thomas Helveg, Michael Laudrup, Brian Laudrup (Jan Heintze,
84th), Soren Colding, Morten Wieghorst (Allan Nielsen, 66th), Ebbe
Sand, Martin Jorgensen (Per Frandsen, 74th).
Saudi Arabia: Mohammed Al Deayea, Mohammed Al Jahani, Mohammed
Al Khilaiwi, Abdullah Zubromawi, Fuad Amin (Hamzah Saleh, 79th),
Ibrahim Al Shahrani, Sami Al Jaber (Youssef Al Thyniyan, 84th),
Saeed Owairan (Oubied Al Dosari, 79th), Hussain Sulimani, Khalid Al
Muwalid, Khamis Al Owairan.
Referee: Javier Alberto Castrilli, Argentina.
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