Kewell off as Australia holds Ghana
Source: Agencies |
June 20, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HARRY Kewell was sent off as 10-man Australia battled to hold Ghana to a 1-1 draw in an incident-filled Group D clash at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium yesterday.
Striker Kewell, recalled after missing the opening game, was dismissed for a harsh-looking handball after only 24 minutes as the Socceroos were reduced to ten players for the second successive game following Tim Cahill's red card in their opening 0-4 defeat by Germany.
In an open and entertaining game in Rustenberg, Australia took the lead after 11 minutes when Brett Holman made the most of a goalkeeping error by Richard Kingson, but a resurgent Ghana leveled after Kewell's handball on the line, when Asamoah Gyan scored from the spot, his second penalty goal of the tournament.
Ghana then went in search of a winner but despite creating a host of chances it was left frustrated as the Australians defended bravely and went close themselves to stealing an unlikely win when substitute Joshua Kennedy failed to score with a smothered close-range shot after 72 minutes.
Ghana leads the group on four points from Germany and Serbia on three and Australia on one before the final group games.
Winning ugly
Earlier, the Netherlands proved they have mastered the art of winning ugly with an uninspired 1-0 victory over Japan in Durban that put them on the verge of qualifying for the second round at the World Cup.
The Dutch beat Denmark in their first Group E match with the aid of an own goal and this time benefited from a goalkeeping blunder by Eiji Kawashima that helped Wesley Sneijder's thumping shot on its way into the net after 53 minutes.
With highly fancied teams like Spain and Germany having already tasted defeat, however, coach Bert van Marwijk was more than satisfied that the Dutch will be the first to reach the last 16 if Cameroon fails to beat the Danes later yesterday.
"We came here to win a prize; to become world champion now that's far from straightforward and easy," said Van Marwijk.
"If we can continue to show stability, and if we maintain confidence in really winning something, we might get far. So the target is to go for the prize."
Japan, which upset Cameroon 1-0 in their opener, had gone out to frustrate its opponent but also attacked in numbers when it had the chance and will rue a string of missed chances.
Japan coach Takeshi Okada refused to blame Kawashima or the ball for the defeat despite the keeper misjudging Sneijder's winning strike. "It was a good shot."
Striker Kewell, recalled after missing the opening game, was dismissed for a harsh-looking handball after only 24 minutes as the Socceroos were reduced to ten players for the second successive game following Tim Cahill's red card in their opening 0-4 defeat by Germany.
In an open and entertaining game in Rustenberg, Australia took the lead after 11 minutes when Brett Holman made the most of a goalkeeping error by Richard Kingson, but a resurgent Ghana leveled after Kewell's handball on the line, when Asamoah Gyan scored from the spot, his second penalty goal of the tournament.
Ghana then went in search of a winner but despite creating a host of chances it was left frustrated as the Australians defended bravely and went close themselves to stealing an unlikely win when substitute Joshua Kennedy failed to score with a smothered close-range shot after 72 minutes.
Ghana leads the group on four points from Germany and Serbia on three and Australia on one before the final group games.
Winning ugly
Earlier, the Netherlands proved they have mastered the art of winning ugly with an uninspired 1-0 victory over Japan in Durban that put them on the verge of qualifying for the second round at the World Cup.
The Dutch beat Denmark in their first Group E match with the aid of an own goal and this time benefited from a goalkeeping blunder by Eiji Kawashima that helped Wesley Sneijder's thumping shot on its way into the net after 53 minutes.
With highly fancied teams like Spain and Germany having already tasted defeat, however, coach Bert van Marwijk was more than satisfied that the Dutch will be the first to reach the last 16 if Cameroon fails to beat the Danes later yesterday.
"We came here to win a prize; to become world champion now that's far from straightforward and easy," said Van Marwijk.
"If we can continue to show stability, and if we maintain confidence in really winning something, we might get far. So the target is to go for the prize."
Japan, which upset Cameroon 1-0 in their opener, had gone out to frustrate its opponent but also attacked in numbers when it had the chance and will rue a string of missed chances.
Japan coach Takeshi Okada refused to blame Kawashima or the ball for the defeat despite the keeper misjudging Sneijder's winning strike. "It was a good shot."
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