Slovenia wins on goalie blunder
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2010, Monday
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SLOVENIA chalked up its first ever World Cup win when a dreadful mistake by Algeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi handed it a 1-0 victory in their opening Group C match yesterday.
Both coaches said afterwards that their sides had struggled to adapt to the new high-bouncing World Cup ball and the semi-synthetic pitch in Polokwane, and that might have been a factor in Chaouchi's blunder. Time and again, players overhit their passes or failed to tame the ball as it sprang off the surface.
A largely lackluster encounter took a twist in the 73rd minute when Abdelkader Ghezzal was sent off for handball having already been booked within seconds of coming on. The attacking midfielder was only on the pitch for 15 minutes.
Six minutes later Chaouchi fumbled Robert Koren's shot, allowing the ball to squirt through his arms into the bottom left hand corner of his net.
Slovenia's only previous appearance at a World Cup finals, in 2002, ended in three defeats but yesterday's win has put it top of the group with three points, two ahead of England and the United States, which drew 1-1 in Rustenburg on Saturday, after a blunder by goalkeeper Robert Green cost England the victory.
Until the goal, the Algerians had been marginally the better side with the bleach-blonde Hassan Yebda bossing their midfield. But they created few chances with their best opening coming as early as the third minute through a Nadir Belhadj free kick which Samir Handanovic tipped over the bar.
At the other end, Slovenia created little of note until just before the break when a rasping strike from midfielder Valter Birsa forced a save from Chaouchi.
Algeria coach Rabah Saadane defended Chaouchi and Ghezzal when asked about the mistakes that had cost his team a share of the points.
"Football is full of mistakes and I don't want to blame the two players. I think it was perhaps the state of the turf. Both the ball and the turf were difficult for both goalies."
Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek was also critical of the pitch, which is a mixture of grass and synthetic fiber. This was the first World Cup match ever to be played on it. "I don't agree with this turf. "We only got adjusted to it yesterday with 60 minutes of training."
Both coaches said afterwards that their sides had struggled to adapt to the new high-bouncing World Cup ball and the semi-synthetic pitch in Polokwane, and that might have been a factor in Chaouchi's blunder. Time and again, players overhit their passes or failed to tame the ball as it sprang off the surface.
A largely lackluster encounter took a twist in the 73rd minute when Abdelkader Ghezzal was sent off for handball having already been booked within seconds of coming on. The attacking midfielder was only on the pitch for 15 minutes.
Six minutes later Chaouchi fumbled Robert Koren's shot, allowing the ball to squirt through his arms into the bottom left hand corner of his net.
Slovenia's only previous appearance at a World Cup finals, in 2002, ended in three defeats but yesterday's win has put it top of the group with three points, two ahead of England and the United States, which drew 1-1 in Rustenburg on Saturday, after a blunder by goalkeeper Robert Green cost England the victory.
Until the goal, the Algerians had been marginally the better side with the bleach-blonde Hassan Yebda bossing their midfield. But they created few chances with their best opening coming as early as the third minute through a Nadir Belhadj free kick which Samir Handanovic tipped over the bar.
At the other end, Slovenia created little of note until just before the break when a rasping strike from midfielder Valter Birsa forced a save from Chaouchi.
Algeria coach Rabah Saadane defended Chaouchi and Ghezzal when asked about the mistakes that had cost his team a share of the points.
"Football is full of mistakes and I don't want to blame the two players. I think it was perhaps the state of the turf. Both the ball and the turf were difficult for both goalies."
Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek was also critical of the pitch, which is a mixture of grass and synthetic fiber. This was the first World Cup match ever to be played on it. "I don't agree with this turf. "We only got adjusted to it yesterday with 60 minutes of training."
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