|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||
|
A game of two halves for Senegal
A beautiful goal by
Senegal, finished coolly by Salif Diao at the end of a perfect counter-attack,
gave Senegal a point against Denmark in Daegu, Korea. After the hot-tempered
encounter, both teams now sit on four points in Group A, with strong hopes
of reaching the second round of the competition. The Danes had taken
the lead through a Jon Dahl Tomasson penalty early in the first half,
but could not hold on against a second half Senegalese onslaught. After
a sluggish and defensive first half, Bruno Metsu's men showed all of their
class and attacking ability after the break. Senegal began the
game trying to clog up the midfield much as they did against France, but
things quickly got ugly when Khalilou Fadiga retaliated for a rough tackle
by kicking Thomas Helveg in the knee. Although several players got involved
in the confrontation before things were sorted out, the referee, Mr. Carlos
Batres, ensured that cooler heads prevailed and only booked Fadiga. Shortly after, Jon
Dahl Tomasson earned a penalty when he received a throw-in inside the
area and was crashed into by a Salif Diao. It was a clumsy challenge after
the Senegalese defense had gone to sleep at the throw-in. Tomasson converted
the spot-kick low and to the right of Tony Sylva. Senegal almost had
the equaliser minutes later. Papa Bouba Diop rose to meet a corner kick
but his downward header was saved off the goal-line by Jan Heintze. On
the ensuing scramble for the rebound, Salif Diao had his shot from 10
metres again saved by Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen. Both teams continued
to create chances throughout the half, and though both defences looked
shaky at times, neither side could take advantage after the early penalty.
In Denmark's case, they were helped by the steadiness of Sorensen. Senegal,
however, had some frightening moments as they watched Sylva have trouble
containing rebounds. Senegal came out strong
in the second half after bringing on two forwards in the shape of the
Camaras, Souleymane and Henri, in a tactical switch. They created some
quick chances that they failed to capitalise on. Fadiga served a cross
into the middle intended for Diop, but Henri Camara stepped in front of
his team-mate and could not direct his header on goal. Senegal got the equaliser
after what may have been the best move of the tournament thus far. Omar
Daf started the sequence with a perfect tackle in his own end. The ball
moved up the field with a succession of quick diagonal passes, capped
off by one from Fadiga to Diao, who ran onto the ball inside the area
and finished coolly into the lower-right corner from eight metres with
the outside of his right foot. Fadiga had a chance
to put the Africans ahead after a pass from Diop set him loose on goal,
but Fadiga struck his shot from a tough angle right at Sorensen. Although
Senegal had missed several good opportunities, they had Denmark on their
heels. Souleymane Camara
would miss Senegal's next chance. El Hadji Diouf took the ball on a run
down the left side and threaded a pass between two defenders to the 19-year-old
forward, who had all day to shoot from 12 metres but struck the ball wide
of the left post. Things turned against
the Senegalese when Diao, who had already been booked, was sent off for
a high tackle on Rene Henriksen. The match became more physical during
the final 10 minutes as the teams played out the draw. He admitted the next game could be a tricky one as Senegal didn't have to press for a win. "A draw would be easy for us but maybe not. The next match will be as important as the final. I know our players have a big morale now. I think they can do it. They can win and go into the next round. I know this, I hope, I hope." |
 |
Roberts
calls it a day Where
is Benin? Ford
stalled by UCB Blatter
crushes Hatyatou Eto'o
Samuel? In
Round 1 Metsu's
secret The
next Haile Profiles New
kids on the
|
|
|
|
|
© Copyright African Sport, 2000 |
Site
design by Lee Chamberlain
|
