Scotland visited Macedonia without midfielder James Morrison, but they never expected the debacle that was about to ensue. The home side sent the crowd in Skopje to a frenzy with a very early goal, and the Scottish had no answer for the remainder of the match. The 1-0 shock win gave Macedonia a very well-earned three points. Still, the coach of Scotland, George Burley believed his side deserved at least a tie."We were disappointed to lose but for the whole of the second-half I thought we dominated the game. In the second-half I thought we were outstanding. We played good football, we passed it well and their keeper has made a few saves."
Azerbaijan played Wales in an extremely physical affair. While the Welsh drew two yellows, the visitors amassed six, including a fateful two yellows for Fabio Luis Ramim, who was removed in the sixty-eighth minute. The game had been scoreless up until that juncture, but the Welsh kept pushing with a man advantage and broke through with a goal for a substitute with under ten minutes to go. The 1-0 win saved the team from an earlier missed penalty kick by Jason Koumas. John Toshack, the coach of Wales, spoke after the win.
"I am satisfied with the result and the performance. Azerbaijan have improved considerably over the past two years and they provided a very serious test for us."
Slovenia visited Poland in Wrocław, and the Poles were not pleased with the result. Poland were attempting to get out to a fast start in their campaign to reach the World Cup once again. Things looked marvelous after a penalty kick conversion in the middle of the first half provided the first score. Slovenia equalized less than twenty minutes later, and the game was tied at one going into the break. The game remained physical throughout, with the Poles taking two yellows to the Slovenians four. The absence of goalkeeper Artur Boruc and midfielders Dariusz Dudka and Radoslaw Majewski proved too much for Poland in the end, however, and Slovenia escaped with a 1-1 road draw in their first qualifier.
"We are disappointed at the result and with the standard of our game especially in the second half," said Leo Beenhakker, coach of Poland. "For us this is a total defeat," lamented midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski.
Northern Ireland went to Bratislava to take on Slovakia. Slovakia scored all three of the goals in this match, but the final score was not 3-0. Slovakia dominated the game early, and it seemed that the Northern Irish were not fully awake. The Slovaks took advantage by slipping home the first goal at the start of the second half and they stretched the lead to two with twenty minutes to play. An own goal with just under ten minutes left gave Northern Ireland hope, but Slovakia's defense shut the door for a 2-1 victory and three points.
It is a very important victory, the first game is always very tough." -Vladimir Weiss, coach of Slovakia
Latvia faced off in Moldova in a matchup of two teams not expected to do much in qualifying. Latvia jumped on Moldova early, scoring twice in the first half hour and taking the 2-0 scoreline to the locker room. Moldova pulled one back with a quarter half remaining, but the Latvians held out for a 2-1 road victory.
Turkey visited Armenia in a match with many historical implications, considering the troubled past between the two nations. The cardiac kids from Euro2008 did nothing to change this perception, allowing the Armenians to go to the locker with a scoreless tie intact. The cardiac Turks awoke in the second half, as they are known to do, and they scored two unanswered goals for a 2-0 win. Turkey are looking to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and finishing third in 2002 and failing to qualify for Germany 2006. Three points will help them on their way.
Ireland played its road qualifier against Georgia in Mainz, Germany. Ireland treated the affair as a home game, snatching a goal within a quarter hour and holding steady defensively. The 1-0 halftime lead grew to 2-0 with a second half goal. Georgia salvaged a goal in stoppage time, but they could not salvage a point. The Irish won 2-1 to take all three points available from the encounter. It was not the Irish's best game, but it is the result that counts in qualifying.
Goal scorers:
Macedonia: Naumoski 5
Wales: Vokes 83
Poland: Żewłakow 17 PK
Slovenia: Dedič 35
Slovakia: Škrtel 46; Hamšík 70
Northern Ireland: Ďurica 81 OG (Slovakia)
Latvia: Karlsons 8; Astafjevs 22
Moldova: Alexeev 76
Turkey: Şanlı 60; Şentürk 78
Ireland: Doyle 13; Whelan 70
Georgia: Kenia 90+2
No comments:
Post a Comment