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 Golden Goal For A Golden Match |
Sunday, June 16th
Sweden vs Senegal
Oita -- (1-2 aet)
An early free-kick to Sweden was laid off to the right and
Tony Sylva managed to stick out his foot to block the drive.... the follow-up off target.
For Senegal, Pape Thiaw blasted over the bar in the
9th minute, when clear through on goal.
-- GOAL -- 1-0
Henrik Larsson headed Sweden into the lead, from an 11th minute corner.
As Senegal looked for an equaliser El Hadji Diouf went down
in the Swedish area, in the 15th minute, but Ubaldo Aquino waved play on.
Then while Niclas Alexandersson was off the pitch getting
his head bandaged, about ten minutes later, El Hadji Diouf beat Olof Mellberg on the left
and crossed low for Papa Bouba Diop.... but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Senegal pressed more, with El Hadji Diouf showing his
attacking skill around the Swedish area, and it looked as though Sweden would soon pay the
price for sitting back on their lead.
-- GOAL -- 1-1
Henri Camara took a pass on his chest and slipped through Magnus Svensson
and Johan Mjallby, on the edge of the area, and turned the ball low past Magnus Hedman in
the Swedish goal.... to level the score in the 37th minute.
A few minutes later, Camara glanced a header wide as
Senegal looked to get in a double whammy while Sweden still had their heads down.
Five minutes before the break, Tony Sylva denied Anders
Svensson with an excellent save -- catching the ball confidently rather than punching it,
as so many keepers have done at this tournament -- after the Swede's free-kick floated
dangerously over the Senegal wall.
Senegal had a couple of chances at the other end too and
the game looked set for a thrilling climax in the second-half.
Half-time: Sweden 1 -- Senegal 1
The Senegalese drums, silenced after the early Sweden goal,
were now beating around the ground as Senegal sought to impose themselves on the match.
Sweden's main threat continued to come through Henrik
Larsson but Tony Sylva was having a marvelous game and may soon find himself pried away
from Monaco.
Senegal never seemed to have enough players up front to
finish off their best moves, or take advantage of corners, and often found themselves
crowded out by yellow shirts.
Fifteen minutes from time, a Senegal cross bounced through
the legs of Olof Mellberg and Pape Thiaw should have scored, when the ball fell at his
feet in the six-yard box. Mellberg managed to get a leg out to redeem himself as the ball
ricocheted behind the goal..... but a corner wasn't given.
Sweden started to look a little more dangerous when Zlatan
Ibrahimovic -- who scored the golden goal for Ajax in the Dutch Cup Final -- came on for
Niclas Alexandersson.
Both teams have entertained us in this second-half; with
Senegal having a little more of the game but Sweden always looking dangerous on the
counter.
Now they both get a little rest and a chance to take on
fluids, before trying for the Golden Goal.
Into Extra time:
Senegal won the toss and let Sweden start things off......
Pape Thiaw wasted the first chance for Senegal.... then a
minute later Sweden caused chaos in the Senegal area with Tony Sylva bringing relief to
the whole of the African continent by getting his foot to the final shot.
Senegal shot over the bar on the next attack, as both teams
impressed the watching world with their stamina and skill.... in this golden period of an
already excellent match.
Anders Svensson danced on the ball as he turned Ferdinand
Coly and struck the ball against the outside of the right upright; Henrik Larsson almost
emulated him to get through two defenders; and El Hadji Diouf nutmegged once again at the
other end.
With almost 100 minutes played, Pape Thiaw was stretchered
off and almost replaced by Souleymane Camara.
The Strasbourg player miraculously rose from his sickbed,
before the substitution took place, and returned to the field to produce the back-heel
that allowed Henri Camara to go through the five man Swedish defence -- Johan Mjallby and
Tobias Linderoth the first two to be left behind (and the other three too slow to react)
-- and crack the ball in low, off the left post -- 104 mins.
-- GOAL -- 1-2
Henri Camara scored the golden goal fitting of a golden match, as Senegal
became the second African team to ever reach the quarter-final
(Cameroon lost to England in 1990) where they will play either Japan
or Turkey.
Final Score:
Sweden 1 -- Senegal 2
After Extra Time
Talkback
-- Add Your Comments
Player of the Match:
El Hadji Diouf -- Hard to pick one player above a number who really helped to make this a
classic match but El Hadji Diouf just gets the edge for his tremendous dribbling, that so
often opened up the Swedish defence, and the ease with which he nutmegged the opposition.
 Yellow Cards:
Ferdinand Coly (73 mins)
Pape Thiaw (94 mins)
The Teams:
Sweden:
1 Magnus Hedman; 15 Andreas Jakobsson, 16 Teddy Lucic, 2 Olof Mellberg, 4 Johan Mjallby; 7
Niclas Alexandersson (21 Zlatan Ibrahimovic -- 76 mins), 6 Tobias Linderoth, 8 Anders
Svensson, 17 Magnus Svensson (18 Mattias Jonsson -- 100 mins); 10 Marcus Allbäck (22
Andreas Andersson -- 65 mins), 11 Henrik Larsson.
Senegal:
1 Tony Sylva; 6 Aliou Cisse, 17 Ferdinand Coly, 2 Omar Daf, 13 Lamine Diatta, 4 Papa
Malick Diop (21 Habib Beye -- 66 mins); 19 Papa Bouba Diop, 12 Amdy Faye; 7 Henri Camara,
11 El Hadji Diouf, 18 Pape Thiaw.
Referee: Ubaldo Aquino (Paraguay)
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