Zlatko Zahovic was sent home after a row with his trainer
and, after this defeat to South Africa, the rest of the Slovenia team will soon be joining
him.
-- GOAL -- 1-0 Siyabonga Nomvete put South Africa ahead in the 4th minute, as he stooped
to head Quinton Fortune's free kick from the left but pumped the ball into the back of the
net with his thigh instead.
Not the most beautiful of goals but it earned South Africa
the three points and a possible place in the Second Round.
South Africa continued to look dangerous but they didn't
really test Marko Simeunovic in the Slovenia goal.
Milenko Acimovic shot wide just after the half-hour mark,
for Slovenia's best chance of the first half and Benedict McCarthy should have doubled
South Africa's lead just before the break.... but took too long when presented with an
open goal.
Half-time: South Africa 1 -- Slovenia 0
Five minutes after the restart, Marko Simeunovic pushed
McCarthy's fierce shot out for a corner as South Africa tried to wrap up the game before
Slovenia started to show an interest in it.
McCarthy continued to look the most likely to score,
heading against the post and later shooting straight at Simeunovic from the middle of the
area.
Without Zlatko Zahovic, Slovenia never really showed
creativity in attack and now face Paraguay with nothing more to play for than their pride.
Player of the Match:
Benedict McCarthy -- Although he didn't score he came close a number of times, to keep the
pressure on Slovenia, before getting substituted ten minutes from time.
