26 March 2008
A young South African beach soccer team flattered with an early two-goal lead in their Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup 2008 qualifier against Senegal in Durban on Tuesday, but in the end were no match for the bigger, better organised Senegalese.
Senegal weathered the early South African eagerness and, after going two goals down, stepped up a gear and cruised to an emphatic 8-4 victory.
The South Africans were fired up and came out determined to cause an upset, while their opponents looked supremely confident of their ability to overcome the hosts, who had an average age of less than 21.
Early boost
The crowd was given an early boost when Bandile Lekena scrambled the ball over the line to give South Africa the lead after three minutes.
Nduduzo Phakathi doubled the advantage four minutes later when he calmly slotted home a Frederick Gumede cross and the crowd were in full voice as they sensed a major upset on the cards.
However, the Senegal frontrunners enjoyed a marked height advantage over their markers and their intelligent running off the ball gave them time and space to set up scoring chances.
Dam had to burst
Eventually the dam had to burst and three quick goals - a deflected header from Pape Koupaki, a clinical shot after a poor clearance from Bou Dioum, and an own goal from Fani Shange - saw Senegal go into the first break 3-2 ahead.
The second period was a disaster for South Africa as their opponents exploited the home team's disorganisation in defence and looked able to shoot almost at will. Only a powerful strike from Phakathi offset the five goals scored at the other end to leave the result settled and Senegal 8-3 ahead at the start of the final 12-minute period.
Phakati wrapped up his hat-trick for a personal triumph in the final period but, despite Senegal going into cruise mode, the South African team was unable to claw their way back into the game and the 8-4 result will leave them with a lot to contemplate before their match against Mozambique on Wednesday.
Result of the day
The result of the day was turned in by Cote d'Ivoire, who snatched a dramatic last-gasp victory over the defending champions Nigeria.
The Ivorians won the match 5-4 after they scored the winner with just two minutes left, but Nigeria had good reason to feel hard-done by after player of the match, Kablan Aka, produced the perfect dive.
Aka, who had caused problem for Nigeria throughout and scored two goals, slipped the ball past Nigeria keeper Abdullah Isa and then dramatically fell to the sand despite the keeper not touching him.
Aka's theatrics not only earned a penalty, which he slotted home to equalise with three minutes remaining, but also got the goalkeeper sent off and gave his side a crucial numerical advantage.
While enjoying a player extra, Cote d'Ivoire scored via Ayemou Bobou to lead the match for the first time. They held on to record a win that could go a long way to ensuring a place in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Egyptian skill and patience
Skill and patience proved too strong for raw enthusiasm when Egypt overcame Mozambique.
The North Africans took a while to contain the fired-up Mozambiquans, and it wasn't until two minutes of the first period were left that the Egyptians took the lead. Once they were ahead, however, it was Egypt all the way as they cruised to an 8-3 victory.
If anything, Egypt looked overconfident in the initial exchanges and despite being obviously the more skilful and structured squad, the hard-running attitude of the Mozambicans meant the first period was an even battle for superiority.
Emphatic victory
Cameroon opened their challenge with an emphatic 8-3 victory over a sluggish Cape Verde Islands.
The Cameroonians looked the more nervous side in the opening exchanges of the first game of the tournament, but once they settled down looked far more impressive than their opponents and, with Franck Batoum slamming five goals, there was always only going to be one winner.
Cape Verde's day started badly when Manuel Mendes turned the ball back to his keeper and slotted it neatly into the bottom right corner of the goal.
He made up for that blunder by providing the cross which allowed Polido Brito to equalise, but was the villain once more when he fouled Batoum for a penalty that gave the Cameroon striker the first of his goals.
From then on Batoum was the star of the show as he completely bamboozled the Cape Verde defence and by the end of the match the islanders were simply going through the motions with very little effort.
SCHEDULE
(First matches at 11:00)
Wednesday, 26 March
- Cameroon v Cote d'Ivoire
- Egypt v Senegal
- Cape Verde Island v Nigeria
- South Africa v Mozambique
Thursday, 27 March
- Cape Verde Island v Cote d'Ivoire
- Mozambique v Senegal
- Nigeria v Cameroon
- South Africa v Egypt
Friday, 28 March, Rest Day
Saturday, 29 March
(First match at 12:45)
- Semifinal 1: 1st Group B v 2nd Group A
- Semifinal 2: 1st Group A v 2nd Group B
Sunday, 30 March
(First match at 12:45)
- Playoff for 3rd place
- Final
Source: Gameplan Media
