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Austria does it again!
Stoppage time goal in 2nd straight game draws with Chile
Posted: Tuesday September 15, 1998 07:54 PM
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Salas (left) now leads the World Cup with three goals Doug Pensinger/Allsport |
ST. ETIENNE, France (CNN/SI)
-- It was the second minute of stoppage time, Chile was leading
1-0, and the Austrian fans
were already starting to pack to go home when a miracle occurred.
Midfielder Ivica Vastic, a substitute who had not seen play in this or any
World Cup, curled a right-footed shot past Chilean goalkeeper Nelson Tapia,
and suddenly the Alpine underdogs, who had looked almost certain to be
eliminated with one match to play, were still alive. Undeserved?
Maybe. Lucky? Perhaps. But it's not how you survive the World Cup, it's
whether you do. The Austrian guardian angel which had given the
squad a stoppage-time 1-1 draw with Cameroon in
it's first World Cup game, had struck again. Against Cameroon, the angel
looked like striker Anton Polster. This time, Vastic. While nobody
was giving Austria odds on winning the World Cup after the Chile encounter,
his late strike did keep them in the game. It also came after a stunning
late save by goalkeeper Michael Konsel stopped the Chileans going 2-0 up
with two minutes to go. "It's no miracle, it's football," said
midfielder Harald Cerny, one of the better Austrian players Wednesday. "We
fought hard for both goals, today and against Cameroon." With two
encounters -- and two draws -- behind them in Group B, the two teams are
even with two points each. Italy and
Cameroon, one point apiece were to meet later Wednesday. Chilean
coach Nelson Acosta, whose team appeared on course to win against Italy
June 11 until the Italians equalized 2-2 with a controversial Roberto
Baggio penalty, was predictably bitter. "I do not know what to say,
why we have to suffer through things like this," he said. "I do not know
what happened, can't explain it." Enough draws, he said Wednesday.
"We will do our utmost to win our next game [against Cameroon June 23]."
Again on Wednesday, it was Marcelo Salas who notched Chile's goal
with 20 minutes to go. With his two earlier against Italy, it made him the
tournament's top scorer. It should have been Chile's game, judging
from possession, ball control and scoring opportunities.
Hardscrambling midfielder Harald Cerny acknowledged Austria's
shortcomings on the attack, alluding to several chances lost after the
midfield had played the ball to Polster or midfielder Mario Haas.
"We look good in the backfield, but the game up front is too stiff, we
don't trust ourselves on the attack," he said. Austrian coach
Herbert Prohaska said he was happy with his squad's defense, but
"offensively we lacked cohesion, we lacked spontaneity as far as passing is
concerned." After a bland first half, Chile should have gone ahead
in the 53rd minute when midfielder Moises Villarroel made the overlap on
the right and ran clear of the Austrian defense. He messed it up
completely. Villarroel took the wrong option, firing at the near
post instead of the far post, and his shot appeared to be going wide anyway
before keeper Michael Konsel blocked it with his left hand.
There was an even better chance in the 62nd when Salas got clear down
the right and Ivan Zamorano was unmarked in the center. Salas aimed for his
strike-partner but his cross was far too close to Konsel who gathered
easily, leaving Zamorano frustrated. The Chileans finally got it
right in the 70th minute but only just. Egyptian referee Gamal
Ghandour awarded them a free kick just outside the area wide on the left,
Zamorano climbed to head goalwards and Konsel half stopped it. Salas
forced the rebound goalwards from six yards out and the Austrian keeper was
convinced he had got back to stop the ball rolling over the line.
Ghandour didn't agree and Chile led 1-0 with 20 minutes to go. Three
minutes from the end, Zamorano nearly made it 2-0 when he collected a
forward pass and charged clear. His low shot was headed just inside the
post but Konsel got down to fingertip the ball round the post.
Lineups: Austria: Michael Konsel; Peter Schoettel, Anton
Pfeffer, Wolfgang Feiersinger, Mario Haas (Ivica Vastic, 74th); Heimo
Pfeifenberger, Harald Cerny (Markus Schopp, 46th), Arnold Wetl, Roman
Maehlich; Dietmar Kuehbauer (Andreas Herzog, 46th), Anton Polster.
Chile: Nelson Tapia; Ronald Fuentes, Pedro Reyes, Javier Margas,
Moises Villarroel (Cristian Castaneda, 67th); Francisco Rojas, Nelson
Parraguez, Clarence Acuna, Fabian Estay (Jose Sierra, 57th); Ivan Zamorano,
Marcelo Salas. Referee: Gamal Gandour, Egypt.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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