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More color in draw
Mexico rallies for 2-2 draw with Belgium
Posted: Wednesday September 16, 1998 05:43 PM
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Mexico's Luis Hernandez (left) makes a push for the ball in a 2-2 tie with Belgium Mark Thompson/Allsport |
BORDEAUX, France (CNN/SI)
-- One red card helped give Belgium the
lead. A second red card took it away. Up 2-0 with a man advantage
and cruising towards its first victory in the World Cup, Belgians watched
in horror as substitute Gert Verheyen brought down Mexico's Ramon
Ramirez in the penalty area in the 55th minute. Verheyen was granted
a red card, and Alberto Garcia Aspe converted the penalty kick, starting a
comeback that gave the Mexicans a 2-2 draw Saturday. "If we lead
2-0, we should never give that away," midfielder Franky Van der Elst said.
With a two-goal performance from Marc Wilmots, Belgium choked
Mexico's skills with sheer brawn for the better part of the match,
especially after defender Pavel Pardo was given a red card for a tackle
from behind in the 29th minte. But Mexico's talent persevered, with
Ramirez and Cuauhtemoc Blanco teaming to produce both goals, and substitute
Jesus Arellano nearly sealing an incredible comeback victory when he ran
throuh the exhausted Belgian defense with one minute to play. Only
goalkeeper Filip De Wilde's daring save on both Arellano's shot and
Ramirez' attempt off the rebound kept it a draw. "We just didn't
give up hope," Ramirez said. "We showed that we know how to come back."
"We would have loved that third goal," added Mexican coach Manuel
Lapuente. "But it already was a good comeback." Belgium went ahead
in the 43rd minute when the Mexican defense failed to react to a corner,
letting the ball from Luis Oliveira fly over and allowing an onrushing
Wilmots to body slam it between the legs of Jorge Campos." Three
minutes into the second half, Wilmots added a second, lumbering through the
Mexican defense in his trademark style, breaking two tackles and falling
over as he unleashed a right-footed shot past Campos. "Especially on
the second goal, I showed I could do it all on willpower," Wilmots said.
It seemed to seal the fate of Mexico, which had been playing with 10
men since Pardo slid in late on a tackle from behind and clipped Vital
Borkelmans' ankle. Yet Mexico gained a glimmer of hope when Ramirez
took a pass from Blanco in the penalty area and was brought down by
Verheyen. Scottish referee Hugh Dallas showed the red card, the seventh in
six World Cup games since new FIFA president Sepp Blatter complained that
referees weren't being strict enough. Eight minutes later, Mexico
completed its recovery when the same duo combined on a fast break. Ramirez
broke free on the left and crossed into the penalty area, where Blanco
literally came flying in to stab the ball home with a left-footed volley.
The game was played in a stifling heat that peaked at 37 degrees
Celsius (97F), with a rare, fresh breeze off the Gironde river bringing
only mild relief to the players on the sun-baked Parc Lescure. "I've
never suffered like this in my life," Wilmots said. "I think I've lost 5
kilos." "We were running on empty for the last quarter hour,"
Leekens said. Early on, Mexico had the better chances, with Joel
Sanchez and Jaime Oriales both hitting the bar in the opening 20 minutes.
Sanchez' effort bounced just in front of the line, and Luis Hernandez'
follow-up header was cleared away by defender Danny Boffin. Pardo's
red card turned the tide. "It felt like we should have won,"
midfielder Alberto Garcia Aspe said. "But the expulsion changed it all."
But second red card had Belgian coach Georges Leekens feeling the same
way. "After being 2-0 and one man up ... I cannot be happy with this
result," Leekens said. Lineups Mexico: Jorge
Campos; Pavel Pardo, Joel Sanchez, Duilio Davino, Ramon Ramirez; Alberto
Garcia Aspe (Raul Lara, 68th), Claudio Suarez, Jaime Ordiales (German
Villa, 58th); Luis Hernandez, Francisco Palencia (Jesus Arellano, 46th),
Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Belgium: Filip De Wilde; Eric Deflandre,
Gordan Vidovic, Lorenzo Staelens, Vital Borkelmans; Marc Wilmots, Franky
Van der Elst (Glen De Boeck, 67th), Enzo Scifo, Danny Boffin (Gert
Verheyen, 18th); Luc Nilis (Lokonda Mpenza, 77th), Luis Oliveira.
Referee: Hugh Dallas, Scotland.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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