The Hindu : Sport / Football : Solano, Maestri lead Peru's fight-back

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 14, 2004

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Sport - Football

Solano, Maestri lead Peru's fight-back

TRUJILLO (PERU), JULY 13. Peru rallied from two goals down to draw Colombia 2-2 and follow the defending champion into the Copa America quarterfinals on Monday.

Group B co-leaders Uruguay and Mexico also advanced to the last eight without hitting a ball, thanks to the earlier 1-1 draw between Bolivia and Venezuela at Mansiche Stadium, 500 kilometres north of the capital Lima.

Bolivia still had an outside chance of qualifying as one of the two best third-placed teams, only if Chile and Costa Rica draw 1-1 in their Group C match. Venezuela was eliminated early in a 13th straight Copa.

The exciting Bolivia-Venezuela draw ensured Peru's safe progress before it played Colombia, but they still had to decide the winner of Group A.

Colombia, which had qualified on Friday, topped the group with seven points from three games, followed by Peru with five points, Bolivia two and Venezuela one.

Colombia will remain in Trujillo to play the second-best third-place team in Saturday's quarterfinals, while Peru will travel further north to Chiclayo to face the second-place team from Group B, either Mexico, Uruguay or Argentina.

The Argentines will progress if Ecuador loses to Mexico, or Argentina at least draws Uruguay in the second match at Piura.

Nolberto Solano and Flavio Maestri scored the second-half goals for Peru, after Edwin Congo gave Colombia a 1-0 lead by halftime, and Abel Aguilar made it 2-0 eight minutes into the second spell.

``It was a very tough match, just as we expected,'' said Colombia coach Reinaldo Rueda. ``But we played intelligently and held together as a team.''

Colombia had won eight straight Copa matches without conceding a goal since 2001, and its goal-line was finally crossed by Solano in the 58th minute. Two minutes later Maestri scored for the host nation's second draw in three matches.

Congo opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, beating the defence on a sliding header to finish off a perfect centre pass from Elkin Murillo. Aguilar blasted in from just inside the penalty area 20 minutes later.

Solano scored in the 58th minute on a free kick that curved through a five-player Colombian wall which split just after he struck the ball.

Two minutes later, Maestri equalised, diving forward to head a redirected header from Andres Mendoza.

``Our players never gave up,'' said Peru assistant coach Victor Zegarra. ``They hung in there, worked hard to tie it up and even came close to winning it.''

Rueda fielded four substitutes in his lineup, choosing to rest key starters ahead of the quarterfinals, while Peru was without captain Claudio Pizarro, who was forced out of the Copa after fracturing his skull during the team's 3-1 win over Venezuela on Friday.

Venezuela's winless run

In the early match, Venezuela's Ruberth Moran pounced on a rebound to score in the 27th minute, and six minutes later Gonzalo Galindo levelled for Bolivia when he powered a shot between the legs of defender Andree Gonzales and past goalkeeper Gilberto Angelucci.

Venezuela extended its winless streak at the Copa to 42 matches, including seven draws. It hasn't won a match at the Copa since it beat Bolivia in 1967.

``Although we didn't achieve our objective of advancing to the second round, I think we confirmed our progress in the three games we played,'' said Venezuela coach Richard Paez. ``I think we've earned the respect of our rivals, especially Peru and Colombia.

``We showed our potential,'' he continued. ``Although at times our inexperience also showed.''

Bolivia hit the uprights twice in the first half, and should have gone ahead first.

But Venezuela midfielder Ricardo Paez weaved through three defenders and took a shot. Goalkeeper Leo Fernandez dived left and only just palmed the save, but Moran closed in on the loose ball for 1-0.

That spurred on Bolivia. After a corner Limberg Gutierrez lobbed into the box, Joaquin Botero trapped it and backed off to let Galindo blast the ball underneath Gonzales and around Angelucci to level the score.

Bolivia coach Ramiro Blacut praised his players, many of them new to the national team.

``Our new guys learned what it takes to play against tough opponents,' he said.

He added several players grew tired as the game wore on, especially Suarez. ``We also missed four good chances on goal,'' Blacut said.

``We're heading home frustrated and disappointed. We were unlucky,'' Venezuela defender Jose Manuel Rey said. — AP

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