Slovenia beat 10-man Algeria
Posted: Jun 13 2010
Slovenia beat Algeria 1-0 to head Group C in a match played at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday.
Algeria were down to 10-men after Abdelkader Ghezzal was sent off in the 72nd minute. The goal was scored by Robert Koren in the 79th minute.
It was a rather tentative start by both teams as the midfield remained very compact and players found little space to manoeuvre.
Just on the verge of half-time, Robert Koren's brilliant dipping volley needed a miraculous save from Chaouchi as it remained 0-0 after 45 minutes.
With an hour gone, Kirm failed to take advantage of a fortunate bounce in the area. The ball rolled in his direction, but his curling shot from 10-yards was too close to the goalkeeper. Soon after, Madjid Bougherra made a firm sliding challenge on Novakovic that had the Slovenians asking for a penalty to no avail.
Substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal's header was over the bar in one of few openings for the Africans in the second-half.
Ghezzal was foolishly sent off. Trying to control a long ball, he stuck out an arm deliberately and it was his second booking, leaving Algeria with ten men for the remaining 20 minutes.
The Europeans found the advantage through Koren. Their captain's shot from outside the area curled into the bottom corner, but it was a soft goal conceded by Chaouchi, who let the ball squeeze just inside the post.
Slovenia, who had a very impressive defensive record in qualifying, had few problems holding out for the victory in the final ten minutes and celebrated as they jumped ahead of England and USA in the Group C standings and earned their first ever World Cup win.
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: 2010-06-13 15:50
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