Chile to hot for Honduras
Posted: Jun 16 2010
Jean Beausejour's first-half goal was enough for the three points as Chile beat Honduras 1-0 in Nelspruit on Wednesday.
Chile’s first meaningful chance arrived after Wilson Palacios welcomed Jorge Valdivia to the game to concede an early free-kick, but Matias Fernandes’ effort landed just over the bar with keeper Noel Valladares scrambling.
Valladares had another nervous moment when Arturo Vidal, striding forward, tried his luck with a speculative shot which leapt out of the keeper’s hands, with the veteran relieved to find no onrushing opponents.
Honduras’ record scorer Carlos Pavon was handed his first meaningful opportunity after excellent play from Edgar Alvarez down the right hand side, but he failed to appreciate the time available to him and he meekly shot wide.
Alexis Sanchez exhibited his pace throughout the first half and his latching onto a mammoth throw from keeper Claudio Bravo to create a chance for Valdivia, whose goalbound shot was diverted over the bar thanks to a courageous block from the skipper Guevarra.
Despite the aesthetically pleasing football on show from the Chileans, it took 34 minutes for the opening (and only) goal to arrive. Beausejour scored only his second goal for Chile after Mauricio Isla got beyond Matias Fernandez just after the half-hour. His cutback was guided into the net after Sergio Mendoza inadvertently played the ball against Beausejour.
Chile held their lead at half-time though only after Claudio Bravo comfortably tipped over a free-kick from Ramon Nunez.
Honduras switched to 4-4-2 for the second half and it almost paid immediate dividends as the pacy Alvarez moved alongside Pavon. It prompted Bielsa to sacrifice midfielder Rodrigo Millar for West Brom left-back Gonzalo Jara.
Sanchez beat two men and slid the ball through to Beausejour, who was denied by an excellent last-ditch sliding lunge from Maynor Figueroa. The Chile flyer almost got his name on the scoresheet when an electric burst of pace took him into the penalty box, but he skewed his shot wide.
Chile somehow failed to score the second goal they deserved, coming closest when centreback Waldo Ponce who from inside the six-yard box somehow failed to score, with Valladares pulling off a superb acrobatic stop.
Chile had the ball in the net a second time thanks to Valdivia, but Alexis Sanchez was rightly adjudged to have been offside whilst being fortunate to escape a booking for handball.
They continued to press throughout and though they failed to extend their lead, La Roja never looked in danger of not taking all three points and may well be a side to watch in this tournament.
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