Gonzalez takes Chile into last four

By Amitabha Das Sharma

KOLKATA, JAN. 20. Chile fixed up a semifinal date with Bosnia Herzegovina on Monday beating Iceland 2-0 in the second quarterfinal of the Sahara Cup football tournament here at the Salt Lake stadium on Saturday. Striker Sebastian Gonzalez turned the hero of the evening scoring a goal in each of the two sessions.

It was late into the first session that Chileans could gain some hold over the midfield action. Marco Villaseca, playing the central schemer, mobilised the flanks with upfield provisions. The flank attacks fetched dividends soon as the Chilean outside left forward released his central colleague Sebastian Gonzalez with a minus. Gonzalez was prompt to volley but the crosspiece came in the way in the 36th minute.

As Chile retreived the ball following the clearence, right half Rodrigo Melendez sent a through for Gonzalez. Gonzalez shielded his marker in Iceland stopper-back G. Jonsson and receiving the ball finished with a right-footed half volley in the 37th minute.

The second session saw the Chilens with renewed resolve. It was the another gem of a finishing by Gonzalez, who for the first time was included in the starting XI, as he complemented a short cross from the right by Fernando Martel before diverting the ball past the Iceland goalkeeper G. Gunnleifsson with a sharp volley in the 50th minute to give his team the 2-0 cushion.

With Iceland falling behind unable to call the performance it had shown initially in the first session, Chile slowed down the pace of the match. Iceland tried a late surge but both its striker captain Gudmundsson and the other forward S. Olafsson fared miserably with their finishing. The scoreline scripted by Chile thus endured.

FIFA gives international `A' friendly status:

The accreditation of the match with the `A' status by FIFA came as a bonus for both the sides. The world body seemingly chose to ignore the league phase and also did not include the first quarterfinal at Kochi in the list of `A' friendly internationals for the year.

Even the All India Football Federation officials, including the president Mr. Priya Ranjan Das Munshi was hard pressed to explain the reason. With the national body having sent the fixtures to the world headquarters, the decision to acknowledge only one as a international `A' friendly came as surprise.

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Section  : Sport
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