Sunday, 20th June 2010
Paraguay Cruzing
 
Slovakia vs Paraguay
in Bloemfontein.
It was all square in Group F
before this game, but Paraquay were probably happier with their point against Italy than Slovakia were with theirs against New Zealand.
The first real strike of the game fell to Paraguay's Roque Santa Cruz.
The shot might have taken a slight deflection off Martin Skrtel, but Jan Mucha - heading
to Everton next season - took no chances and made sure the ball went out for a corner.
Slovakia's best move came when Vladimir Weiss woke up in the 16th
minute; to find Stanislav Sestak, asleep in his place.
A couple of minutes later, Cristian Riveros drove the shot low and
hard for Paraguay. Not much of a Jabulani moment for Mucha though.
Paraguay finally put the pieces together, shortly before the half-hour
mark, when Lucas Barrios released Enrique Vera; after drawing a couple of Slovakia players
out of the danger area.
Seven minutes before the break, Vera forced a mistake in the Slovakia
defence but Mucha kicked out his foot to save from Roque Santa Cruz.
A minute later, Paraguay's Lucas Barrios again looked a handful
running to the touchline.
Half-time: 0:1
As Slovakia tried to get themselves back in the game and Paraguay
looked to gain a better advantage, the game still had a lot of potential, around the hour
mark.
Sadly, this is about the time that all the substitutions start taking
place and a lot of the game's rhythm is broken.
Enrique Vera missed the chance to give Paraguay the cushion they
needed; when he headed wide from a Roque Santa Cruz, left-wing cross.
Slovakia seemed content to contain Paraguay and maybe hope to snatch a
late equaliser, or conserve energy and hope to get the better of Italy.
Either way, Slovakia's lack of conviction cost them another goal; as a
Paraguay free-kick from the left was headed into the middle and, after a little mix-up,
squared beautifully to Cristian Riveros.
Final Score:
Slovakia 0 Paraguay 2
 Goalscorers:
0:1 Enrique Vera (27 mins)
0:2 Cristian Riveros (86 mins)
Man of The Match:
Enrique Vera - Scored the first goal and always a threat in the forward movement.
Teams
 Slovakia:
1 Jan Mucha; 21 Kornel Salata, 16 Jan Durica, 3 Martin Skrtel, 2 Peter Pekarik; 8 Jan
Kozak, 17 Marek Hamsik, 6 Zdeno Strba, 7 Vladimir Weiss; 9 Stanislav Sestak, 11 Robert
Vittek.
 Paraguay:
1 Justo Villar; 3 Claudio Morel Rodriguez, 21 Antolin Alcaraz, 14 Paulo Da Silva, 6
Carlos Bonet; 18 Nelson Valdez, 16 Cristian Riveros, 15 Victor C�ceres, 13 Enrique Vera;
9 Roque Santa Cruz, 19 Lucas Barrios.
Referee:
Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)
 Substitutions:
68 Mins (Paraguay) - 17 Aureliano Torres on for 18 Nelson Valdez
70 Mins (Slovakia) - 13 Filip Holosko on for 9 Stanislav Sestak
82 Mins (Paraguay) - 7 Oscar Cardozo on for 19 Lucas Barrios
83 Mins (Slovakia) - 15 Miroslav Stoch on for 21 Kornel Salata
88 Mins (Paraguay) - 8 Edgar Barreto on for 13 Enrique Vera
 4 Yellow
Cards:
42 Mins - Jan Durica (Slovakia)
45 Mins - Enrique Vera (Paraguay)
47 Mins - Stanislav Sestak (Slovakia)
84 Mins - Vladimir Weiss (Slovakia)
 0 Red Cards.
Previous Encounters:
This will be the first meeting between Slovakia and Paraguay; as Slovakia prepare for
their first World Cup Finals.
2010 World Cup Finals - Knockout Stage.
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