Saturday, Oct 19, 2013
Dubai: Canada and Austria played out a 2-2 draw in their Group E opener of the 2013 Fifa U17 World Cup at the Al Ahli Club ground here on Saturday.
Chasing down a one-goal deficit, Canada did well to find the net on two occasions within five minutes but the Austrians came back a minute after the hour to equalise and finish the match on level terms.
Pushed on to the back foot for a major part of the opening half, Austria found their first goal through Sascha Horvath in the 28th minute, but Canada came right back with a couple of goals within five minutes to take the lead. Jordan Hamilton got the equaliser in the 53rd minute and Elias Roubos converted from the spot in the 58th minute.
Austria fought back and were on level terms a minute after the hour mark, when Nikola Zivotic produced an acrobatic finish following a cross from the right.
Until that first goal, Austria had kept the marauding Canadian frontline at bay. Canada made the first fruitful move in the fourth minute when a Marco Bustos free-kick slammed into the Austrian wall and was cleared to safety. Then in the 10th minute it was Bustos again who tested Alexander Schlager.
Austria responded a minute later when they pulled off a move from the left, but Petar Gluhakovic only managed to shoot meekly into the waiting hands of Canada goalkeeper and skipper Marco Carducci.
Canada continued pressing for an early advantage and came close in the 19th minute, when Kianz Froese had a shot palmed away by goalkeeper Schlager following a long throw-in by Jordan Haynes, and a minute later when the hard-working Hamilton blasted way over after some smart build-up play.
Despite the pressure, it was Austria who went in front two minutes from the half-hour mark, as Horwath stole inside the area and looped in an effort into the roof of the net that caught all by surprise.
The goal changed the complexion of the match as suddenly Austria began to hold sway and two minutes later a Daniel Ripic effort beat Carducci but crashed against an upright and rebounded back into play.
Canada had an opportunity for an equaliser in the 32nd minute when Hanson Boakai advanced unchallenged towards the Austrian goal, but he was dispossessed by a clever tackle from Schlager.
Canada trooped out for the second half with better ideas and it was Hamilton who bagged the equaliser in the 53rd minute when he chested inside the area and directed past a sprawled Schlager. They got a second in the next five minutes when referee Slim Jedidi pointed to the spot after captain David Domej had brought down Kianz Froese. Roubos stepped up and coolly converted, sending Schlager the wrong way, to give Canada the lead.
Austria were once again on the defensive, but that just brought the best out of the Europeans, who had previously never won a point in a U17 World Cup match, and Zivotic rescued them with an athletic finish in the 61st minute.
By Alaric Gomes Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
