FRANCE 98 – Match Summary n°22

Benni McCarthy netted a second-half equaliser to earn South Africa a 1-1 draw in an explosive Group C clash here on Thursday that saw three players sent off.

The 20-year-old Ajax striker clipped the ball through Danish goalkeeper Peter Schemichel’s legs after 52 minutes to cancel out Allen Nielsen’s 13th minute opener for the European side in front of some 35,000 fans at the Municipal Stadium.

Colombian referee John Jairo Toro Rendon sent off Danish substitutes Miklos Molnar and Morten Wieghorst, along with South African replacement Alfred Phiri in the second half and booked seven other as tempers snapped in the 30 degree heat.

And first-time finalists South Africa almost clinched a stunning victory in injury time when Quinton Fortune crashed a 30-metre effort against the crossbar.

“I’m not happy, I don’t want to say too much about the sendings-off, we all saw what happened. It just goes to show football is a very strange game,” said a bemused Denmark coach Bo Johansson.

McCarthy’s goal was South Africa’s first ever in a World Cup finals and the point kept alive their slim hopes of making it to the second round. He was delighted to have broken South Africa’s duck but slammed the performance of Toro Rendon. “He killed the game,” McCarthy said.

South Africa now have one point to Denmark’s four with one game to play. Denmark remain favourites to progress along with France, who were due to play Saudi Arabia later on Thursday.

Denmark dominated the opening quarter and almost made an early breakthrough after five minutes but Ebbe Sand’s close-range effort was blocked.

The Danes went ahead eight minutes later when Brian Laudrup tricked his way down the right and crossed to the far post where a completely unmarked Nielsen side-footed home on the volley.

Seconds later the older Laudrup brother, Michael, went close with a searing 20-metre shot, but it was virtually his only contribution in another anonymous display.

Martin Jorgensen then flighted a corner straight onto the far post and South Africa goalkeeper Hans Vonk was a lucky man as Brian Laudrup’s header from the rebound flew straight into his arms.

Gradually the South Africans began to take a grip in midfield, however, and Issa, who scored an own goal against France, almost equalised after an almighty scramble following a corner after 22 minutes.

Six minutes later the Bafana Bafana should have been level, but after Benni McCarthy turned a loose ball across goal, Helman Mkhalele somehow managed to miss from four yards with Peter Schmeichel beaten.

South Africa kept up the pressure and only some stout defending kept them at bay. But it was Denmark, now playing their favourite counter-attacking game, who almost scored again. Brian Laudrup broke clear and played in Sand, whose curled effort thumped against the foot of Vonk’s post two minutes before the interval.

Six minutes into the second half, however, McCarthy hit the equaliser. The elusive John Moshoeu slipped the ball to Shaun Bartlett, who backheeled it to McCarthy and the Ajax striker squeezed his shot between Schmeichel’s legs for a historic goal.

Schmeichel, making a record-equalling 102nd appearance for his country, then showed his frustration by getting booked for time-wasting.

Denmark coach Bo Johansson showed what he though of it all by making a double substitution, with Michael Laudrup one of those hauled off, and suddenly the game exploded.

Substitute Miklos Molnar was red-carded for a crude challenge on South Africa captain Lucas Radebe after 66 minutes and seconds later Alfred Phiri, who had replaced Brendan Augustine at half-time, followed him to the dressing-rooms for thrusting an elbow into the face of Helveg.

Schmeichel then spread himself superbly to deny South Africa left-back David Nyathi after the Danish defence was caught square.With a quarter of an hour left Troussier brought on Phil Masinga, who has been struggling with an ankle injury, for Bartlett.

Wieghorst, who himself had been on the pitch for only three minutes, was then the third man red-carded, this time for a foul from behind on McCarthy.

It could have been worse for Denmark though as South Africa poured forward in the dying minutes and Fortune belied his name when his booming left-footed effort from 30 metres crashed back off the crossbar.

South Africa coach Philippe Troussier said: “We needed three points so from that point of view I’m not satisfied but if you look at the way we played my players lived up to expectations. We had more space than against France to express ourselves. The first 20 minutes were terrible, we weren’t in it, but after that we took the game to them and attacked.”

Thursday’s was only the third match in World Cup history in which three players have been sent off, joining the Brazil-Czechoslovakia game in 1938 and the Brazil-Hungary clash in 1954 in the hall of shame.