FRANCE 98 – Match Summary n°28

A rampaging Argentina over-ran the Reggae Boyz in their Group H match here Sunday to chalk up a crushing 5-0 victory.

It was the Argentina strike duo of Ariel Ortega and Gabriel Batistuta, (who got the first hat-trick of the tournament thanks to an 83rd minute penalty), who carved the Jamaican defence into slivers that left the West Indians bitterly arguing with themselves.

Jamaica, struggling to contain the South Americans in the first-half, had to battle with only 10 men in the second half after Derby Country’s Darryl Powell collected a second yellow in the dying seconds before the whistle, when he hacked down Ortega and promptly got his marching orders from Norwegian referee Rune Petersen.

Ortega began the massacre when he struck in the 32nd minute after Juan Veron split two defenders and slipped the ball perfectly into the Argentine number 10’s path as he rushed into the area. Without having to break stride, the 24-year-old chipped the ball over the advancing Jamaican keeper, Warren Barrett.

Ten minutes into the second half Lopez passed to Ortega who ran past two defenders before chipping Barrett again. Batitusta, who missed two clear scoring shots before the match was even a minute old, finally got his name on the score sheet with a lightning strike. The Fiorentina star let rip from the edge of the box after being set free by Ortega, to crash a shot past the hapless Barrett who was beginning to wonder if he had any defence in front of him.

Five minutes later it was Batistuta again. When Ortega was brought down in the 83rd minute there was a slight pause to see who would take the kick – and win the hat-trick. In the end it was Batistuta who got the honour – giving him his third of the match and taking him to the top of the World Cup goal tally with four. It also made sure that both Argentina and Croatia qualify, with Jamaica and Japan on their way home after their final group match.

The only bad news for Argentina in the easiest World Cup match they are likely to get here, was the loss of ageing defender Roberto Sensini. The 31-year-old limped off in the 24th minute when he appeared to pull a muscle in his left leg. He was replaced by Nelson Vivas.