South Africa (3)* v Chile (3)
* Won after penalty shoot-out
A HIGH-octane battle between South Africa and Chile marked the first match of the 2008 Homeless World Cup for both teams.
Both teams went tit-for-tat in this hard-fought affair, but in the end it was South Africa who emerged triumphant after a penalty shoot-out.
The match opened with some great challenges by both teams with frequent possession turnovers exciting the crowd. The Chilean goalkeeper, Castillo, denied an early attempt at goal and this great save was quickly matched at the other end of the pitch by the South African keeper, Nikoho.
The score remained locked at 0-0 as the fast-pace continued.
An absolutely stunning save by Nikoho, that saw him stretch almost the entire length of the goal, kept the teams level. Motivated by Nikoho's great display, Kalpens quietly pushed the ball past the Chilean keeper before the Chile team could regroup.
South Africa began to pound Chile's goalkeeper but produced too many off-target shots. The end of the first half was littered with fouls as both teams fought voraciously for a goal.
At the opening of the second half, a possible own goal by South Africa had the Chileans appealing but the referee called play on.
Vilchez capitalised on Chile's energy and scored the team's first goal.
The crowd were treated to some excellent football as the teams tried to inch ahead. Finally, Martinez managed to pull Chile one goal ahead.
An own goal, the result of a poor pass, had the Chileans fuming and South Africa cheering as the scores were again levelled.
South African Thys was the man of the moment as he kicked what seemed to be the winning goal, moments before the end of the match.
Chile tried desperately to equalise as full time approached, when a penalty was given with ten seconds left on the clock. Martinez converted for Chile and the match went to a penalty shoot-out.
South Africa scored their first penalty - likewise Chile. South Africa confidently converted their second penalty whilst an unlucky attempt from Chile gave South Africa the win.
Photos: Photoworx
