Guinea draw, rue missed chances
Guinea coach Souleymane Camara was fuming at the final whistle on Tuesday. He knew his team had just blow away a golden opportunity to get a much-needed win over Costa Rica to keep their hopes alive in the Fifa U-17 World Cup but in the end had to settle for a 2-2 draw in Group C.
His frustration boiled over because of his players’ inability to get past Costa Rica goalkeeper Ricardo Montenegro, who made six to seven crucial saves to earn his team a draw.
Guinea created many chances but the end result wasn’t always fruitful. While Montenegro stood like a wall in front of them, on occasion they were guilty of not hitting the target.
Victory would have been crucial for Guinea as they face Germany in their last Group C game and the odds will be stacked against them.
Costa Rica face Iran in their last group game on October 13. Attacking football
Knowing they needed a win, Guinea were on the offensive from the word go but had a tough time getting past Montenegro. He had a great duel going with Guinea forwards Fandje Toure and Naby Bangoura, denying both on numerous occasions.
In the last quarter of the game, Guinea threw down the gauntlet at Costa Rica, playing with four forwards. Djibril Sylla and Doss Soumah joined Toure and Bangoura, and alongwith attacking midfielder Aguibou Camara, they peppered the Costa Rica goal from all angles but couldn’t get the winner.
In comparison, Costa Rica hardly had a sight of the goal and both their goals came against the run of play. But they did well to convert the chances that came their way.
Costa Rica strike
Guinea were dictating terms from the beginning before Costa Rica went ahead through Yecxy Jarquin. Guinea hit back four minutes later through Toure but the Andres Gomez header in the 68th minute put the Ticos ahead again. Guinea pressed further up and equalised through Ibrahima Soumah in the 81stminute.
Guinea coach Camara felt his team deserved to win. “We were the better of the two teams. We could have scored more if not for the Costa Rica goalkeeper (Montenegro), who made some sixseven good saves,” he said.
MARGAO: