2002 FIFA World Cup (tm) Finals - Results & Fixtures - Rep. of Ireland vs Cameroon

1 Jun 2002


Rep. of Ireland	1 - 1	Cameroon
	(HT: 0 - 1)

Game Details
Venue Niigata Stadium Big Swan	Attendance 33679
Referee Toru Kamikawa (JPN) Assistant Referees Mat Lazim Awang Hamat (MAS) Roland Van Nylen (BEL)

Game Events
#	Date	Player	Event	Period	Mins	H/A
1	1 Jun 2002	Jason McAteer	Yellow Card	First Half	30	H
2	1 Jun 2002	Patrick Mboma	Goal	First Half	39	A
3	1 Jun 2002	Jason McAteer	Player Out	Second Half	1	H
4	1 Jun 2002	Steve Finnan	Substitute In	Second Half	1	H
5	1 Jun 2002	Steve Finnan	Yellow Card	Second Half	6	H
6	1 Jun 2002	Matt Holland	Goal	Second Half	7	H
7	1 Jun 2002	Patrick Mboma	Player Out	Second Half	24	A
8	1 Jun 2002	Patrick Suffo	Substitute In	Second Half	24	A
9	1 Jun 2002	Ian Harte	Player Out	Second Half	32	H
10	1 Jun 2002	Steven Reid	Substitute In	Second Half	32	H
11	1 Jun 2002	Steven Reid	Yellow Card	Second Half	37	H
12	1 Jun 2002	Raymond Kalla Nkongo	Yellow Card	Second Half	44	A

Match report

Ireland showed there is life after Roy Keane with a battling 1-1 draw against African and Olympic champions Cameroon in their opening World Cup Group E first round match. Ireland midfielder Matt Holland equalised with a fierce low drive on 52 minutes to cancel out striker Patrick Mboma's first-half goal for the much-fancied 'Indomitable Lions'. For Ireland it was a satisfying result as they kicked off their campaign missing inspirational skipper Keane, booted out of the squad after a furious row with manager Mick McCarthy. The disgraced Irish skipper's namesake Robbie Keane almost handed McCarthy's men victory late on when he thumped a shot against the post with Cameroon goalkeeper Boukar Alioum beaten. Substitute Steven Reid also tested Alioum in the final minute with a vicious indirect free kick that was parried over.
"We had a number of chances in the second half and we could have won the match," said Holland, later named man-of-the-match. "For the first game it's a good result - but we've still got two matches to go."
"I scored a couple like that in the qualifying games and it was nice to do it here.
"There were a few nerves out there in the first half but we just go stronger and stronger in the second."
McCarthy was delighted that the team had rebounded from the traumatic events of the past fortnight and a poor first-half performance to force a draw.
"I told the players at half-time that we hadn't worked for two years to get to the finals and throw it away in the first match," he said.
"I thought we were magnificent in the second-half and that we probably deserved to win it in the end.
"However we have to produce two similar performances if we are to go through to the second round.
"It was a great goal by Matty, though he tells me he mis-hit it!"
Cameroon coach Winfried Schafer was disappointed his team had not been able to hang on for victory - and said it means the Africans will now probably need to get something from their final group game against Germany.
"We were cast in the role of favourites and that's something you have to deal with," the German said.
"Now it means the match against Germany will be decisive - which is something I wanted to avoid.
"However we represented African football with dignity today and we can still make a real impression on the tournament."
Mboma, who went off in the second-half after a much quieter period, said he was disappointed to have only got a point.
"Certainly in the first-half we could have put the game to sleep but we didn't and then the Irish came back with all the spirit and determination you expect of them," he said.
"I think we dropped in the second-half because we were tired after travelling a lot," he added.
The only downside for Ireland were the bookings picked up by three players - midfielder Jason McAteer and second half substitutes Reid and Steve Finnan. For Cameroon, defender Raymond Kalla was also cautioned.
In perfect conditions at Niigata's Big Swan Stadium, a large contingent of Irish fans sent chants of 'Are you watching Roy Keane?' around the ground throughout the match. Holland's equaliser was just reward for a superb Irish fightback at the start of the second-half, when they upped the tempo noticeably to put Cameroon on the back foot. The Irish had almost equalised within a minute of the restart when an Ian Harte cross was glanced agonisingly wide by Sunderland midfielder Kevin Kilbane. Only moments before Holland's strike, Ireland had been lucky not to go two goals down when a terrible blunder by Harte gave Geremi Njitap a free shot on goal. Geremi wastefully sent his shot wide of a relieved Given and Ireland promptly swept back up the field to level. Ireland came within a whisker of taking the lead soon afterwards, but Alioum just caught captain Rigobert Song's chest down on the line with Keane waiting behind him to head the ball.
Former African footballer of the year Mboma lashed home his 24th international goal six minutes before the interval to bring a cagey match to life and give Cameroon the lead. The goal came after the sprightly Eto'o burst down the right flank and turned past 33-year-old defender Steve Staunton and squared to Mboma on the edge of the six-yard area. The Sunderland player's finish was coolly placed beyond scrambling keeper Given. Staunton, who will win his 100th cap against Germany on Wednesday, said he had struggled along with all the others in the first-half but surprisingly found his 33-year-old legs come to life in the second period.
"There were a lot of guys out there starting their first World Cup match and it showed in the first-half," he said.

(courtesy of dailysoccer)




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Page created by Christakis Ioannou on 2 June 2002 19:22:05.