31/03/05
Portugal remained top of their World Cup 2006 qualifying group Wednesday with a 1-1 draw in Bratislava. Slovakia proved a tough hut to crack, especially after they went 1-0 up after only six minutes when Paulo Ferreira fouled Mintal in the box and Karhan scored from the spot, Ricardo getting to the ball but succeeding only in turning it into the corner of the net. Portugal had most of the possession for the rest of the game, Slovakia threatening only on the break, when Ricardo saved Portugal's hide more than once. Then on 57 minutes, Scolari brought on Postiga for the hard-working but ineffectual Pauleta, and the change proved the turning point. Five minutes later, Postiga flicked in from a Deco corner, touched on by Ricardo Carvalho, and from then on Portugal were galvanised into something a little more objective. They only didn't take the three points because of a superb save late in the game by Contofalsky from Cristiano Ronaldo.
The teams lined up:
Slovakia: Contofalsky, Zabavnik, Martin Petras, Varga, Michalik (Marian Had, 37 m), Hanek (Karol Kisel, 81 m), Karhan, Hlinka, Nemeth, Marek Mintal, Martin Jakubko (Lubomir Reiter, 65 m).
Portugal: Ricardo, Paulo Ferreira (Miguel, 64 m), Ricardo Carvalho, Jorge Andrade, Nuno Valente, Costinha, Maniche, Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Simгo (Hugo Viana, 92 m), Pauleta (Hйlder Postiga, 57 m).
http://www.footballportugal.com.pt