Bolic boosts Bosnian hopes
Wednesday, 8 September 2004
[1] An Elvir Bolic equaliser pegged back Spain in a hard-fought FIFA World Cup qualifier in Zenic and earned Bosnia-Herzegovina a valuable Group 7 point.
Slow start
[2] The result meant an underwhelming beginning to Luis Aragonés's competitive reign, and a slow start to Spain's bid to reach the 2006 finals in Germany. Aragonés will be hoping for an improved result at home to Belgium on 9 October while Bosnia-Herzegovina face Serbia and Montenegro the same day.
Widespread changes
[3] Aragonés, who had previously coached Spain in friendlies against Venezuela and Scotland, fielded a much-changed side which included Vicente Rodríguez and Víctor Sánchez returning to the starting lineup. FK Partizan's Branimir Bajic made his debut for the home side.
Early running
[4] It was Blaz Sliškovic's team, fresh from an impressive friendly draw with France, that made the early running, but they struggled to threaten Iker Casillas in the Spanish goal. In fact, neither side created much in front of goal until the 40th minute, when Baljic forced two fine saves from Casillas in quick succession, the Spanish goalkeeper reacting smartly on each occasion.
Close chance
[5] Within a minute of the restart, Spain had their first shot on target, Raúl turning a defender on the corner of the penalty area and steering a shot past goalkeeper Kenan Hasagic only to see his effort clip the crossbar.
Opening goal
[6] After 50 minutes, Aragonés introduced Fernando Morientes, who became the focal point of most Spanish attacks and engineered the best opening himself, beating three defenders before shooting narrowly wide. Spain were beginning to press more frequently and duly took the lead through midfield player Vicente, whose speculative shot from the right corner of the penalty area flew past an unsighted goalkeeper and into the top left-hand corner.
Good response
[7] Having fallen behind, Bosnia-Herzegovina responded positively from the restart as Spain sat back. With the Spanish in retreat, a through-ball from midfield found Bolic in plenty of space, and the former Rayo Vallecano player supplied a composed finish, chipping the diving Casillas.
Fast finish
[8] The match ended with both sides pushing forward for a second goal, leading to several good chances - the best fell to goalscorer Vicente, but he scuffed his shot. Spain finished the stronger, but the celebrations at the end indicated that it was the home side who were the happier with a draw.
Elvir Baljic gets in a shot despite the attentions of Míchel Salgado