Portugal 4-4 draw with Cyprus
Reuters - Friday 03 September 2010, 22:22
GUIMARAES - A last-gasp goal
from winger Andreas Avraam denied Portugal victory in a
thrilling topsy-turvy 4-4 draw against Cyprus in a Euro 2012
qualifier on Friday.
With Cristiano Ronaldo out with an ankle injury and
suspended coach Carlos Queiroz watching from the stands, the
Cypriots added to Portugal's woes by stunning them with an early
goal.
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Winger Efstathios Aloneftis combined well with Michalis
Konstantinou to find space at the edge of the box and produce a
fine lob over Eduardo in the third minute.
Hugo Almeida levelled on eight minutes with a flying header
after latching on to a Nani cross, but Portugal were behind
again three minutes later when a poor back pass by Raul Meireles
allowed Konstantinou to score easily.
In-form winger Ricardo Quaresma impressed in Ronaldo's
absence, but the Portuguese midfield failed to gel and their
disorganised defence gave the Cypriots several chances to
threaten with their simple and fast approach.
Meireles made up for his earlier error by scoring from a
long-distance effort in the 29th minute, and Portugal created
several chances before Danny headed in five minutes after
half-time.
But Cyprus responded seven minutes later when substitute
Yiannis Okkas beat the a badly timed offside trap to guide the
ball coolly into Eduardo's net.
Midfielder Manuel Fernandes took advantage of a loose ball
to fire in from distance on 60 minutes, but Avraam exposed a
poor concentration and marking in the Portuguese back line again
with a headed goal on 88 minutes.
"We knew Cyprus were quick on the break and we wanted depth
in defence to counter that and we just didn't have that
tonight," said Agostinho Oliveira, who is standing in as interim
coach during Queiroz's suspension.
Queiroz's future in the job is in doubt after he was banned
for six months for insulting anti-doping agents before the World
Cup, but Agostinho said the controversy was not the reason
behind the poor performance.
"It's not that. This was a moment of football, it happened
today, it could have happened three years ago and it can happen
in the future too. The players know to stay away from the
controversies and concentrate on the game," he added.
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