The Deaflympics began in Taipei yesterday morning with the men? soccer tournament, which will be the first and last event of the 21st Games.
The men? soccer final will decide the last medals of the tournament at Taipei Municipal Stadium at 2pm on Sept. 15, before the closing ceremony the same evening.
Yesterday? opening matches saw one of the pre-tournament favorites, Ukraine, in action against traditional soccer powerhouses Argentina in Group D.
PHOTO: CNA
Overnight rain had put a slight dampener on proceedings and the match kicked off on a pitch that would have been considered waterlogged and unfit for play in most competitions, the ball holding up in the surface water regularly, especially in the half Ukraine were defending in the first half.
Both teams took some time to get used to the conditions, and it was Ukraine who created the first real chance in the 12th minute when Makar Bukin got through the Argentina defense, but a last-gasp tackle by Flavio Oviedo snuffed out the chance.
Ukraine ?eeper Oleksiy Yaroshevsky needed treatment six minutes later after a clash with Argentina? Carlos Canteros, who got up straight after the challenge, but was then instructed to go down and ask for treatment by the Argentine manager, who obviously feared he would be either cautioned or sent off.
PHOTO: LO PERI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
The breakthrough came when Argentina ?eeper David Gimenez had a horror moment, making a mess of a simple save from a weak shot by Oleksandr Chalenko and dropping the ball into his own net.
Four minutes later, Ukraine doubled their lead when Gimenez made another costly error, losing the ball on the edge of the penalty area when coming to take the ball and handing Bukin the easiest of chances as he slotted the ball into an empty net.
Argentina created some chances ?a Canteros free-kick was headed just wide and Jorge Chazarreta hit the post ?but it was Ukraine who went in at halftime 3-0 up when Sergiy Bayev had two attempts saved by Gimenez, with the second rebound falling to Bukin, who poked home the loose ball.
Ukraine began the second half on top and continued to pressure the Argentina defense. On 55 minutes, Volodymyr Riy hit the bar from distance and five minutes later he was on target again, only to see Gimenez make a smart save.
Argentina should have scored in the 65th minute when Yaroshevsky spilled the ball just in front of the post, but Nelson Zalazar failed to find the net from 2m out.
That miss was costly, as 10 minutes later Bukin completed his hat-trick at the third attempt after two great saves by Gimenez, and then Dmytro Nevenchenko scored from a corner in the 78th minute, side-footing the ball home at the far post.
Argentina scored a consolation goal in the last minute when Yaroshevsky made a mess of collecting a ball on the edge of the penalty area and Ricardo Mestre Picon fired into the empty net.
Ukraine had the last say, however, when Myroslav Tanchyk dribbled through the Argentina 苓efense and set up substitute Andriy Safyanov who made the final score Ukraine 6, Argentina 1.
In the other morning matches, the other European teams also kicked off the tournament with victories. Peter Johnson and Eamon Byrne scored as Ireland overcame the US 2-0 in Group A, while in Group C it was a horror story for South Africa, who went down 15-0 to Russia.
Nikolay Afanasyev scored seven of Russia? goals, Vladimir Ivanov grabbed a hat-trick and Arkadiy Kochiev claimed a brace. The other goals were scored by Pavel Istrashkin, Marat Shirinyants and Viktor Gribachev.
Nigeria team forfeited their game with Spain after failing to show up because of insufficient funds, Games organizers said.
Following the afternoon matches, Germany would have 苟njoyed a good night? sleep after bagging a win in the last three minutes against fellow pre-tournament favorites Iran, but their coach humbly chalked it up as pure luck.
The game was neck-and-neck during the first half, with several chances for both sides. Iran took the lead following the break from the penalty spot, Aliakbar Ahmadvand converting after Jens Bangert tripped Mostafa Heydaribondarabadi in the box.
The tide turned when Germany captain Kadir Tatar grabbed the equalizer, followed by Daniel Jagla? last-gasp winner.
Calling Iran a formidable foe, German team coach Frank Zueru, who has headed the team since 2000, said it was a surprise because his players were not used to playing in such heat and humidity.
?fter 1-0, I thought it would be very difficult to win this game. The Iranian goalkeeper was very, very strong and we had some problems in the defense,?Zueru said.
Iran coach Latifinia Ebhraim, however, complained that the Taiwanese referee was too sympathetic toward the German team because of their reputation, questioning why the referee added so much injury-time.
At the beginning of the game, coaches from both teams requested that the assistants stationed around the pitch make sure they raise red flags when the referee? whistle sounded, to ensure the players were aware what was going on, something that was certainly not properly executed during the morning matches.
?hese are deaf players. They cannot hear the whistle. You have to make it obvious to them,?Ebhraim said.
Deaflympics reigning champions Great Britain began with a victory against Japan. James Clarke and Mark Beech scored for Britain in a 2-1 win, with Hiroyuki Funakoshi grabbing Japan? consolation.
Denmark continued Europe? winning streak with a 3-2 victory over Kazakhstan. Dennis Sorensen, Brian Bille and Martin Jacobsen scored for the Danes, with Marat Sarymsakov and Ravil Urazov replying for Kazakhstan.
The only Europeans to fall on the first day were 10-man France, who were defeated 3-2 by South Korea. Remy Guyon was sent off as France scored through Jeremy Peltier and Michael Jacob. South Korea celebrated after goals from Lee Jeong-gook, Wui Won-jun and Jeong Jun-yeong.
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