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Argentina routs Jamaica 5-0
Ortega, Batistuta score all five goals in blowout win
Posted: Wednesday September 16, 1998 08:07 PM
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Fashionably late: Batistuta scored all three of his goals after the 73rd minute Mark Thompson/Allsport |
PARIS (CNN/SI) - The No. 10 jersey is a storied one for Argentina,
and Ariel Ortega did it proud with his performance against Jamaica.
He scored the first two goals and Gabriel Batistuta topped him with a late,
11-minute hat-trick as Argentina trounced Jamaica 5-0 Sunday to roll into
the World Cup round of 16. It also eliminated the Reggae Boyz and Japan, both
making their debuts. The victory lifted two-time champion Argentina
atop the Group H standings with six points, above Croatia on goal
difference, and left Jamaica last with no points and a 1-8 goals tally.
Japan also has no points from two games and also goes out with a game to
play. "We wanted to win to make sure we would qualify. And we knew
that we had to score several goals so as not to be at a disadvantage
against Croatia," said Argentina coach Daniel Passarella, whose team faces
Croatia Friday to close first-round play. "But sincerely I didn't think we
would score so many." Taking advantage of a tentative and
disorganized Jamaica, which fell apart after an expulsion in first-half
injury time, Argentina dominated throughout at the muggy Parc des Princes.
Ortega was the catalyst. The stocky playmaker, wearing the
number 10 that Maradona donned during his illustrious career, scored in the
32nd and 55th minutes on similar, clinically-executed attacks.
Ortega then set up two of Batistuta's goals as the Fiorentina striker
connected in the 73rd, 79th and 83rd to move on top of the tournament
scoring table with four goals. "Ortega played a great game,"
Passarella said. "He was beaten up but fortunately not injured. He played a
smart game, not only on the individual level but also as a team player."
Ortega put his team ahead after a maneuver that started just inside
Argentina's half. Juan Veron swapped passes with Diego imeone and
then released Ortega, who had made a perfectly-timed run down behind the
defense. The Valencia forward chipped the ball over charging goalkeeper
Warren Barrett and into an empty net. To make things worse for
Jamaica, midfielder Darryl Powell was sent off in first-half injury time
for clattering into Ortega near the sideline, his second yellow card of the
game for a foul on the 24-year-old. "We played evenly until we had
that expulsion," Jamaica coach Rene Simoes said. "When you play with 10 men
against a team the caliber of Argentina, you are likely to allow a lot of
goals. We don't have the proper experience." Ortega made it 2-0 10
minutes after halftime when he swapped passes with Claudio Lopez just
outside the Jamaican area, darted through a gap in the defense and prodded
the ball past Barrett. Theodore Whitmore surprised the South
Americans with a low, 25-yard shot that shaved the post but Argentina
struck right back to make it 3-0 in the 73rd. Ortega was the
provider this time, sliding a pass wide to Batistuta with the outside of
his right foot and the veteran powered home a shot from just inside the
area. Six minutes later Batistuta took a pass from Matias Almeyda
and ran through a huge hole in the defense to fire home off Barrett's
fingertips. Batistuta's third on the day came from the penalty spot,
after Christopher Dawes hauled down Ortega as the forward charged into the
area. Argentina was impressive from the start, and Batistuta could
have scored twice inside the first 64 seconds. First, the Jamaican
defense gave him room to shoot and was lucky that the striker slightly
mis-hit the effort and Barrett slapped the ball away. Argentina won a free
kick almost immediately on the right, Batistuta rose to meet Veron's
well-flighted cross and flashed a header wide. After 10 minutes of
total control by Argentina, Jamaica went close to taking the lead.
Fitzroy Simpson got clear of Argentina's defense down the left with only
goalkeeper Carlos Roa ahead of him but a defender got back to block his
shot. Lineups: Argentina: Carlos Roa; Roberto
Ayala, Jose Chamot, Roberto Sensini (Nelson Vivas, 25th), Javier Zanetti;
Matias Almeyda, Diego Simeone (Hector Pineda, 79th), Ariel Ortega, Juan
Veron; Claudio Lopez (Marcelo Gallardo, 75th) Gabriel Batistuta.
Jamaica: Warren Barrett; Ian Goodison, Ricardo Gardener, Frank
Sinclair; Stephen Malcolm (Walter Boyd, 62nd), Christopher Dawes, Fitzroy
Simpson, Theodore Whitmore (Robbie Earle, 73rd), Darryl Powell; Deon Burton
(Peter Cargill, 46th), Paul Hall. Referee: Rune Pederson,
Norway
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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