World Cup 2010 South Africa

orange memang dijangka menang lawan nippon tapi aku harap
nippon menang lawan denmark nanti tapi yang penting German masuk Final

Brazil 3 - 1 Ivory Coast

Luis Fabiano leads Brazilian rout



Kaka was controversially sent off as a brace from Luis Fabiano and an Elano strike helped Brazil ease to victory in their battle with Ivory Coast at Soccer City.

Didier Drogba grabbed a late goal for the Elephants, but the game was marred by the late dismissal of Kaka for an off the-the-ball foul on Kader Keita.

It came too late, though, for the Elephants to respond as they slipped to defeat that leaves them with just a point in Group G, while Brazil now have six.

Chelsea forward Drogba, a second half substitute in the goalless draw against Portugal last week, was named in the starting line-up by coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, while Brazil were unchanged for the much-anticipated encounter in Johannesburg.

The South Americans had a chance inside the opening 60 seconds when a quick break through the middle ended with Robinho sending a dipping shot narrowly over Boubacar Barry's goal from 30 yards.

The Elephants had three free-kicks in dangerous positions on the right, but the quality of delivery was poor, including one from Drogba that flew over. When Emmanuel Eboue did manage to send over a decent set-piece from the left, Julio Cesar punched the ball away.

At the other end, Gilberto Silva smashed an Elano corner from 12 yards out into a defender after 19 minutes, before the deadlock was eventually broken by Luis Fabiano six minutes later.

Robinho and Kaka were heavily involved in the build-up with the Real Madrid midfielder threading a neat final pass to the striker to blast home from six yards out on the right.

The goal initially deflated the Africans, but Aruna Dindane and then Eboue sparked some life back into their attack with decent long-range efforts before half-time.

Five minutes after the restart, the advantage was doubled by Luis Fabiano, who looked to have used his arm to control the ball in the build-up. The initial problem was created when Siaka Tiene allowed the ball to bounce, letting the striker take charge and beat two defenders, before volleying home.

Drogba should have grabbed a goal straight back for his side, but could only head Dindane's cross wide. The former Portsmouth striker was immediately replaced by Yao Gervinho, but it was Brazil that continued to press.

After Kaka's close-range effort was punched away by Barry, the Ivorian goalkeeper was helpless to stop Elano scoring a third - the Madrid midfielder providing a telling low pass from the right that was guided in by Elano at the far post.

That goal came after 65 minutes and shortly afterwards Maicon sent a low 20-yard shot into the side-netting with Brazil well on top.

With nothing to lose, Eriksson threw on Ndri Romaric, who almost made an instant impact with his driving 20-yard shot only parried by Cesar.

Drogba finally made his mark in the 79th minute in a move inspired by Gervinho. The Lille striker ran almost the length of the pitch and then, after being stopped in his tracks, pulled the ball back to Yaya Toure to lift over a good cross for the Chelsea forward to head home.

The game got slightly scrappy late on and Kaka received his marching orders after being shown a second yellow card.

Cheik Tiote forced Cesar to tip over a late effort but the game was decided by then.

venez wrote:German kalah... dahler lawan dgn 10 pemain, hu3...
US yang aku harapkan utk kalah mlm nih bleh seri plak...

Xpe kalah ngan Serbia... Go go go Germany...

Nasib je tu, pasal Klose kne red card.

Biau Podolski sama Gomez plak!

atreyudevil wrote:Nasib je tu, pasal Klose kne red card.

Biau Podolski sama Gomez plak!

Nasib xda, bola kan bulat...

x ape ..... masih ada peluang lagi .... tapi mesti menang dgn Ghana pada 23 hb ni ....

congrats brasil, hopefully next game lebih mantap permainan...

skali North Korea kene ratah gan portugal..5-0...

Portugal 7 - 0 North Korea
Raul Meireles (29')
Simão (53')
Hugo Almeida (56')
Tiago (60')
Liédson (81')
Cristiano Ronaldo (87')
Tiago (89')

Seventh heaven



Portugal produced a spectacular performance of fluidity and flair to earn their first win of the World Cup in style against North Korea.

Having failed to impress in their opening Group G stalemate with the Ivory Coast, Carlos Queiroz's side were under pressure to deliver against North Korea with a showdown against Brazil still to come. And they did that emphatically as Raul Meireles scored in the first half before Simao Sabrosa, Hugo Almeida and Tiago hit one apiece within seven second-half minutes.
Liedson and Cristiano Ronaldo got in on the act before Tiago grabbed his second in the dying minutes.
Portugal came into the match hoping to boost their goal difference with the Ivory Coast, their main rivals to join Brazil in the next round, still to play a North Korean side who were excellent in their 2-1 defeat by Dunga's side in the first game. Queiroz made four changes, one of which was enforced due to Deco's hip injury and Tiago coming in. North Korea were unchanged.
Portugal captain Ronaldo, without a competitive goal for his country in two years, had an early effort blocked. His side came close to a breakthrough in the seventh minute when Ricardo Carvalho was allowed to reach Simao's corner but saw his header hit the post and bounce away.
Cha Jong-hyok and Jong Tae-se had half chances for North Korea and a better opportunity then went begging after 17 minutes as Hong Yong-jo cut inside and when Eduardo parried his shot, Pak Nam-chol headed over.
In the 29th minute the impressive Meireles opened the scoring. Breaking into the box, he was found by Tiago's clever ball and expertly drove the ball beyond Ri Myong-guk.
Tiago had an early chance in the second half as his effort from distance was tipped over by the goalkeeper. Ronaldo blasted one over in a lively opening to the half, then saw Ri Myong-guk spill a left-footed effort soon after.
Jong's deflected drive from a free-kick was saved by Eduardo and at the other end Almeida failed to finish off a nice move down the left when he could not convert Fabio Coentrao's cross.
However, it was 2-0 in the 53rd minute. Almeida held up a long ball for Meireles and when the midfielder saw Simao bursting into the box to his right, the pass perfectly set up his team-mate for a straightforward finish.
North Korea were deflated and it was soon over as a contest. In the 56th minute Coentrao was put clear down the left and his perfectly-pitched cross found Almeida, who made no mistake with the header.
North Korea coach Kim Jong-hun sent on two substitutes in response but it was to no avail as Tiago added to the deficit, rushing forward to sweep home Ronaldo's cut-back from the left on the hour mark.
Meireles and Coentrao had further chances while in the 70th minute a fizzing Ronaldo shot hit the bar.
Ronaldo kept plugging away as he looked to break his two-year barren spell before Liedson made it 5-0 four minutes after coming off the bench.
Fellow replacement Duda whipped in a ball which Ri Kwang-chon failed to clear, allowing Brazil-born Liedson to hammer home on the turn. Ronaldo finally got his goal when Liedson capitalised on a defensive mix-up to put him through before he rounded the goalkeeper and slotted home and Tiago headed home his second to complete the rout in the 89th minute.

ps: laa selama ni tak letak nama scorer rupanya!

hu3, gila kenduri gol portugal kalini...

agaknya kena "something" ke North Korea tu bila balik ke tanahair mereka??

Spain 2 - 0 Honduras
David Villa (17')
David Villa (51')
David Villa (pen miss 62')

Villa at the double



David Villa almost had a perfect night as a goal in each half from the new Barcelona recruit helped Spain get their World Cup campaign back on track.

A wonderful individual effort in the first half was followed by a goal forged by brilliant movement off the ball in the second.
The only thing missing was the hat-trick to crown the performance as he sidefooted wide a second-half penalty and struck the crossbar early on.
The win was vital after the opening Group H defeat to Switzerland and Vicente Del Bosque's side finally looked to have settled into the tournament.
Honduras had an early escape when Emilio Izaguirre handled the ball in the box as Fernando Torres tried to flick it over his head, but Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura waved play on.
Spain were even more unfortunate in the seventh minute when a 30-yard Villa shot smacked against the crossbar with goalkeeper Noel Valladares well beaten as the European champions came flying out of the blocks.
Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos wasted a glorious chance when he headed over a Xavi free kick from the left from three yards out and Villa cut in from the left and fired wide after Xabi Alonso had cleverly switched the play.
Spain still looked a little nervy in defence after the Switzerland setback and a deflected Walter Martinez cross drew an unorthodox clearance with the knees by Iker Casillas.
Spain then gained the lead they deserved, though, with a stunning strike from Villa after 16 minutes.
Again the new Barcelona man had drifted out to the left, but this time he somehow manoeuvred the ball between Sergio Mendoza and Amado Guevara with supreme close control, cut inside Osman Chavez and at full stretch smashed an angled shot across Valladares into the top corner.
Torres showed he was still some way from rediscovering his killer instinct as he headed a Ramos cross into the turf and over and then fired wildly over after full-back Mendoza, run ragged by Villa, gifted possession to him.
Villa then caught the eye for the wrong reasons after lashing out at Izaguirre as the pair waited for a free-kick to come in, and he was fortunate to escape a booking or even a red card as Spain took a single-goal lead into the interval.
The second goal arrived within six minutes of the restart as Spain launched a counter-attack.
This time it was Villa's movement off the ball that proved key as he drifted back to the edge of the box to receive Navas' cutback from the right and his shot looped in off Chavez.
Ramos almost added the third seconds later with a right-foot toe-poke from the edge of the area and more goals looked on the cards.
Villa wasted a chance to complete a hat-trick from the penalty spot when he sidefooted wide after Navas made the most of some contact in the box from Izaguirre.
Cesc Fabregas was then given his first taste of the 2010 World Cup, coming on for Xavi to a wall of vuvuzela noise.
The Arsenal midfielder almost scored within seconds as Ramos played him in over the top, he rounded Valladares but Maynor Figueroa got back to clear his shot from an awkward angle.
Substitute Ramon Nunez was the first to try his luck for Honduras in the second half with a right-foot free-kick over the top midway through the half, and Torres was withdrawn with 20 minutes to go for Juan Manuel Mata of Valencia.
Mata was quickly into the action with a left-foot shot over from 20 yards as the Hondurans allowed him too much space and tried to turn provider for his old club colleague Villa with eight minutes left, swinging in a cross from the left which Figueroa had to divert for a corner.
Villa was again denied his treble as Mendoza blocked a late effort from yet another Navas cross.

Slovenia vs. England ...... adakah England pun akan say good bye mcm France??? menarik ni .....

Greece 0 - 2 Argentina
- Martín Demichelis (77')
- Martín Palermo (89')

Maradona's men in top spot



Defender Martin Demichelis and substitute Martin Palermo succeeded where Argentina's multi-talented strikeforce had failed as they scored the goals to break Greece's resilience and end their World Cup hopes at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.

Demichelis fired home from close range in the 77th minute after his header from Lionel Messi's corner bounced back off team-mate Diego Milito. Palermo tapped in the rebound from Messi's shot to complete the victory a minute from time.

It sent Argentina into the knockout phase to face Mexico full of confidence on the back of three successive wins as Greece's best defensive efforts ultimately proved to be in vain. South Korea's 2-2 draw with Nigeria put them through as Group B runners-up.

For long periods Diego Maradona's side were frustrated by Greece, for whom defending is what they do best - having used the tactic to become surprise European champions in 2004.

However, what Otto Rehhagel's side desperately needed more than anything was a goal and despite the unstinting efforts of Celtic striker Georgios Samaras - who at times appeared to be the one in a 10-1 formation - they just did not threaten enough.

Argentina, by contrast, did not really need to exert themselves as they were virtually guaranteed to progress as group winners before the match kicked off. Messi captained the side after Maradona made seven changes from victory over South Korea but found himself closely marked throughout.

Sergio Aguero's first sight of goal saw the busy Alexandros Tzorvas palm his shot away for a corner in the 18th minute and the goalkeeper then immediately had to tip over Juan Sebastian Veron's 30-yard strike.

Tzorvas almost undid all Greece's hard work when he spilled Diego Milito's low cross into the path of Aguero but Loukas Vyntra charged down his shot at the far post.

But he redeemed himself in first-half added time when he saved from Maxi Rodriguez and Messi in quick succession.

Three minutes into the second half Greece almost snatched the lead when Samaras beat Demichelis to another long ball out of defence and raced into the penalty area but drove wide of far post with his left foot - Greece's first shot of the match.

But injuries were not kind to Rehhagel's side as they lost Georgios Karagounis, Konstantinos Katsouranis and Vasileios Torosidis all within 10 minutes of the restart.

Argentina pressed on regardless with Milito inches from heading in a cross from left-back Clemente Rodriguez, who himself hit a dipping shot just wide.

In the 68th minute Messi's long-range free-kick brought another save out of Tzorvas and from the resulting corner the ball dropped to defensive midfielder Mario Bolatti but he shot straight at the goalkeeper from six yards.

It was 24 years to the day since Maradona scored his infamous Hand of God goal against England in the quarter-finals of 1986 Mexico World Cup - Argentina's last triumph at this tournament - and the frustrated players might have felt like indulging in similar skulduggery themselves.

But Demichelis saved anyone the embarrassment by drilling into the roof of the net with 13 minutes to go.

Things opened up after that and Messi smashed a left-footed shot off the post having weaved his way into the penalty area.

His next effort was more productive as Tzorvas parried his strike into the path of the 36-year-old Palermo who took full advantage.

ps: maradona ni diva orangnya eh!

Nigeria 2 - 2 South Korea

Korea go through in tight finale



South Korea clinched a place in the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time on foreign soil despite being held to a draw by Nigeria in their final Group B match in Durban.

Kalu Uche opened the scoring for the African team in the 12th minute and almost doubled his side's lead shortly after the half-hour mark but his powerful strike smashed off the near post.

Lee Jung-Soo equalised in the 38th minute and then Park Chu-Young's free-kick early in the second half turned the match on its head.

Korea shot themselves in the foot when substitute Kim Nam-Il brought down Chinedu Obasi inside the area midway through the second half. Ayegbeni Yakubu, having missed the easiest of tap-ins seconds earlier, made amends by restoring parity from the penalty spot.

The outcome sealed second spot in the group for Korea and a second-round match against Uruguay on Saturday in Port Elizabeth. Argentina, who beat Greece 2-0, topped the pool.

Needing a win to progress to the next round, Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback made four changes to his starting XI from the side that lost 2-1 against Greece, one of which saw Portsmouth striker Kanu included after failing to feature in his side's opening two defeats.

South Korea enjoyed a strong start and almost took the lead after two minutes, but Bolton's Lee Chung-Yong directed his close-range effort just wide of the far post.

Shortly after, Celtic midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng's right-footed strike from 25 yards went over the bar as South Korea got closer. But it was Nigeria who took a surprise lead soon after.

In their first purposeful attack, Chidi Odiah went on a superb run and crossed towards the heart of the area, where Uche beat Cha Du-Ri to the ball and fired past Jung Sung-Ryong.

Uche's free-kick went over the bar in the 20th minute and, seconds later, Obasi struck wide from the edge of the area as Nigeria looked to double their lead.

Nigeria were gaining confidence and, on the half-hour mark, Obasi surged inside the area but his central shot was saved by Jung.

Shortly after the half-hour mark, Park Chu-young's free-kick went wide as Korea struggled to find the finishing touch.

But the Koreans did find the equaliser before the break when Ki Sung-Yueng's free-kick towards the far post was met by Lee Jung-Soo, whose first-time finish beat Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.

Both teams went into the break with all to play for. Korea picked up where they left off after the interval and went ahead in the 48th minute. Park Chu-Young's free-kick swerved towards the post and Enyeama failed to get a touch.

Lagerback introduced Obafemi Martins to replace Kanu in the 56th minute in the hope he could spark his team to life. On the hour mark, Yeom Ki-Hun's dangerous cross towards the area found Park Chu-young and his seemingly goalbound strike was met by a fine save from Enyeama.

Nigeria should have pulled level seconds later after Uche set up an unmarked Yakubu, but he inexplicably tapped wide of an open goal from two yards - much to the horror of his team-mates.

Yakubu made amends soon after by firing a spot-kick past Jung.

Park Ji-Sung fired wide of the near post with 15 minutes remaining while, at the other end, Martins surged inside the area and his chip beat Jung but went wide.

Korea defended deeply thereafter but held on for a vital point.

France 1 - 2 South Africa
Florent Malouda (70') - Bongani Khumalo (20')
- Katlego Mphela (37')



France exited the World Cup at the first round stage with barely a whimper after this humbling defeat by the host nation at the Free State Stadium.

On a day of drama Raymond Domenech stripped Patrice Evra of the captaincy and handed the armband to Alou Diarra instead. Then the coach, set to be replaced by Laurent Blanc, saw his side reduced to 10 men after 26 minutes of this Group A game when Yoann Gourcuff was sent off.
South Africa took advantage with Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela both finding the target. Although Florent Malouda stepped off the bench to pull a goal back France are heading home early.
Evra was dropped after the squad boycotted a training session after striker Nicolas Anelka was expelled following a row with Domenech. The Manchester United full-back cut a lonely figure on the bench on another dreadful day for France.
Yet they could have opened the scoring in the third minute when Gourcuff released Andre-Pierre Gignac. He had a clear sight of goal but only succeeded in drilling a shot into the arms of Moneeb Josephs.
France were rocked in the 20th minute when South Africa made the breakthrough, which led to pandemonium in the stadium. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris failed to cut out a corner from Siphiwe Tshabalala and Khumalo took advantage to score with a header at the back post.
It might have been worse for the former world champions five minutes later but Mphela dragged a shot narrowly wide of the post.
France's troubles increased, however in the 26th minute when they were reduced to 10 men with Gourcuff sent off by Colombian referee Oscar Ruiz for an aerial challenge on Macbeth Sibaya.
Domenech could not believe what was happening and held his head in frustration at seeing his side down on numbers.
South Africa were growing in confidence and Tshabalala whipped a free-kick over the bar in the 34th minute before they extended their lead three minutes later. Mphela clipped the ball home after being sent up by Bernard Parker with France in disarray at the back.
Steven Pienaar then found the net for South Africa but his effort was disallowed and Mphela saw his shot turned around the post by Lloris.
Malouda was introduced at the start of the second half but France were soon pegged back. Parker sent his shot into arms of Lloris and Mphela's effort clipped the outside of the post.
France could not contain Mphela and the goalkeeper did well to push away his powerful drive in the 58th minute. However South Africa were caught napping in the 70th minute and failed to track Malouda, who pulled a goal back following a cross from Franck Ribery.
That was as good as it got for France, whose only point in the group came against Uruguay.
It was a bitter sweet win for South Africa as they have become the first host nation to be eliminated at the first round stage of the finals.

Mexico 0 - 1 Uruguay
- Luis Suárez (43')

Both celebrate progress



A first-half goal from Luis Suarez was enough to help Uruguay secure top spot in Group A and progress into second round of the World Cup after a close victory over Mexico, who also qualified.

The only goal came two minutes before half-time when Edinson Cavani's superbly floated cross allowed the Ajax striker to head in at the back post.
With hosts South Africa unable to alter the goal difference too much in their 2-1 win over France, the result in Rustenburg also put the nervous Mexicans through.
Their coach Javier Aguirre made two changes to his line-up, bringing in veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco for his first start in place of the injured Carlos Vela up front, while Andres Guardado was in for the suspended Efrain Juarez.
Uruguay also made one surprise change, with Diego Godin dropping to bench in place of Mauricio Victorino.
There was a buzz in the Royal Bafokeng Stadium at the start, with most of the noise coming from the fans in green, who outnumbered those in blue. But the Mexicans and their supporters were almost silenced early on.
First Maxi Pereira saw his rising 30-yard free-kick fly over, and then an error from Hector Moreno allowed Suarez in but the striker only managed to send his shot across the face of goal.
El Tri had a good chance moments later when Giovani dos Santos crossed for Blanco, but the 37-year-old headed over.
After 15 minutes Victorino managed to find space from a corner but nodded his free header over, before Alvaro Pereira drilled his shot wide after racing down the left - much to the fury of the unmarked Diego Forlan in the box.
Midway through the half, Guardado almost stunned Oscar Tabarez's side with a wicked 30-yard effort that beat Fernando Muslera, but not the underside of the crossbar.
At the other end, Oscar Perez punched weakly at a Forlan cross, but there was no one following up at the back post. The chances seemed to dry up 15 minutes before the break, but then Suarez broke the deadlock.
Aguirre decided to make a change at the break, bringing Pablo Barrera for Guardado. And his side had the first chance of the half courtesy of a Blanco free-kick 25-yards out that was curled into the arms of Muslera.
Uruguay then almost doubled the advantage when Forlan swung over a free-kick from the right, but Diego Lugano's powerful header drew an excellent low save from Perez.
In another attacking move, Israel Castro and Javier Hernandez were thrown in, but it was a defender, Francisco Rodriguez, that had a golden opportunity to equalise from Barrera's cross, which was a glanced header that ended up wide.
Hernandez was next to have a chance, but it was only a half one as he found little room to try and get away a shot in the six-yard box, with the ball deflected for a corner.
The Mexicans again had their goalkeeper Perez to thank in the 87th minute when he parried away and awkward 30-yard Cavani strike for a corner. It proved the last chance for either side as La Celeste held on.

Go go germany...

yaminz wrote:Go go germany...

Jerman jerman jerman

Achtung!!

huu....!
german kne menang ngan match lepas nih.
kalo tak bleh ikut France
hehehe

betol tu ... kalau tak sayonara la pulak Germany ni .....

zulupapa wrote:betol tu ... kalau tak sayonara la pulak Germany ni .....

kita perlu think + uncle, yg penting Go go go Germany...

takpe, kan ada lagi satu team!

powerw00t wrote:

yaminz wrote:Go go germany...

Jerman jerman jerman

Achtung!!

mantap seyyy, tertarik aku... he3

p/s : sepanjang world cup nih aku layan game nih : https://apps.facebook.com/fifasuperstars/

german jumpa england.....

Besit England beb!

blitzkrieg sama England!

Ghana 0 - 1 Germany

Germans seal top spot



A terrific strike from Mesut Ozil gave Germany a 1-0 win over Ghana and put them into top spot in Group D, where they will face England in the second round. The result also puts Ghana through, as Serbia failed to win.

The win for Joachim Low's side took them to the top of Group D and means they will face England in Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon, while Ghana ensured African representation in the knockout phase by edging out Australia on goal difference. The Black Stars will now take on the United States in Rustenburg.

Germany created the first chance when Brazil-born Cacau, in for the suspended Miroslav Klose, broke through in the third minute but his low shot was easily gathered by Richard Kingson in the Ghana goal.

The German contingent were jeering any touch for Berlin-born Kevin-Prince Boateng, whose tackle on Michael Ballack in the FA Cup final last month ruled the Germany star out of the World Cup. However, the Portsmouth man was able to tune out from it and one incisive ball to Gyan should have led to a chance, but the Rennes forward's first touch was poor.

Kingson then had to react quickly at his near post as Anthony Annan deflected a Lukas Podolski cross from the left goalwards in the 10th minute, and at the other end a clever ball from Kwadwo Asamoah played in the advancing Boateng but Bastian Schweinsteiger did enough to cut out his cutback to Gyan.

The game was finely poised and Andre Ayew hesitated when a chance to shoot presented itself, and Ozil wasted a good opportunity for Germany when played in by Cacau as his shot was blocked by the legs of Kingson.

Gyan's glancing header from a corner was shepherded away from the goalline by Germany captain Philipp Lahm, although replays suggested he perhaps used his arm to initially keep it out.

Cacau was next to go close, hooking a shot on target after a clever flick from Sami Khedira which Kingson got down well to save.

Ghana were proving more than a match for the Germans and Boateng was just unable to get meaningful contact on an Ayew cross from the right.

Ayew was then unlucky to be booked for a challenge on Cacau and Schweinsteiger's resulting free-kick drifted all the way through to Kingson, who needed to push it away from danger.

Ghana created a golden opening early in the second period as Asamoah burst through, but his weak effort was blocked by the onrushing Manuel Neuer.

It was a costly miss as Thomas Muller found Ozil in space outside the area and he flashed a left-foot shot beyond Kingson on the hour mark to take Germany to the top of the group.

For the first time in the game Ghana had been slow to close down their opponents but their response was positive at least as Gyan header goalwards was blocked for a corner by Germany defender Jerome Boateng, the half-brother of Kevin-Prince.

Lahm made a crucial block to deny Ayew after Gyan back-heeled the ball into the path of the onrushing midfielder but Germany were not sitting on their lead and Cacau drilled a long-range shot goalwards which Kingson parried away awkwardly.

Ghana continued to press without creating too many clear-cut openings and Neuer was given a rare test by an Annan shot, although it appeared with Australia beating Serbia both teams were happy enough if the result stood and the last few minutes were played out uneventfully.