PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain, March 28 (Reuters) - A late Andres Iniesta strike
gave Spain a 1-0 win over Iceland at rain-soaked Son Moix to boost their
Euro 2008 qualifying hopes on Wednesday.
A dominant Spain looked as though they might be frustrated after some
superb saves from inspired Iceland goalkeeper Arni Arason who stopped
everything the home side could throw at him.
But just as Spain appeared to be running out of ideas, Barcelona midfielder
Iniesta finally broke the deadlock when he fired home at the near post
11 minutes from time.
The victory lifted Spain, who beat Denmark 2-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday,
into third place in Group F.
They are three points behind Sweden and four adrift of leaders Northern
Ireland, who beat the Swedes 2-1 on Wednesday and have played a game more
than their closest rivals.
"We went hard for the win especially in the second half but it was
difficult to break them down," Iniesta told Spanish television. "But
in the end we achieved our objective which was to get six points from
these two games."
The match was preceded by four hours of torrential rain and both sides
found it difficult to keep control of the ball as it skidded off the sodden
surface.
Spain began by probing for gaps in the crowded Iceland defence, but as
the deluge continued it became increasingly difficult to play any fluent
football.
Striker David Villa hit the top of the bar with a long-range effort from
wide on the right and his Valencia team mate David Silva forced a sharp
block from Arason with a fierce drive soon after.
Arason then produced a brilliant one-handed reflex save to stop defender
Olafur Bjarnason putting the ball into his own net late in the first half
and came to the rescue again before the break with another sharp stop
to deny Villa.
A defence-obsessed Iceland, who had lost their previous three qualifiers,
rarely ventured into the Spain half, their only real chance in the first
period coming when Bjarnason lashed wide of the post after a corner.
Striker Fernando Torres, who replaced the injured Fernando Morientes late
in the first half, had two penalty appeals turned down after the break
when he went down in the area.
Spain kept plugging away but again came up against Arason who produced
top-drawer saves to stop shots from Miguel Angel Angulo and Iniesta.
The keeper finally looked to have relented when he spilled a shot from
Villa and Silva poked the loose ball into the net, but the midfielder's
goal was disallowed for a foul on the keeper.
Two minutes later they finally got the breakthrough. Iniesta darted into
the area to meet a sharp through ball from Villa and then blasted a fierce
shot past Arason at the near post.
,
March 28, 2007.
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