#4790: HAITI 2, EL SALVADOR 1... (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:nozier@tradewind.net

HAITI 2, EL SALVADOR 1  Haiti propelled by its own
injuries               By William Kalec, Globe Correspondent, 8/6/2000 

FOXBOROUGH - Never before has the  sight of injured players brought so
much  jubilation to the Haitian national soccer team. After falling
behind, 1-0, to El Salvador early in  the second half, Haiti capitalized
on two of its  own players' misfortunes, leaving Foxboro   Stadium with
a 2-1 win in an exhibition. ''In my first game as coach, we won a game
that nobody thought we were going to win,'' said  Sonche Pierre.      
''It is a new beginning for us. We are very  excited. We had great
confidence in the second half and we knew we could beat them ...''     
And they did it with nine players on their feet.In the 92d minute, Haiti
defender Roosevelt  Desir was able to keep pressure deep in El Salvador
territory and served  a ball into the box where fellow defender Derek
Etienne waited.  Also there was Haitian forward Achat Dickinson, who was
on the ground  holding his leg in pain. Seconds later, he was back on
his feet, limping  toward Etienne, who directed the game-winner past El
Salvador goalkeeper Juan Jose Gomez, igniting a celebration among the
Haitian  fans, who numbered in the low thousands.  ''I was very
impressed with the crowd,'' Dickinson said as the Haitian  faithful
showered the field with water and soda bottles. ''It was alive          
from the moment we stepped on the field. It gets the adrenaline flowing
 and you feel that passion.''   Haiti's first half was filled with
quality scoring opportunities as they tallied six shots on goal to El
Salvador's four.   It wasn't until the hired medical help at Foxboro
Stadium made one of  several trips out to the field with a stretcher
that the Haitian crowd  showed how loud it could be.   Nine minutes
after El Salvador took a 1-0 lead in the 57th minute, on a  goal by
defender Elmer Martinez, Haiti's Michel Gabriel brought the crowd to its
feet after making several moves to get in front of the net. Martinez
fouled Gabriel, who went down, giving Haiti a penalty kick  Dieuphene
Thelamour converted into their first goal. Gabriel watched  from the
stretcher.  Although an exhibition game, injuries were prevalent, five
yellow cards  were given out, and play was frequently stopped because of
a combined  44 fouls.   ''We take the Haitian team very seriously,'' El
Salvador national coach Oscar Benitez said. ''We take every game very
seriously.''