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Paraguay's Australian tour: Aussies win series |
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June 16, 2000
MELBOURNE (AP) - After two scoreless encounters, Australia finally clinched a three-match soccer series against Paraguay on a 2-1 win at Melbourne's Olympic Park.
After 0-0 ties in Sydney and Brisbane, Craig Foster notched the first goal of the tournament two minutes after halftime Thursday to give the Australians a 1-0 lead.
David Zdrilic fired the second goal on 53 minutes to give the hosts a 2-0 margin before the No. 18-ranked South Americans struck back five minutes later.
Miguel Caceres outflanked two defenders before sliding the ball past Australian goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac from an acute angle to send the decider into a thrilling climax.
In a dramatic conclusion to the series, Paraguayan 'keeper Jose Luis Chilavert refused to leave the field after being sent off by referee Gerry Connolly in the dying minutes for protesting too often about alleged rough tactics from Australia.
Chilavert was later restrained by Paraguay officials and forced to leave the field.
Aggressive and sometimes crude play again marked the match with both teams penalized for tackling infringements.
Australia, ranked No. 84 in the world, clinched the series 1-0.
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