Ecuador produced the first shock of the World Cup in the tournament’s second match when they beat Poland 2-0 with goals in each half by Carlos Tenorio and Agustin Delgado in Group A on Friday. After Tenorio scored in the 24th minute Ecuador showed terrific defensive fortitude to hold off the Poles in the second half. With 10 minutes remaining, Delgado then put Ecuador alongside Germany at the top of the group after the hosts beat Costa Rica 4-2 in the tournament’s exciting opener in Munich. “We can celebrate a victory but we must concentrate also on the next Group A match (with Costa Rica on Thursday),” Man of the Match Delgado told German television.It was only Ecuador’s second competitive win away from the rarefied atmosphere of Quito since the last World Cup. By virtue of geography Ecuador’s results carry an asterisk because most of their few successes are conveniently dismissed as being achieved only with the benefit of altitude. The Poles appeared confident and controlled in the first 20 minutes, but in the 24th minute, Ulises De La Cruz launched a long throw into the box, Delgado flicked it on and Tenorio timed his run perfectly to glance a header past Boruc. Poland coach Pawel Janas, who began the match with Maciej Zurawski as a lone striker pushed in Ebi Smolarek.But even when they did close in, the Ecuadorean back four proved athletically adept at getting the vital touch. The Poles were then caught out by substitute Ivan Kaviedes who broke on the right and rolled the ball for Delgado to touch into an empty net.Poland continued to press but substitute Ireneusz Jelen smacked a shot against the bar and Pawel Brozek saw his curling effort rebound from a post. With the Poles licking their wounds before facing Germany in Dortmund next Wednesday, Ecuador can look forward to a Hamburg Latin party against Costa Rica the same day. Mitch Phillips
