by Rod Hughes

TALCA, Chile–Costa Rica’s All Star soccer team tied their Chilean counterparts last night 1-1 after the Ticos had trailed through most of the game 1-0. And the tying goal was made by veteran Rolando Fonseca, the 1,000th goal since the formation of the All-Stars in 1921. That’s 1,000 in 524 games.

That tying goal was a thing of art. Fonseca whirling to sink a perfect feed from Harold Wallace. And it appeared during the first half as if it might not happen against a surprisingly strong Chilean 11 that was recently reported split and demoralized.

But it was not the strength of Chile that was so surprising during the first period as were the defects in Costa Rica’s game–a weakness in midfield and an isolation of the attack zone so that it might as well have been on a different planet. When Chile’s Reinaldo Navia took Humberto Suazo’s pass and blasted it past Tico goalie Jose Francisco Porras after only three minutes of play, fans might have been excused for turning off the TV for an early bedtime.

But, at halftime, Costa Rica’s coach Hernan Medford straightened things out and when the Ticos took to the field again they were a different team entirely. In fact, they got better as the game wore on, turning Chile’s domination around completely.

Medford may turn out to be the master of tactics that his mentor, Alexander Guimareas, was when he guided the team.

And what about embattled Chilean coach Nelson Acosta? Will the tie, after Brazil’s trashing of his team (4-0), mean the beginning of the end for him? Southern Cone fans no doubt were hoping that Chile would perform the same vivisection on Costa Rica.
It just didn’t happen that way.