2010 World Cup: Slovakia v Paraguay half time report
Slovakia 0 Paraguay 1
A fine goal from Enrique Vera has given Paraguay a deserved 1-0 first half lead over Group F rivals Slovakia.
The South Americans have dominated the first 45 minutes, and Vera's excellent finish on the 26th minute was nothing less than Gerardo Martino's side warranted.
Up until Vera's goal Paraguay's attackers had been limited to speculative pop shots. But eventually their persistence paid off, and a perfectly weighted pass from Lucas Barrios was tucked away beautifully with the outside of his right boot by the lively Vera.
Slovakia were then finally forced to come out and attack, and went close through Jan Kozak and Kornel Salata in the closing stages of the first half.
However, they were fortunate to keep the score at 1-0 five minutes before the break after almost gifting Paraguay a second. A mix-up in defence was capitalised on by Roque Santa Cruz, but a good save from Jan Mucha ensured that Slovakia aren't quite out of this game just yet.
Paraguay, meanwhile, will hope that they will come to regret wasting several decent opportunities to score. Martino will be asking his players for more of the same during the interval.
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