In stadium, Slovenian joy turns to despair

PORT ELIZABETH - For a few brief moments after their loss to England, the Slovenian players and their supporters in the stadium could afford to rejoice.

True, they had lost 0-1 to one of the tournament favourites. But it looked like the tiny nation of 2 million was finally sending a team to the knockout stage of the World Cup by coming second in the tightly contested Group C.

But then in a moment of rare drama, an injury-time goal 1,100 kilometers away in Pretoria, where the US was playing Algeria, turned the thrill of victory into the agony of defeat. The Landon Donovan strike meant that the US topped the group, England was second, and Slovenia was going home.

It took a minute or two for the news to filter down to the players and the crowd. But in the press stand, where journalists were following the score on the FIFA channel, the moment was almost too much to bear.

One Slovenian writer slammed down his computer in anger, another pounded the desk in fury, while a third ripped up his notes in despair.

In the dugout, where a member of the Slovenian management team had been waving a Slovenian flag, he suddenly heard the news and whipped the flag against the seats. The smiles disappeared instantly from the faces of the players, and they trudged off the field as broken men.

But coach Matjaz Kek was more philosophical when he talked about his feelings moments after the bitter turnaround.

“It’s really indescribable but this is sport and if you don’t learn from defeat you don’t deserve a victory,” he said moments later. “Of course our squad is disappointed but I hope in time they will focus on respecting our achievements.”

But he acknowledged the bitter aftertaste, especially given how close Slovenia itself came to scoring an all important goal as the final whistle approached.

“England had played well but at the end we could have scored and gained a draw,” he said. “I still hope it will be a positive experience for Slovenia.”