Golden goal takes Bosnia into semis

A golden goal by Mirsad Beslija in the seventh minute of extra-time helped Bosnia defeat Uruguay 3-2 in the first quarter-final of the Sahara Cup Millennium football tournament in Kochi on Thursday night.

The teams were tied 2-2 at the end of regulation time.

Pereira Daniel (12th minute) and Segales Juan (59th) scored for Uruguay while for Bosnia, the scorers were Zehrudin Kavazovic (40th), D Zelaudin Muharemovic (83rd).

Mirsad Beslija's goal seven minutes into extra-time gave Bosnia a berth in the semi-finals.

In an evenly contested match, Uruguay took the lead, in the 12th minute through Pereira Daniel, which was equalised by Bosnia's Zehrudin Kavazovic in the 40th minute.

Uruguay again took the lead through Segales Juan in the 59th minute but it was neutralised by Bosnia's Dzelaudin Muharemovic.

In extra time, much against the run of play, Mirsad Beslija, who came in for Milan Ozren, brought cheer into the Bosnia camp when he struck the 'Golden goal.'

The winning goal emanated from the left flank, where Almedin Hota, after trapping the ball, sent in a cross into the box where Dzelaudin collected the ball and passed it to Beslija, who dodged past a defender and banged into the net with goalkeeper Monserrat Diego out of his position.

Bosnia now moves to Calcutta for the semi-final, on January 22, where they will take on the winners of the quarter-final between Chile and Iceland.