Efficient Denmark send Bulgaria out

Bulgaria 0
Denmark 2 Tomasson 44; Gronkjaer 90

Denmark beat Bulgaria 2-0 in a rugged Euro 2004 Group C match yesterday, sending the Bulgarians out of the tournament.

Striker Jon Dahl Tomasson's 44th-minute goal ensured Denmark did not notch up a record five successive matches at European Championships without scoring, and substitute Jesper Gronkjaer added a deserved second in injury time.

Bulgaria, thrashed 5-0 by Sweden in their opening match, never really threatened to score and following a succession of bookings their frustration was complete when captain Stilian Petrov was sent off seven minutes from time.

Denmark dominated the first half but failed to find the net until just before the interval when midfielder Thomas Gravesen put a fine throughball low to Martin Joergensen on the right and he passed square in front of keeper Zdravko Zdravkov for Tomasson to tap into an unguarded net.

The Danes were virtually camped in the Bulgarian half during the opening 45 minutes as Bulgaria appeared wary of conceding.

Coach Plamen Markov had said on Thursday he wanted his team to show a different face.

Zdravkov had to come out sharply to block a shot from Joergensen from the right after only five minutes and defender Vladimir Ivanov cleared from Ebbe Sand with the keeper out of position.

The Danes created a string of chances which all went begging with Gronkjaer's low shot to the near post from the left the best. Zdravkov had to go down sharply to save it.

Gronkjaer, who joined the squad after missing Monday's 0-0 draw with Italy following his mother's death, came on in the 23rd minute in place of Dennis Rommedahl, who limped off after a knock.

Gravesen, who missed Denmark's opening 0-0 draw with Italy through suspension, had in the 39th minute put another good throughball to Tomasson but the striker, having rounded Zdravkov, shot into the side netting.

Bulgaria's only true chance of the half, one minute before Tomasson's goal, ended with a Martin Petrov mis-hit straight to keeper Thomas Sorensen after a good one-two with Dimitar Berbatov.

The Bulgarian back four pushed forward from the restart and an early shot by Stilian Petrov from outside the box went just wide as the team became more ambitious in search of an equaliser.

But Bulgaria's final pass was invariably poor and as their frustrations mounted Stilian Petrov saw red for arguing with referee Lucillo Batista to earn his second yellow card.

Gronkjaer finally added the Danes' second goal two minutes into stoppage time with a low angled shot from 10 metres.

Aftermatch comments...

Denmark coach Morten Olsen praised the character of Jesper Gronkjaer after the winger scored late in the 2-0 defeat of Bulgaria yesterday, just days after the death of his mother.

"Jesper wasn't fit to play a whole match," Olsen said. "When he went on it was too early for him really but he showed fantastic character. That speaks for him, and speaks for the team.

"We saw a different Bulgaria today, they were very fast against Sweden and from the beginning they had another strategy today. We defended well and used width very well."

Gronkjaer's team-mates rushed to embrace the winger after his goal, which he celebrated with a clenched fist and scream into a camera lens on the touchline. He wiped tears from his eyes with his red jersey when he walked back for the restart.

Bulgaria: Zdravkov; Ivanov (Lazarov 51), Kirilov, Stoyanov, I. Petkov (Zagorcic 40); Peev, S. Petrov, Hristov, M. Petrov, Jankovic (M. Petkov 81); Berbatov.

Denmark: Sorensen; Helveg, Laursen, Henriksen, Jensen; Gravesen, Tomasson, D. Jensen; Joergensen (C. Jensen 72), Sand, Rommedahl (Gronkjaer 23).

Referee: Lucilio Batista (Portugal).

Red card: S. Petrov (B) 83.

HT: 0-1.

Attendance: 24,131.