Switzerland come back to secure late victory against Ecuador

By Michael Rossmann, dpa

Switzerland came back from a goal down to secure a 2-1 victory in injury time over Ecuador in a dramatic opening World Cup Group E match in Brasilia.

Two second half substitutes won the game for coach Ottmar Hitzfeld's team, which began uncertainly and found themselves a goal down midway through the first half against a lively South American squad.

Swiss fortunes changed after the break when Hitzfeld brought on Admir Mehmedi as a substitute. The move paid off immediately as the striker headed home a corner from Ricardo Rodriguez for the equalizer.

With the game appearing to be headed for a draw, substitute Haris Seferovic fired home the winner from a Rodriguez cross three minutes into injury time.

"It was incredible that we were able to do it. The team believed in themselves. We had problems with the air, at 500-metre altitude and Ecuador dealt better with that," Hitzfeld said in a television interview.

"In the end, they opened up a bit and we were lucky that we were able to get the three points.

"In the first quarter hour we were nervous and had problems finding our rhythm. The pressure was enormous. And you could see that the team was having a hard time at the beginning.

"But we remained calm and we knew that we would eventually find the holes in the defence," he added.

It was a disappointing result for Ecuador, who had most of the early play and were rewarded when Enner Valencia rose above the Swiss defence to meet a free kick and head into the net on 22 minutes.

Switzerland had a second-half goal disallowed for offside and Ecuador were unlucky when Swiss keeper Diego Benaglio saved a deflected free kick.

Ecuador played fast, accurate football, harrying their opponents, who in the early stages never really found the rhythm that saw them undefeated in the qualifying rounds.

The first real chance of the game went to Switzerland when Bayern Munich's Xherdan Shaqiri unleased a vicious shot from outside the box that went straight into the arms of goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez.

Almost immediately, Antonio Valencia fired a high volley in response, which was deflected towards goal and fisted away by Benaglio.

Hitzfeld's team forced their way back into the game but misplaced passing and some good work by the Ecuadorian defence stopped them in front of goal.

A powerful effort by Gokhan Inler was tipped around the post by the Ecuador goalkeeper and other efforts by Shaqiri and Rodriguez flashed narrowly wide.

At the other end of the pitch, the speedy Jefferson Montero was a constant threat, wrong-footing the Swiss defence and ready to pounce on mistakes and loose balls near the penalty area.

Switzerland were a different team after the break and were unlucky not to go ahead when striker Josip Drmic fired into the net off the legs of goalkeeper Dominguez, only to have the goal disallowed for offside.

Television replays showed the ball was flicked on by an Ecuador defender and the goal should have been allowed to stand.

A mix-up in the Swiss defence minutes later almost allowed Enner Valencia to nip in to steal a goal. There were a flurry of goal chances in the dying minutes before Seferovic ended the uncertainty and boosted his squad's chances of reaching the knock-out stage.