Spain end drought but land still arid

WORLD CUP GROUP H SPAIN 2 HONDURAS 0:THIS WAS just the tonic for the European champions. Fears their World Cup might evaporate are still relevant; they must face an exciting and in-form Chile for the right to finish top of this group. But this comfortable win over a limited Honduras team should settle them ahead of that match.

It was nothing as sumptuous as the performance Portugal treated the World Cup audience to earlier in the day, and Spain should have finished with a more handsome scoreline even if some of their attacks seemed over-plotted. David Villa hit two fine goals, ought to have had a hat-trick and might have scored five.

But after the anxiety caused by their inability to do everything against Switzerland but score, this should at least confirm they haven’t hit a complete dry spell.

Relief greeted David Villa’s goal after 16 minutes, a powerful right-foot shot after a wonderful dribble past Osman Chavez. He turned to acknowledge the swathes of Spanish fans with a matador’s wave, as if to assure the Spanish that things would be all right: that this World Cup did not have to follow the long tradition of disappointment and under-achievement.

The Barca man had led the way from the beginning, unleashing a shot from 25 yards which struck the crossbar. It was a signal of Spain’s intent.

For Honduras, the main problem was utterly simple and also the worst a team can have in football. They could not get the ball. By the 15th minute, a collective realisation had set in that Spain were playing with motivations that went beyond beating Honduras. Portugal’s joyful dismantling of North Korea in the afternoon had exposed the lazy theory that the days of the big teams going to town are a thing of the past. Portugal’s bounty, achieved so easily, made Spain’s goalless 90 minutes against Switzerland seem all the more unbelievable.

They set out to atone for that and fast, and they might have had four in the first half alone.

Villa should have had two before the break but placed too much depth on a headed shot after a lovely cross by Sergio Ramos. Honduras had no longer restarted than Fernando Torres blasted a warning shot over the head of Noel Valladares. Ramos then missed a point-blank header. Jesus Naves picked out Xavi with a cross but the pass was millimetres too high.

And Torres, bearing down on goal with familiar menace, struck accurately but with an uncharacteristic lack of venom.

Faced with this bombardment, the Hondurans abandoned all thoughts of the other end of the pitch and concentrated on getting a foot in here and hoofing the ball clear for a moment’s respite. Osman Chavez and Maynour Figueroa were the busiest men on the field and the Spaniards were wandering through their penalty area in such numbers their task became impossible. Spain kept on pressing, patient and alert and precise in the way they sought to dissect the Hondurans with low, measured passing and timed runs.

For Honduras the task looked futile everywhere except for the scoreboard. For all the possession and shimmering attacks, Spain were once again slow to make the translation to goals. Honduras ran off trailing by just a goal at the break, bewildered but shipshape and maybe thinking they would get a half chance somewhere along the way.

That slim hope disappeared with Villa’s second goal, a crisp shot in the 51st minute from the edge of the area which took a slight deflection off Chavez.

With that, resistance broke. Izaguirre panicked when Naves came hurrying down the right side of the penalty area and felled him. Villa had a chance to join Gonzalo Higuain as the early leader for the Golden Boot award when he stepped up to hit the penalty. To the disbelief of everyone – not least himself – he snapped it narrowly wide.

No matter. Torres, who played second string to the energetic Villa, departed after 69 minutes and Cesc Fabregas – who had replaced Xavi just three minutes before – saw a certain goal thumped clear off the line by the tireless Chavez.

Moments of wonderful Spanish ease and skill continued – impudent footwork from Busquets, a sleek break downfield by Pique and the continuing menace of Villa. But it was hard to judge how well Vicente Del Bosque’s men are firing. The Hondurans battled but at times it seemed as if they were playing in a different sport on the Ellis Park grass. Attacks were seldom and never once did they threaten goalkeeper Iker Casillas with another broadcast grilling from his girlfriend.

If there is a lingering crisis of confidence caused by their loss to Switzerland, then it will be exposed by Chile. Comfortable though this victory was, it wasn’t as sweeping or audacious as the one-way-traffic wins posted by the other favourites for this World Cup. A second-place finish would likely pair Spain against Brazil; mouth-watering as the prospect is, it is probably too true a test and too early for Spanish hearts.

The old Jules Rimet pretenders were delightful here without absolutely convincing that they have the mettle to make the entire world bow down to Spanish football. We will see.