Olsen: We were lucky

Denmark coach Morten Olsen admitted his side were lucky to escape with a draw after a storming second-half performance by Senegal.

The match, in which tempers frayed several times, ended 1-1 with Jon-Dahl Tomasson scoring a penalty in the first half and Salif Diao equalising before being sent off for a dangerous tackle.

Olsen said: ‘‘We were lucky to get a point because Senegal was the better team, especially in the second half.

‘‘In the first half we had control of the game and they could only play long balls, while we were dangerous on the counter-attack.

‘‘In the second, they had three or four attacking players, physically they were stronger - perhaps because of the heat, which was more than 30 degrees - and they were very dangerous.

‘‘This is a tough group, anyone can qualify for the second round. We have to get something out of our next game but we’ll have to play better than we did in the second half.’’

Senegal now have four points, the same as Denmark, after their opening-game victory over France and coach Bruno Metsu praised his players saying: ‘‘This was another tremendous accomplishment especially when you think that Denmark led 1-0.

‘‘If we can get a point against Uruguay next week then that should be enough to qualify.

‘‘That would be a great thing for the players, and for African football, but I think this result will also give a lot of happiness to Africa.’’

Senegal goalkeeper Tony Sylva added: ‘‘Everyone expected this to be a tough game for us and it was, but we played solidly and had enough strength in attack to get back into it, and could even have won.’’