Delgado leads Ecuador past Poland

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) -- Agustin Delgado and Ecuador proved they are World Cup worthy far away from the comforts -- and high altitude -- of home.
Delgado set up a first-half goal and added his own score in the 80th minute to quiet the boisterous pro-Poland crowd with a 2-0 victory Friday night in the World Cup opener for both teams.
Their credentials questioned because seven of their eight qualifying wins came more than 9,000 feet above sea level at their home stadium in Quito, the Ecuadoreans got off to strong start near sea level in their second World Cup appearance.
"Ecuador was always criticized and what they were saying about Ecuador was you can only win when you're playing at a very high altitude," coach Luis Suarez said through an interpreter. "But despite the atmosphere and the low altitude, we managed to win."
Ecuador did a good job protecting a 1-0 lead provided by Carlos Tenorio's goal in the 24th minute. Captain Ivan Hurtado and Neicer Reasco helped thwart the few chances the Poles got, although Poland hit the goalpost twice in the final minutes.
Ecuador is tied with Germany atop Group A. Ecuador, which lost its first two games on its way to first-round elimination in its World Cup debut four years ago, plays Costa Rica on Thursday.
"This was a great result. We achieved our expectations," Suarez said. "But this is just a step. The mountain is great. This is just the first step for Ecuador in this World Cup."
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