WORLD CUP ’90 : Sluggish Colombia Wins, 2-0 : Group D: Second-half goals by Redin and Valderrama beat United Arab Emirates.

Colombia struggled for the first half before coming through with South American flair and superb goals by Bernardo Redin and Carlos Valderrama on Saturday to beat the United Arab Emirates, 2-0, in a World Cup first-round game in Group D.

Redin ended Colombia’s frustration in the 50th minute when he headed home a pinpoint pass from Leonel Alvarez following one of the first smooth Colombian moves in the game.

Five minutes from the end, Valderrama took on the UAE defense on his own after a pass from Carlos Estrada. He beat a defender and sent a low 20-yard drive out of the reach of goalie Mushin Faraj.

Colombia also needed some good goalkeeping from the flashy Rene Higuita to keep UAE striker Adnan Khamees Al Taliyani from scoring his country’s first World Cup goal.

The longshot UAE kept up with Colombia during the first half with slick combination plays and fast counterattacks, but failed to pressure Colombia once it trailed.

“It was completely even in the first half,” said UAE Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. “It was perfect for us.”

The UAE retreated quickly on defense and tried to slow down the game to frustrate the Colombians. Colombia’s first shot on goal was Redin’s successful header.

After Redin’s goal, the UAE could not keep up. When the Emirates pushed men forward, it only gave Valderrama more room to show off his dribbling skills. He capped his performance with a brilliant goal, taking the ball just over the midfield line, dribbling to the penalty area, faking one defender and blasting in his right-footed shot.