| EFE |
 |
| Panama advances to Gold Cup finals with win over Colombia |
 |
|
|
21/JUL/2005 -The win gave Panama, the surprise team of the tournament, a second
victory over Colombia in the competition and a shot at the United States in
Sunday's finals.
Phillips put Panama up 1-0 in the 11th minute when he headed in Julio Medina's
free kick from the right side.
Panama went up 2-0 in the 25th minute when Jorge Dely Valdes finished off a
shot by defender Lucho Moreno that Colombian keeper Farid Mondragon could not
handle.
Though Colombia played conservatively early in the match, the South Americans
had one goal disallowed and a rebound cleared by Medina after Panama's keeper,
Jaime Penedo, had been beaten.
Panama attacked early and often with an aggressive three-pronged attack that
led to good scoring chances for Medina and Phillips.
The frustration boiled over for Colombia in the 39th minute when Humberto Mendoza
elbowed Dely Valdes in the face in front of Salvadoran referee Rodolfo Sibrian,
who promptly pulled a red card.
Panama would lose Luis Moreno to his second yellow card early in the second
half to equalize the sides and restore some hope to Colombia.
The inspiration for the near comeback came from veteran midfielder Jairo Patiño,
who scored twice in the second half and battled for the equalizer until the
match's final moments.
Patiño's score in the 62nd minute brought Colombia within one goal but
Phillips' second goal of the match 10 minutes later gave Panama an insurmountable
3-1 lead.
The goal came off a breakaway by Phillips and Tejada, who waited until he had
drawn the two Colombian defenders before sending a perfect pass to his teammate
about five yards in front of the net.
Penedo stopped shots on goal by Moreno, Renteria, Benitez and Arzuaga, who
also had a goal disallowed in the 83rd minute.
Panama will face the United States on Sunday at Giants Stadium. The U.S. squad
got a pair of late goals earlier Thursday to defeat Honduras 2-1 in the other
semifinal.
Lineups:
2 - Colombia: Farid Mondragon, Jose De la Cuesta, Humberto Mendoza, Wason Renteria
(Anzuaga, 63rd min.), Tressor Moreno, Yulian Anchico, Jaime Castrillon (Benitez,
46th min.), Jairo Patiño, Juan Fernando Leal (Aldo Ramirez, 39th min.),
Abel Aguilar and Oscar Enrique Passo. Coach: Reinaldo Rueda.
3 - Panama: Jaime Penedo, Carlos Rivera, Luis Moreno, Jose Anthony Torres,
Felipe Baloy, Gabriel Gomez (Engin Mitre, 63rd min.), Jorge Dely Valdes (Ubaldo
Guardia, 55th min.), Alberto Blanco, Julio Medina III (Henriquez, 69th min.),
Ricardo Phillips and Luis Tejada. Coach: Jose Hernandez.
|
