It took another round of penalties for Penedo to play the hero, but the LA Galaxy goalkeeper provided the final moment of magic in the ninth round of penalties, when he stretched to his left to complete a diving stop of Lester Peltier’s penalty kick and book Panama’s place in the Gold Cup semifinals.
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Panama and Mexico advanced to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup after their matches were forced into extra time and ultimately decided from the penalty spot on Sunday.
In a stunning turn of fortune for Mexicans, Trinidad and Tobago scored three goals in 12 minutes to come roaring back and grab a 3-2 lead with just over 20 minutes left to play. Panama had 13 corner kicks, while Trinidad and Tobago didn’t have a single one.
With those two results on the books, the semifinals are set for Wednesday, July 22 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Blas Perez then forced Phillip into a save at the near post as Panama pushed for a second, before suffering a blow as midfielder Gabriel Gomez was forced off with an injury and replaced Adolfo Machado.
Panama had rarely threatened but were gifted the lead nine minutes before half-time thanks to a defensive mix-up from Trinidad. Khaleem Hyland curled a long free kick into the box, and Jones headed it past Penedo.
Panama’s Roman Torres (5) deflects a shot by Trinidad & Tobago’s… Poor T&T transition from attack to defence, also gave Panama another chance in the 40 th minute, with Perez shooting powerfully at Phillip from an acute angle.
Trailing for the first time in a 2015 Gold Cup match, Mexico found its legs again and in the 88th minute, Guardado’s third goal of the tournament found the netting tying the game at 3-3. That said, Cuba lost 6-0 to Mexico and 2-0 to Trinidad and Tobago in the group stage; anything less than an easy win for the Americans in this match, played at the Baltimore Ravens’ stadium, would be a surprise.
However, against Mexico in the final match, they had their backs against the wall as they saw themselves down multiple times in th game. We could not get up and down the field as a unit like we did against Mexico, and as the game went further and further forward we just couldn’t keep possession of the ball.
Television replays, however, showed minimal contact between the pair when Peralta was attempting a header. Meeting Costa Rica in the quarters is more a punishment for Los Ticos but Mexico failed to clinch their group and now what could’ve been an easy half of the bracket for Mexico turns into a nightmare quarterfinal.
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With 10 goals in this year’s Cup, Trinidad and Tobago matched the combined total from their four prior appearances in the event.
