An injury-time goal from substitute Ronald Hernandez earned Venezuela a 2-2 draw with Ecuador in a dramatic finish to the Copa America clash on Sunday.
Jose Peseiro's men looked to be heading for a second defeat in three games after Gonzalo Plata joined Ayrton Preciado on the scoresheet for Ecuador, those goals coming either side of Edson Castillo netting for Venezuela.
However, Hernandez headed in at the death in Rio de Janeiro to boost his side's hopes of progressing to the knockout stages of the tournament.
That allowed Venezuela to add to the point they earned when holding Colombia to a 0-0 draw.
Ecuador made a strong start, hitting the woodwork after just four minutes when Leonardo Campana met a Pervis Estupinan cross with a low shot that clipped the post.
Although clearly prioritising defensively solidity in the early stages, Venezuela showed their threat on the break when Cristian Casseres blasted over the bar.
The same man then went close with a lob that Pedro Ortiz did just enough to keep out and which would have been awarded by VAR, had it dropped in, despite an on-pitch offside call.
That early flurry of chances was not in keeping with a poor first half, but Ecuador livened things up before the break as Preciado bundled home in the 39th minute after a free-kick.
And the excitement continued early in the second period as Castillo marked his first start for his country by levelling with a powerful header from Jose Martinez's right-wing cross in the 51st minute.
Venezuela almost moved into the lead with 20 minutes remaining as a Casseres corner somehow squeezed through to hit the base of the post before being desperately cleared.
But it was a counter from the subsequent corner that saw Ecuador go back in front in the 71st minute, Plata poking the ball home having first been denied at the end of a brilliant breakaway down the right.
Enner Valencia should have wrapped things up shortly after when he was played in behind, but his effort trickled wide of the far post with the goalkeeper stranded.
And that miss was punished as the game headed into time added on, Hernandez meeting a superb pass in behind from Castillo to head the ball home and claim a point.
What does it mean? Ecuador under threat
Given the state of play at kick-off, this fixture represented a huge opportunity for both teams to pull away from Peru in the race to avoid bottom spot in Group B.
And it seemed like Ecuador had taken their chance until Hernandez's equaliser, which makes their upcoming meeting with Peru all the more vital to their hopes of progressing.
Castillo impresses
Having only made his debut for his country at this tournament, Castillo not only marked his first start with a first goal but also provided the brilliant raking assist for Hernandez.
Valencia misfires
Ecuador would have been out of sight had Valencia found the target with either of his two shots, both of which came from presentable opportunities.
What's next?
Ecuador are back in action on Wednesday when they take on Peru in Goiania. Venezuela, meanwhile, must wait until Sunday to wrap up their group-stage campaign against the Peruvians in Brasilia.
Mexico 1-0 Bolivia: Experimental El Tri boost Copa America preparations with narrow win
A youthful Mexico stepped up their Copa America preparations with a narrow 1-0 victory over Bolivia in Chicago.
Efrain Alvarez's second-half strike proved enough for El Tri, who fielded eight debutants at Soldier Field.
Two of those debutants went close early on; Ricardo Monreal heading against the bar and Ettson Ayon testing Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Lampe, while Ramiro Vaca fired over for the visitors later in the half.
However, the hosts did find the breakthrough within two minutes of the restart, as Monreal squared for Alvarez to control and finish.
El Tri, who will face Ecuador, Jamaica and Venezuela in Group B at the Copa America, will play Uruguay and Brazil before the tournament begins on June 20.
Data Debrief: Mexico maintain Bolivia dominance
Mexico are now unbeaten in each of their last 10 meetings with Bolivia, winning nine and conceding just two goals during that span.
A 3-1 reverse at the 1997 Copa America represents El Tri's only defeat in this fixture.
New York City FC 5-1 San Jose Earthquakes: Martinez hat-trick maintains NYCFC winning streak
Alonso Martinez scored a hat-trick as New York City FC maintained their impressive MLS form with a 5-1 rout of San Jose Earthquakes.
Hannes Wolf and Santiago Rodriguez were also on target for Nick Cushing's side, who made it five wins on the bounce to move into third place in the Eastern Conference.
After a goalless first half at Yankee Stadium, the hosts broke through within five minutes of the restart through Wolf. However, the lead only lasted three minutes, with Amahl Pellegrino levelling the contest.
Rodriguez drove City back in front in the 80th minute before Martinez took centre stage late on. The Costa Rica international struck with five minutes remaining, while completing a quickfire treble with a further goals in stoppage time.
Data Debrief: Martinez makes franchise history
That was, indeed, a quickfire hat-trick from Martinez - in fact, it was the fastest registered by an NYCFC player in MLS history.
The hosts have now won five successive matches for the first time since 2019, while their ninth win of the season matches their tally for the whole of last term.
Starting again: Busby, Blackwood confident reunited Girlz will give good account against Brazil
It’s a case of picking up where they left off –or at least Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz will try to do so against Brazil at the Arena de Pernambuco in Recife on Saturday at 3:00pm Jamaica time.
While they held the South American powerhouse to a goalless stalemate at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia, the Girlz were on a more competitive war path back then with much to prove.
The same cannot be said about the team on this occasion, as this encounter will mark the first assignment together for that World Cup core group in almost nine months. This, as they last played together in September last year when they lost to Canada in the Olympic qualifying playoff.
Though their confidence is high, the 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will be up against a more youthful Brazilian outfit, as the number 10-ranked nation is gradually transitioning from its veterans Marta, Tamires and Cristiane, just to name a few. In fact, this two-match friendly series which is part of Brazil’s preparation for the Olympic Games in Paris, are expected to mark the official sendoff of the legendary Marta, into retirement.
Still, Reggae Girlz defender Deneisha Blackwood is backing the team to give a good account in the Brazilians backyard.
“Both countries are a lot similar in terms of physicality and technical abilities, so I feel it's a good game for us to bring back our team forward again. In terms of scoreline, I can't really predict what the score line will be, but I can promise that it's going to be a good game,” Blackwood said during a pre-game conference on Friday.
“Our team is very good in terms of the camaraderie, so the moment we got back together, it's like we never left. Yes, we haven't been together for the last nine months, but you couldn't tell. I feel like our group is just so well put together. Obviously, every team has its challenges, but I feel like our mindset when we're together is always to be better, so whether we're apart for nine months or two months, it's just always been a good team environment,” she added.
Meanwhile, Head coach Hubert Busby explained that while they will be seeking to build on their defensive fortitude that earned the historic draws against France and Brazil at last year’s showpiece, he is also hoping to execute a possession based tactic.
“I think it (our defence) is a platform on which we built a lot of our success at last year’s World Cup, and even prior to that. So I think it's one of the things that we'll continue to do. The game is played in many different phases, but you always give yourself a good opportunity to be successful with a good defensive platform, and so that will continue as well because good defensive platform is needed against a very good technical Brazilian team,” Busby shared.
That said, Busby pointed out that Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw’s presence is certainly missed, but in the same breath he argued that the prolific Manchester City striker's absence also presents an opportunity for other players to step up and showcase the squad’s depth.
“Injuries happen and unfortunately she [Shaw] is not able to be with us, but we have a really good depth and a really good squad and so we know another player will step up. We have more than enough players to come in and give us different qualities from what she [Shaw] gives us,” the former national goalkeeper reasoned.
“But it is a team we've organized, we've known that she's going to be away for a couple of weeks now, so we've just kind of obviously looked to adapt in terms of how we look to play and what we're looking to do over a longer period of time. So really, the whole process for us is to keep building so that we can be back in this wonderful country in 2027 (for the World Cup),” Busby ended.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
