Panama outlast Trinidad & Tobago in penalty shootout to advance
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It proved fitting for this test of perseverance to end in penalty kicks. Panama and Trinidad & Tobago spent much of this afternoon simply trying to survive on their way to a 1-1 draw after extra time. The denouement reflected the grinding affair as players stepped up one by one without managing to create the necessary separation.
Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo finally provided the line of demarcation in the ninth round of penalties. His lunging, one-handed save denied Lester Peltier's spot kick and sent Panama through to face either Mexico or Costa Rica in the semifinals on Wednesday after a 6-5 triumph on penalties.
Penedo's save cruelly ended T&T's magical run through this tournament, but it also reflected how the match unfolded in the end. Luis Tejada gave Panama the lead before halftime after T&T failed to clear in central defense. Kenwyne Jones responded with a simple header 10 minutes into the second half and then watched his T&T teammates sink deeper and deeper into their own half as the minutes progressed.
Blas Perez wasted a glorious chance to decide the match in regulation time when he skewed wide from six yards in the dying seconds. Panama enjoyed the better of the play in extra time, but Los Canaleros never produced the extra bit of quality required to avoid spot kicks.
LA Galaxy goalkeeper Penedo finally supplied it with his dramatic lunge at the end. The save kept Panama's dreams of a second straight march to the finals alive, but the cost of this afternoon could prove too much to bear with the Mexicans or the Costa Ricans laying in wait in midweek.
Both teams eased into this steamy afternoon and surveyed the opposition. There were changes to monitor -- Mekeil Williams and Radanfah Abu Bakr featured in defense for T&T, Miguel Camargo stepped into central midfield for the suspended Anibal Godoy for the Panamanians -- and conditions to review on this temporary surface. The tentative early exchanges reflected those realities.
T&T posed the more direct threat with a willingness to play quickly through Cordell Cato and Joevin Jones on the wings to construct supply lines to Kenwyne Jones through the middle. Kenwyne Jones nearly contorted himself to head a Daneil Cyrus long throw on frame, but he directed his header just over the bar.
Panama grappled with similar challenges given the lack of impetus in the game. Alberto Quintero fizzed a shot toward Marvin Phillip with his right foot to reflect the individual nature of those attacks. The comprehensive work in the buildup never quite materialized, but there were moments when the Panamanians looked dangerous.
The buildup to the opener probably didn't feature among them, even though Valentin Pimental's early ball held up on the surface and slipped into a tricky area behind the back four. Abu Bakr scuffed his initial clearance toward Bateau on the right side of the penalty area. Bateau compounded the error by allowing Blas Perez to step into the second attempt and thwart it from going much of anywhere. Tejada benefited from the generosity and turned home eight minutes before halftime.
Perez forced a sharp-angle save from Phillip as reeling T&T tried to find level ground again after giving away the first goal so cheaply. They nearly mustered it on the stroke of halftime as Cyrus delivered an enticing ball from the right, but Kenwyne Jones nodded wide from close range.
Instead of adjusting in the wake of the reprieve, the Panama defense permitted the T&T captain to roam freely once again as the second half started. The influential target man made them pay dearly by timing his run to perfection on Hyland's enticing free kick and tucking home his unmarked header from six yards.
The riposte after 54 minutes encouraged both teams to engage more earnestly and stretch the game more willingly. Perez squandered a glorious chance to restore the Panama lead in the aftermath of the goal when he rolled straight at Phillip from 12 yards. That missed opportunity marked the clearest opening, though both sets of central defenders were forced into emergency measures to block other opportunities as the second half unfolded.
Roman Torres thundered a header wide from a sharp angle in the final quarter of an hour as Panama searched for that precious winner. Los Canaleros looked the more likely of the two sides to pounce, but there were few promising chances until seconds before the final whistle of regulation.
Erick Davis shouldered most of the load as he surged up the left and swung a tempting ball toward the back post. Perez created separation as the ball landed, but he wasted all of the good work by side-footing wide from six yards to send the match into extra time.
T&T spent much of that period entrenched inside the defensive half as Panama attempted to atone for Perez's late miss. All of the pressure yielded precious little inside the penalty area, though late substitute Abdiel Arroyo frittered away a promising opportunity by improperly weighting his pass toward Perez as the duo entered the penalty area. Perez continued his frustrating afternoon by diverting Harold Cummings' attempt on goal as the second half of extra time commenced.
Joevin Jones completed a rare T&T counter with a blast over the bar, but it marked a rare interruption in Panama's quest for the winner. It never arrived as fatigue extracted its inevitable toll and the sharpness petered out in the late stages. The final whistle sounded to send this match to penalties.
Both teams grappled with the effects of the exacting afternoon as four of the first six attempts were either saved or skied over the bar. The next four takers all converted to require extra kicks. Harold Cummings and Abu Bakr both converted in the sixth round, but Quintero saw his attempt stopped and Cyrus thrashed high. Perez and Andre Boucaud converted in the eighth round to set the stage for the dramatic finale.
Valentin Pimentel converted straight down the middle to bring Peltier to the spot. The second-half substitute hit his penalty to the upper left, but Penedo responded quickly to finally draw this marathon to a close and send his side through to the last four.
