Goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton and striker Johan Venegas were the heroes of Sunday’s match between the National Men’s Football Teams of Costa Rica and Panama. These two Afro-Costa Rican players hail from the Caribbean province of Limon, and their outstanding performances at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas kept hopes alive for La Sele in the Tigo Central American Cup (UNCAF).

 

Football scouts certainly have their eyes on Venegas and Pemberton, who both play in Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA) in Costa Rica’s First Division. Although La Sele had effectively displayed their strong “Tico-Taka” brand of football against Nicaragua earlier this week, the catenaccio-like defense was sorely missing from in Dallas against a resolute Panamanian team that showed moments of brilliance.

 

During interviews conducted before the match, Panama’s coach Hernan Dario Gomez explained that he respected Costa Rica and the team’s great achievements during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but he added that he had assembled the best talent he could muster because he is intent on taking the UNCAF Cup home.

 

After an unexciting and scoreless first half that saw Costa Rica park the bus against Panama and wait for counterattack opportunities, the players from Panama dominated the pitch during the second half until Blas Perez took advantage of a loose ball to open the scoreboard at the 50-minute mark. The Ticos failed to apply an offside trap on Roberto Nurse, who scored nearly 20 minutes lated. Johan Venegas subbed in and quickly scored for La Sele at the 80-minute markm then he drew a foul inside the box, which lead to a perfectly executed penalty kick by Celso Borges.

 

The match suddenly turned exciting with both teams rushing to score a victory goal, and fans froze when a penalty kick executed with a rocket shot by Gabriel Gomez at the 88-minute mark was majestically stopped by Costa Rica’s Pemberton. With this tie, La Sele can still bring the UNCAF Cup home.