Paraguay were glum at the win that got away, while Venezuela were elated at a rise-off-the--canvas draw at the Copa America on Wednesday.
Paraguay were seemingly home and dry and potentially on their way to winning Group B when they led 3-1 after having gone a goal down early on.
However, Venezuela did not give up, snatching a draw in a pulsating finale.
Photo: AFP
They can instead go into the last eight on a high, while the Paraguayans were left to feel glum after a third straight draw.
The three points earn them a passage to the last eight as their goal difference was superior to the third finisher in Group A, Costa Rica.
Yet coach Gerardo Martino felt deflated afterwards — especially as it was almost a case of deja vu, his side having also let slip a lead at the death against Brazil.
“This is a step back for us — but Venezuela showed a lot of character to come back,” Martino said. “Against Brazil we were superior and drew and tonight we weren’t so good and we drew again.”
Venezuelan coach Cesar Farias, who will doubtless be on the receiving end of some congratulatory messages from uber-fan Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, saluted his charges.
“We thought this would be a very difficult group, that maybe we might go through — but in third place. But we came through unbeaten,” Farias said.
Farias offered reporters a 15-minute lecture after the match, upset that his team is often written off as the weakest in Latin America.
Striker Nicolas Fedor, who scored his side’s second goal before Grenddy Perozo’s brave diving header deep into stoppage time, also lauded the Vinotinto, who are through to the quarters for the second time in succession — but the first ever on foreign soil.
“Above all, we showed we are growing mentally, as despite being down, we kept on pushing and trying to save the situation,” said the forward from Spain’s Getafe, brought on as a sub for Yohandry Orozco on 67 minutes. “I don’t know if a draw is a fair outcome but you can say it was a draw we really fought for and when you work hard you get your reward.”
“We can’t explain this,” Paraguay striker Lucas Barrios said of Venezuela’s late comeback. “In five minutes, they scored two goals. We leave with a sour taste in our mouth.’’
Venezuela had opened the scoring at the Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena with striker Jose Salomon Rondon’s right-footer from the top of the area in the fourth minute.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their