Panama tops Trinidad and Tobago on penalty kicks at Gold Cup

Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo basked in the nation’s CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final victory over Trinidad and Tobago in New Jersey on Sunday.

Daneil Cyrus had the chance to win it for Trinidad and Tobago in the seventh round but he chipped his spot-kick over the crossbar, allowing Panama back into the contest.

Trinidad and Tobago suprised everyone by winning their group by drawing Mexico, and their accomplishment came because of the incredible play of Kenwyne Jones.

Penedo made a save in the ninth round of penalties as Panama triumphed 6-5 in the shoot-out following a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time.

Perez had a chance in the opening seconds of second half stoppage time, speeding past Bateau to collect a centering pass in the penalty area, but booted his shot wide of the far post.

“We’ve lacked calmness to convert the scoring opportunities we’ve had in matches”, Gomez said.

They clinched the hardest group in the tournament by winning their first two games and shut down a solid Panama squad with a lot to play for in the second half.

The lone goal came when Sheldon Bateau’s attempted clearance in the box ricocheted off Perez and right to Tejada, who was alone in front of the goal.

Penedo then went back inside the woodwork and dove to his left on Peltier’s shot. 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. Mexico has to seriously fine tune its back line, because it will define whether El Tri wins the Gold Cup, or comes up short. Teammate Yohance Marshall expressed how much of a leader he is for the whole team. “Kenwyne is our leader,” said Marshall after the match against Mexico.

Mexico 1, Costa Rica 0 (OT) >> Andres Guardado scored on a penalty kick in the final minute of stoppage time in extra time as Mexico edged Costa Rica. Mexico will face Panama in one of Wednesday’s semifinal games, while the USA will face Jamaica in the other.

Peralta was leaping to try to head in a cross in front of the goal and Miller appeared to make little contact with him. We achieved a very good result and I was very pleased with the way the team handled the group stage, in particular the game against Mexico but now we have to remember that we are yet to achieve anything.

With 10 goals in this year’s Cup, Trinidad and Tobago matched the combined total from their four prior appearances in the event. Carlos Esquivel almost put Mexico ahead in the 63th minute, but goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado got the tips of his fingers on the ball while leaning the other way to deflect it off the crossbar.