SAN JOSE, November 26 – Uruguayan goalkeeper Rubén Dario Silva saved two penalty kicks and held Guatemalan side Zelago 1-1 on Wednesday in the first leg of the Copa Central America final as a visitor against Costa Rica’s Alajuelense, who paid a heavy price for his mistakes.
With this result and the away goal in the tie-break, Jilajo left the Alejandro Moreira Soto Stadium with a certain advantage for the return match, which will be held on December 3 in Guatemala City.
Xelajú opened the scoring with a penalty kick goal scored by Antonio Lopez in the 53rd minute, but in the 67th minute Alajuelense saved the equalizer through Mexican striker Ronaldo Cisneros.
Goalkeeper Silva emerged as a great character for Xelajú and had an unforgettable match when he saved two penalty kicks, the first against Joel Campbell in the 13th minute, and the second against Celso Borges in the 31st minute.
The two most experienced players in the Costa Rica national team, both of whom played in three World Cup finals with Costa Rica, were unable to beat Silva from the penalty spot, which filled the Guatemalan club with motivation that gradually dared to attack.
After several approaches to the opponent’s area, Kilago was close to opening the scoring with a shot from outside the Cardona area that hit the crossbar.
Who did not waste the opportunity to score a penalty kick was Antonio Lopez, who opened the scoring for Zillajo in the 53rd minute after Mexican referee Fernando Hernandez awarded a handball inside the area to defender Guillermo Villalobos.
Jilajo paid a heavy price for the physical effort in the match, as he exhausted his energy to maintain high pressure and possession of the ball, while Alajuelense rushed in search of an equalizer with right winger Anthony Hernandez as the main attacking card.
In one of his many one-on-one plays down the right flank, Hernandez left an opponent behind him and crossed level ground for Mexican striker Ronaldo Cisneros to equalize in the 67th minute.
In the last ten minutes of the match, Xelajú completely renewed its attack and two of the team’s players, Steven Cardenas and Deroxson Quiros, were on the verge of scoring with two shots that hit the side of the net.
Alagolinsi also came close to winning the match at the end of the match, with a header from defender Alexis Gamboa that narrowly missed, and with a wonderful individual play from Hernandez, whose shot was hit by goalkeeper Silva, the wonderful character of the night.
– Technical sheet:
1. Alagelines: Byron Mora; Fernando Pienaar (Santiago van der Putten, d. 78), Guillermo Villalobos, Alexis Gamboa, Ronald Matarita; Celso Borges (Alejandro Bran, d. 78), Rusher Parkins (Aaron Salazar, d. 55), Chrishell Perez (Kenil Michel, d. 68), Anthony Hernandez; Joel Campbell (Diego Campos, d. 55) and Ronaldo Cisneros.
Coach: Oscar Ramirez.
1. Khilago: Ruben Silva; Raul Calderon, Manuel Romero, Kevin Ruiz, and Yedvin Tibalan; Juan Cardona, Jorge Aparicio, Antonio Lopez (Harem Quezada, d. 75); Romario da Silva (William Cardoza, d.75), Yelton Diaz (Derrickson Quiros, d.75) and Pedro Baez (Steven Cardenas, d.78).
Coach: Amarini Villatoro.
Referee: Mexican Fernando Hernandez.
Goals: 0-1, 53rd minute: Lopez, penalty kick. 1-1, m.67: Cisneros.
Incidents: The first leg of the CONCACAF Central American Cup final was played at the Alejandro Moreira Soto Stadium in the Costa Rican city of Alajuela. Evie
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