The Nicaraguan team wasted two penalties but with a goal 4 minutes before the end of regulation time they drew a 2-2 draw against Guatemala in a friendly match played in the city of Antigua.
It was the first tie in history in the confrontations of both teams in Guatemalan territory.
The two missed penalties, one by Nahúm Peralta in the first half and the other by Byron Bonilla in added time at the end, did not require much effort from goalkeeper Braulio Linares.
Peralta tried to score with a ‘Panenka’ shot and Bonilla also sent the ball away from the net.
The Nicaraguans, led by Argentine Juan Vita, played conservative football and knew how to take advantage of the defensive errors of a Guatemalan team with many new faces in the formation chosen by the internal coach, Mexican Rafael Loredo.
Guatemala took the lead in the 23rd minute with a center from Carlos Mejía that beat his teammates and rivals and ended up embedding itself in Denis Espinoza’s goal.
After eight minutes, a communication error in defense between goalkeeper Linares and defender Manuel López led to the steal of the ball by Ariagner Smith and his shot to the back of the net to establish the 1-1.
Already in the second half, Guatemala went ahead again with a goal also the product of a drifting ball bouncing inside the visiting area that José Morales took advantage of.
Although he looked more aggressive after the advance on the scoreboard, the local team was surprised by Cristhian Flores, who nailed the tie from outside the area, in a period in which those led by Loredo had withdrawn to wait for the end of the friendly , which ended with the second wasted penalty due to the visit.
– Data sheet:
2. Guatemala: Braulio Linares; Stheven Robles (d.67, Javier González), Manuel López, Óscar Castellanos, José Morales; Andrés Ruiz (m.55, Rudy Barrientos), Jorge Aparicio, Jesús López (m.82, Edin Rivas); Óscar Santís, Carlos Mejía (m.81, John Méndez) and Iván García (m.55, Esnaydi Zúñiga).
Acting coach: Rafael Loredo.
2. Nicaragua: Denis Espinoza; Josué Quijano, Marvin Fletes, Christian Reyes, Jason Ingram; Henry Niño (d.71, Kevin Serapio), Richard Rodríguez, Nahum Peralta (d.60, Cristhian Flores), Byron Bonilla; Juan Barrera (m.71, Brandon Ayerdis) and Ariagner Smith (m.83, Deshon Forbes).
Selector: Juan Vita.
Goles: 1-0, m.25: Mejía. 1-1, m.32: Smith. 2-1, m.70: Morales. 2-2, m.86: Flowers.
Referee: Sergio Reyna (GUA). He admonished the Guatemalan Andrés Ruiz and the Nicaraguan Richard Rodríguez.
Incidents: Friendly match played behind closed doors at the Pensativo stadium, in the city of Antigua Guatemala, 40 kilometers west of the capital. EFE (HN)