Colombia clashed with neighbors Venezuela in Barranquilla on a soggy, wet, rainy Friday night. In the first half, the field play quickly due to the rain, but by the second half there was so much water that the ball often got stuck in puddles. It is safe to say that the referee also ended up "all wet" after his poor performance. The referee missed two straight reds, the first when Venezuela's Nicolas Fedor stomped on Mario Yepes's leg as Yepes lay on the ground, and the second when Colombia's Luis Perea made a studs up horror tackle on Juan Arango. Both teams ended up finishing the match with a full complement of eleven players. As for the beautiful game, Fredy Guarin (pictured, yellow) unleashed a rocket from thirty-five yards that nearly ripped the back of Venezuela's net, giving Colombia a 1-0 lead after a dozen minutes had elapsed. A few minutes later, Colombia had a chance to double the lead, but the ball was headed off the line by an alert Gabriel Cichero. Renny Vega saved Venezuela with a leaping save to knock Teofilo Gutierrez's shot of the post that had been headed straight for the back of the net. The half closed with Colombia up 1-0.
In the second half, Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina responded to Vega's effort by making an amazing save in goal for Colombia, clearing a free kick headed into the upper ninety from Arango. Venezuela's goal came only after a flubbed ball at the back from Perea led to a breakaway goal from Venezuela substitute Frank Feltscher, who tucked the ball away for the equalizer and his first international goal. Late in the half, James Rodriguez blasted a freekick off the crossbar for Colombia, leaving the match tied at 1. It would finish that way, though Arango provided a scare with a shot unleashed just beyond the far post at the final whistle. The Venezuelan contingent of fans was considerably more pleased with the 1-1 result than were the Colombians.
Uruguay 7 pts +6
Argentina 4 pts +2
Colombia 4 pts +1
Paraguay 4 pts -1
Venezuela 4 pts -1
Ecuador 3 pts +1
Peru 3 pts 0
Chile 3 pts -5
Bolivia 1 pts -3
Goals
Colombia
Fredy Guarin 11
Venezuela
Frank Feltscher 79
Match Reports:
Highlights:
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