Friday, June 20, 2014

Ecuador 2 - Honduras 1

Photo by Julian Finney
Ecuador and Honduras were looking for their first points of Brasil 2014 as they faced each other in Curitiba. Never before had two opposing coaches faced teams they had both coached in previous FIFA World Cup finals, so history was made on this night. It took twenty minutes, but the first great chance of the game came from a long ball over the top from Ecuador centerback Frickson Erazo. Enner Valencia latched onto the ball and had only the goalkeeper to beat, but he sent his attempt just over the crossbar. Seven minutes later, Boniek Garcia found a wide open Victor Bernardez at the back post on a Honduran corner kick, but Bernardez was unable to knock the ball goalward. Honduras grabbed the lead at the half hour mark. A long ball forward was not dealt with well but Ecuadoran centerback Jorge Guagua. His headed clearance was blocked by the chest of Honduran strike Carlo Costly, who then drove forward and blasted a shot low toward the post from the edge of the box. Honduras had used route-one football to snatch a 1-0 lead. The lead lasted all of three minutes. Ecuadorian right back Juan Carlos Paredes shot through a crowd from the right flank. His shot deflected off Jorge Claros and ricocheted to the far post. Valencia was first to the ball, cleaned up the mess, and tied the match. Valencia made it six straight matches in which he has scored a goal for Ecuador. Bernardez hit a booming free kick from thirty-two yards out that screamed over the wall, but Ecuador goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez did well to push it out for a corner kick. At the tail end of stoppage time, a ball from the right side from Brayan Beckeles was lofted to the penalty spot from where Costly was able to win the header. His shot landed flush with the far post and bounced back into the path of Jerry Bengston. Unfortunately, the ball hit Bengston's arm rather than his chest, so his goal was disallowed. The sides went into their dressing rooms level at one goal apiece after an entertaining opening forty-five.

Beckeles let fly from twenty-five yards in the first minute of the second half, but Dominguez was able to make a diving catch as the ball rose toward the upper corner. Felipe Caicedo came close for Ecuador a dozen minutes later, but his deep run was stunted by a clutch tackle from Emilio Izaguirre to relegate La Tricolor to a corner kick. he next minute, Bengston put in a shot that was actually aided on its route toward the bottom corner from a deflection of his marker, but Dominguez was able to push the ball out of harm's way. Honduras were punished for a silly foul by Garcia. Jefferson Montero was simply boxing Garcia out at the edge of the penalty box, yet Garcia felt the need to push him off the spot. Walter Ayovi swung in the resulting free kick quickly to the far post. Valencia rose highest and smacked the ball into the net with his head to put Ecuador ahead 2-1. Both teams created a few chances from distance, but there were no truly incisive attacks for the remainder of the match. Ecuador hang on and win 2-1.

France 6 pts +6
Ecuador 3 pts 0
Switzerland 3 pts -2
Honduras 0 pts -4


Goals
Ecuador
Enner Valencia 34, 65

Honduras
Carlo Costly 31

Match Reports:

Highlights:

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