Junior Pan American Championship (W) - Day 5

 

Day 5 Review

A sunny morning with a nice Caribbean breeze blowing across the ground greeted the teams for the start of the penultimate round of the tournament. Uruguay needed a shootout for the second game in a row to defeat Mexico after a 0-0 regulation time draw, hosts Trinidad & Tobago defeated Caribbean rivals 3-1, Argentina won comfortably against Canada 9-0 and USA were also comfortable in a 5-0 win over Chile.

 

ARG vs CAN (semi-final)

Match three was the first semi-final, with tournament favourites Argentina taking on Canada under a scorching Caribbean sun.

Argentina got off to their usual dominant start pushing Canada right back into their 25-yard area. Magdalena Ladra had two clear opportunities from the right that she hit narrowly past either post. Ortiz gave her team the lead from a PC rebound on the left side base line with a reverse stick screamer past Logush in the Canada goal. A Trinchinetti tap in doubled the Argentina lead, but Canada started to get back into the game earning the first PC conceded by their opponents for the tournament so far. GK Rosseti was forced into a good save from the Dearmond shot from the set play. Argentina quickly resumed control and Jankunas scored 2 more goals before the halftime horn sounded for a 4-0 lead at the interval. Argentina started the second half by immediately attacking Canada who defended well. It did not take long for the pressure to lead to 2 PC goals by Trinchinetti with a rebound and Gorzelany with a drag flick. Canada continued to make Argentina work hard to break them down, but they could not keep up with the speed and movement of the attacks. Ortiz and Sanguinetti added a field goal each before Granatto scored a PS. The teams played out the next 15 minutes without further goals added to the game for a final score of 9-0. Argentina are the first to qualify for the final and the Junior World Cup.

 

CHI vs USA (semi-final)

The 4^th and final match saw Chile take on USA in the second semi-final. The two teams got off to a fast start with both teams fighting for control in the midfield. Chile worked their way into the opposition’s half first, but the Americans held firm. Through their strong pressing game USA started to slowly take control and Major set up Paolino well for a tap in and Matson followed up with a PC variation goal. Krimerman was struck a scary blow on the back of the head from a cross, but Chile continued to fight. The Americans continued to dominate play and the halftime score remained 2-0. The second half started with Chile pushing to get back into the game and again the USA defence held firm. They then launched an attack of their own and Moyer’s quick shot and goal made the game a lot more comfortable. Hoffman scored a PC soon after and one more Matson goal sealed a hard fought 5-0 semi-final win against Chile.

 

MEX vs URU (5-8^th)

The first 5-8^th match of the day was Mexico taking on Uruguay. Mexico were coming off of a heavy defeat to Argentina while Uruguay were trying to bounce back from a disappointing penalty shootout loss to Canada.

The match got off to a slow start with many passing errors in the midfield and Uruguay enjoying the territorial advantage.  Despite the cool conditions neither team was able to generate their high intensity from previous matches. Uruguay nearly brought the game to life with a couple well taken PCs, but were denied the lead by good saves from GK Inguanzo. Mexico had two players serve 2-minute suspensions at the same time and Uruguay still were unable to turn the numerical advantage into meaningful chances. Mexico battled hard and eventually got their first shot off in the 30^th minute. The halftime horn sounded with the score still 0-0. Uruguay started the second half with more energy, pressing more aggressively and attempting to prevent transferring passes. Uruguay had a fantastic opportunity from a PC when a shot from Petrik Vidal was deflected wide by Vega. Then Mexico earned a PC but Rosainz drag flicked wide. In the 69^th minute Tatton narrowly missed a PC variation. In the final minute with both teams pushing to win in regulation time saw a promising attack from Mexico broken up and Uruguay charge down the field only for the defence to clear. The horn sounded right after to send Uruguay to their second shootout finish in as many matches and giving Mexico their first defensive clean sheet. Uruguay held their nerve to win the shootout 3-1 and become the first qualifier in the 5-6^th final.

 

TTO vs BAR (5-8^th)

The second 5-8^th match was hosts Trinidad & Tobago against fellow Caribbean team Barbados in a clash of huge regional rivals.

The hosts got off to the faster start, taking the lead from their 1^st PC of the match in the 2^nd minute. Then Trinidad & Tobago let Barbados off of the hook missing a simple goal line tap in and continued to make a lot of unforced errors. It was one of these errors that led to a Barbados counterattack and equalising goal. The goal seemed to energise Trinidad & Tobago and they dominated possession pushing Barbados deeper. With the exception of 2 PC attempts that were easily saved by Alleyne, Trinidad & Tobago did not threaten the Barbados goal and the halftime horn sounded with the teams even at 1-1. The second half started with Barbados pushing the host team back, aided by an early 2-minute suspension by Trinidad & Tobago’s Lee. Then it was Trinidad & Tobago’s turn to dominate possession and they eventually were rewarded with a PS goal by Abreu in the 47^th minute. Barbados pushed forward again to dominate play for the next 5-minute phase. Then it was Trinidad & Tobago’s turn again to control the play, a period that ended with a lovely deflected goal by Govia. Barbados again pushed forward to get back into it, but two yellow card suspensions within two minutes gave the initiative back to Trinidad & Tobago and they kept the ball away from their opponents to kill off the game. Final score 3-1 to the hosts who join Uruguay in the 5^th-6^th match.

 

Final Round

The semi-final round is over the results continued to match the pre-tournament rankings. The matches on the final day of competition are Mexico vs. Barbados for 7-8^th, followed by Trinidad & Tobago vs. Uruguay for 5-6^th place, Canada vs. Chile for 3-4^th and the grand finale Argentina vs. USA.