Venezuela women and Colombia played out a 2-2 draw in the semi-finals of the Central American and Caribbean Games on Thursday evening. The match went to penalties after extra time, with Venezuela winning 4-4 on spot-kicks. Both sides had chances and missed them, and by then the tension had built to a point where the shootout felt inevitable.
G. Florez opened the scoring for Colombia in the third minute, and Venezuela responded through V. Herrera in the 23rd. M. Aponza put the hosts ahead at 39 minutes, before M. Zamorano restored parity for the visitors in the 52nd. To be fair, both teams created opportunities but lacked the finishing to break the deadlock.
The penalty shootout followed a familiar pattern: four goals each, two misses. Venezuela's A. Gonzalez, F. Viafara, S. Martinez and M. Vasquez converted, while Colombia's B. Sandoval, G. Florez and O. Duran did the same. A. Munoz missed for Colombia, and both sides failed on their final attempts.
Colombia dominated possession at 59 per cent and registered 95 attacks compared to Venezuela's 83. They also won 6 corners to 1, but Venezuela were more clinical with 7 shots on target to 3. The statistics tell a story of control without conversion.
Venezuela come into this semi-final on a run of four wins and one draw, while Colombia have won three and lost one in their last five. The result leaves both teams with something to reflect on, and the tournament will move on regardless.