Mexico, Panama Battle to Tie in Gold Cup 2009

(Panama's Blas Perez falls from the stretcher under a barrage of cups in the final minutes of the Mexico-Panama Gold Cup match at Reliant Stadium. Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography Copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2009 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 9, 2009) In a match that saw action on and off the field, Mexico and Panama battled to a 1-1 tie in Group C action of CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

The game, which was the second game for each team in the tournament, puts Mexico at 1-0-1 and Panama 0-1-1 in the team standing.

Mexico will now face group leader Guadeloupe (2-0-0) while Panama will square off against Nicaragua (0-2-0)

El Tri got on the board first with a 9th minute goal from Miguel Sabah and Panama evened the score with a 28th minute goal by Blas Perez to even the score at halftime.

The half ended with two red cards issued to Panama’s Armado Gun and Mexico’s Luis Miguel Noriega. Gun was ejected for forcibly taking Giovani Dos Santos to the ground.

In a reaction to Santos’ rough treatment, Noriega went into a tirade and was sent off as a result. Both squads finished the half with ten players on the field.

The volatility of the last minutes of the first half action carried over in the second half of the game.

Another fight erupted in the 79th minute when Panamanian midfielder Ricardo Phillips went after the ball in the area in front of the Mexican bench.

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre, by his own admission, attempted to stop the ball and accidently made contact with Phillips. A shoving match ensued and both Phillips and Aguirre were given the heave-ho.

Phillips initially refused to leave the field; protesting for nearly five minutes before accepting the red card. He was escorted from the field by Gold Cup officials and local police; under a barrage of beer cups.

As a result, the delay lead to 10 extra minutes of playing time after 90-minutes of regulation.

Aguirre was quoted after the game, "I want to apologize to everyone, because I was not on my best behavior for two or three minutes. I tried to stop a dead ball, and there was contact with the player, because of his inertia and me holding my leg up high to stop the ball. I came out of my technical area, and for that I was ejected. I was a bad decision. This is a sincere apology. It was a product of that passion for the game."

Perez was injured at the 90th minute and medical staff carried him off the field on a stretcher. Another hail of beer cups caused Perez to fall off the stretcher. He was immediately placed back on the stretcher as police attempted to maintain decorum.

The volatility of the game carried over into the stand as no less than three spectators were handcuffed and escorted from the stadium by law enforcement officials.

After that, the game ended quickly after that, and the Panamanian team remained on the field for about 15 minutes until the officials cleared the stands.

Mexico and Panama will faceoff against Group C opponents Guadeloupe and Nicaragua on Sunday July 12 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Panama and Nicaragua will play in the first game with Mexico and Guadeloupe to follow in the nightcap.