27 June 2007

Peru stunned Uruguay in the opening fixture of the 2007 Copa America, yesterday. Juan Carlos Marino and Jose Paolo Guerrero added to Peru's 1-0 lead with goals in the final 20-minutes -- putting the match out of reach for the heavily-favored Uruguayans. Miguel Angel Villalta had opened the scoring just prior to the half-hour. A short corner-kick was crossed superby by Jefferson Farfan onto the head of Villalta for the first goal of the tournament at Venezuela's Estadio Metropolitano de Merida. Uruguay carried the play from that point on; although Marino's strike in the 70th-minute was well-deserved. The winger raced down the right-hand flank against the run of play before blasting a streaking shot from distance into the opposing goal. Uruguay had been favored to win Group-A; and the splitting of points between Venezuela and Bolivia will not serve to aid their cause.

Giancarlos Maldonado scored Venezuela's first goal of the competition to rapturous ovation at the Pueblo Nuevo stadium, yesterday. His opener was quickly canceled by Bolivia's Jaime Moreno, however -- a pattern which repeated itself throughout the contest. Just prior to the hour-mark, Ricardo David Paez put the host nation ahead once again. Paez, the son of manager Richard Paez, certainly left his mark on the match. Not only did he provide a lead which nearly won the game for Venezuela, but his creativity made Maldonado's opener. With time ticking from the referee's watch and the hosts nursing a 2-1 lead amid furious pressure, Juan Carlos Arce equalized for Bolivia with 6-minutes of normal time remaining. And although Bolivia pelted Venezuelan goalkeeper Renny Vicente Vega in search of a win, they were rather lucky to escape with a single point. In the dying moments of 2nd-half added-time, a questionable foul by defender Gualberto Mojica was met with houls for a penalty from the crowd and Venezuela bench. The cries fell on deaf ears, however -- as Ecuadorian official Mauricio Reineso allowed the match to end in a controversial draw.

Both of today's matches will be played at Estadio Cachamay. In Group-B action, Ecuador will face Chile and Brazil will duel Mexico.