International Friendly match review: Colombia 2-0 Venezuela
Colombia emerged the victors in a friendly match against Venezuela on Friday. Juan Guillermo Cuadrado and Dayron Moreno scored a goal each to give their side a 2-0 win in the fixture. The match took place in Puerto La Cruz, which is some 350 km east of the Caracas (the Venezuelan capital) and was attended by a crowd of 20,000.
Cuadrado opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a powerful shot which rendered the Venezuelan goal keeper helpless and Moreno added a second in the 66th minute, single-handedly beating the entire defence with his impressive speed and ball control.
Both teams had failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and are now hoping to make it to the 2011 Copa America which is set to be held in Argentina.
The Colombians have started their comeback with this victory over their neighbours in the international friendly. Having previously lost their last two games against Venezuela, the victory was a big step for them.
Most of the credit for the win could be given to the new manager Hernan Dario Gomez, who with his assistant coach Leonel Alvarez has developed the team, and they look like strong contenders for a place in the 2011 Copa America.
It took Colombia only 17 minutes to take the lead, thanks to the goal by Cuadrado from ten meters out. The pace of the game changed after that as Venezuela tried their best to equalize. They put pressure on the Colombians, but the goal keeper did well to keep a clean sheet and it was the visitors who scored again in the 66th minute to get a 2-0 lead.
The man of the match was undoubtedly Wigan Athletic player, Hugo Rodallega. Rodallega played a significant role for his country, which saw them win with a comfortable enough score line. He played a part in both the goals and his position and playing style was similar to how he plays for Wigan.
Colombia took an important win against their old rivals and are set to take on Mexico in San Nicolas de los Garza in their next friendly match on Tuesday.
Squad
Venezuela: Renny Vega, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, José Granados, Ronald Vargas, Roberto Rosales, Tomás Rincón, Angel Chourio. Juan Arango, Franklin Lucena, Alejandro Guerra, José Rondón.
Substitues: Juan Fuenmayor, César González, Luis Seijas, Giácomo Di Giorgi, Emilio Rentería.
Colombia: David Ospina, Mario Yepes, Ivan Córdoba, Juan Zúñiga, Juan Cuadrado, Jhon Viáfara, John Restrepo, Giovanni Moreno, Pablo Armero, Radamel Falcao, Hugo Rodallega.
Substitutes: Yulian Anchico, Rafael Robayo, Adrián Ramos, Dayro Moreno.
Tags: