Ecuador’s national soccer team held Mexico to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday, showing a slight improvement after the drubbing suffered against Colombia at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, one of the venues for the next World Cup.
Mexican-born Argentinian Germán Berterame put El Tri ahead in the third minute, but Jordy Alcívar made it all square in the 20th minute with an accurate penalty kick on striker Enner Valencia.
Mexico reacts strongly
Beaten 4-0 by Colombia last Saturday, the Mexicans came out with blood in their eyes, ready to turn the page, and took an early lead.
The locals took advantage of a defensive lapses.
Berterame took advantage of a miscommunication between midfielder Pedro Vite and center back William Pacho to make it 1-0 with a right-footed shot.
Mexico tried to take advantage of the good momentum and in the 11th minute created danger with a shot by Hirving Lozano, which went slightly wide.
A mistake by Luis Romo caused Mexican goalkeeper José Rangel to bring down Valencia, the team’s top scorer, and led to a penalty kick converted by Alcívar.
El Tri suffers, tightens up at the end and unleashes controversy
Mexico was better in the rest of the first half, although they created few scoring opportunities.
In the second half, La Tri advanced their lines and cornered Mexico in their area.
With 20 minutes to go, the match became a bitter one.
The Mexicans went on the attack and in a three-minute span, from 83 to 86 minutes, they were able to score.
In the final minutes, the fans chanted the homophobic shout that Mexican fans usually chant when they are dissatisfied with their team’s performance.
Technical data
Mexico: José Raúl Rangel; César Montes, Johan Vásquez, Israel Reyes, Mateo Chávez; Erik Lira, Luis Romo (Marcel Ruiz, m.61), Erick Sánchez (Alexis Gutiérrez, m.76); Julián Quiñones (Alexis Vega, m.75), Germán Berterame (Santiago Giménez, m.61) and Hirving Lozano (César Huerta, m.60).
Coach: Javier Aguirre.
1. Ecuador: Hernán Galíndez; Joel Ordóñez, William Pacho, Alan Minda (Nilson Angulo, m.46), Jordy Alcívar; Pedro Vite (Patrik Mercano, m.68), Angelo Preciado (Kendry Páez, m.28), Yaimar Medina (Jhoanner Chávez, m.81); John Yeboah, Enner Valencia (Leonardo Campana, m.68) and Alan Franco.
Coach: Sebastián Beccacece.
Goals: 1-0, minute 3: Germán Berterame. 1-1, m.20: Jordy Alcívar, penalty kick.
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón, of Costa Rica. Yellow cards for Erick Sánchez, César Montes, John Yeboah, Jordy Alcívar, Yaimar Medina and Joel Ordóñez.
Incidents: Friendly match played at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara (western Mexico).
With information from EFE
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