17/6/2007 - 18:41(EST)

Mexico beats Costa Rica in a hard fought match

Jared Borgetti scored in the 94th minute to lead Mexico to a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in double overtime in a quarterfinal match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup Sunday at a sold out Reliant Stadium.

17/JUN/2007- Mexico advances to the semi-finals Thursday in Chicago where they will face either Honduras or Guadeloupe.

In the second minute, Costa Rica was unable to capitalize on an error by Mexican goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez, who threw the ball right to the Costa Rican offense. Costa Rica’s cross, however, went out of bounds. Two minutes late, Andres Nunez tried getting Costa Rica on the board with a shot from the left side, but it went high.

Mexico nearly got on the board in the eight minute, but a shot by Alberto Medina was blocked and bounced to Costa Rican goalkeeper Jose Francisco Porras. Costa Rica went right back down the field, and got a cross into Alvaro Saborio, whose header went over the Mexican goal.

Mexico tried to capitalize on the free kick from Badilla’s yellow as Carlos Salcido got a shot off the goalkeeper’s deflection of the free kick, but a Costa Rican defender blocked Salcido’s shot from the right box, and the ball was picked up and handled by Porras.

In the 20th minute, Nunez again took a shot from outside the left box and again it went high. Mexico charged back down the field and Omar Bravo got his head on a cross inside the near post, but it went straight up in the air and was corralled by Porras.

The next 10 minutes saw the ‘keepers come out of the goals several times to bat away chances. Sanchez knocked away a corner kick attempt in the 26th minute, and Porras caught an Osorio cross in front of the goal in the 30th minute. Two minutes later, Porras came back out of the goal to deflect a corner kick attempt away. In the 32nd minute, Borgetti headed a ball from the center of the box, but it went over the net.

Costa Rica began having disagreements with referee Terry Vaughn in the 13th minute and it carried over to the rest of the game. Costa Rica was issued three yellows in the first half and a red card. In the13th minute, Vaughn booked Gabriel Badilla, and four minutes later, Jervis Drummond had his name written down by Vaughn.

Allan Aleman was issued a yellow card in the 39th and a red card in 43rd minute, both for arguing. For his red card in the 43rd minute, Aleman was ejected, forcing Costa Rica to play a man down for the final two minutes of the first half and all of the second half.

Gerardo Torrado had an opportunity to give Mexico the lead in the 51st minute, but Porras made a diving save to his right to stop Torrado’s free kick from outside the upper left box. Five minutes later, Porras made another diving save, this time on a shot by a hard-charging Medina from the right side of the box. Porras dove to his left to keep the game tied.

In the 59th minute, Bravo had a header from the near post go up in the air and fall right in front of the goal before it was cleared by Costa Rica. Costa Rica tried breaking the Mexican momentum getting a shot of outside the box in the 60th minute, but the fallaway shot by Badilla went right to Sanchez.

In the 66th minute, Borgetti had a wide-open header from the middle of the box, but he sent the shot wide right. Costa Rica went down the field, but Michael Barrantes shot from the middle box rolled right to Sanchez. Mexico quickly went back down field, and Jaime Lozano fired a bullet from the left box that was saved by Parros.

In the 69th minute, Salcido took a shot from the left side that Porras made a diving save to his right to stop. A minute later, Borgetti had another chance to break the scoreless tie, but his shot from just left of the half circle went wide left. The teams played the next 16 minutes in the midfield before Saborio fired a bullet from the half circle over the goal in the 86th minute.

Two minutes later, Sanchez kept the score tied with a stop of a header by Badilla. In stoppage time, Cuahtemoc Blanco fired a turnaround shot from the left box that Porras made a dove to deflect over the goal and keep the game tied sending the quarterfinal match to overtime.

In the second half, Mexico had three players booked as Torrado (51st), Jaime Lozano (81st) and Jose Andres Guardado (83rd) all had their names written down by Vaughn.

In the 94th minute, Borgetti missed another header from just outside the ‘keeper box sending it high, and in the following minute, Borgetti was whistled for offside stopping a Mexico attack. Borgetti made up for the misses in the 97th minute with a goal. Bargetti took a centering pas from Adolfo Bautista in front of the goal and headed it into the right side to give Mexico the lead.

Mexico nearly added another goal in the next minute as Osorio fired away from the right box, and Porras made a jumping save to knock the ball over the net. Mexico continued to try to add to their lead as Borgetti took a cross from Bautista in front of the goal in the 105th minute and nearly kicked it behind him and into the far post, but Porras made another diving stop to keep it a 1-0 deficit.

In the first overtime, tempers continued to flare between the two squads as Costa Rica’s Azofeifa and Mexico’s Osorio were issued yellow cards in the 100th minute. In the 104th minute, Saborio was issued a red card and ejected meaning Costa Rica had to play the final 16 minutes two-men down.

Costa Rica had an attempt at tying it in the 113th minute as Badilla received a pass in front of the goal and headed it over the goal off a corner kick. A minute later, Bautista tried to extend the Mexico lead, but his shot from the right box was saved by Porras. Mexico had another shot in the 115th minute, but Bautista’s shot was deflected over the goal by Porras.

In the final minute, Costa Rica had one last chance at tying it, but a free kick by Azofeifa from midfield was caught by Sanchez. On the ensuing Mexican possession, Mario Camacho was issued a red card forcing Costa Rica to play three-men down for the final minute of the game.

Sanchez finished with seven saves, while Porras finished with seven saves.

Terra/CONCACAF