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Two shutouts end Panama's national soccer team cycle
 

Panama, World Cup hopes gone, shut out twice to end cycle

by Eric Jackson

By its penultimate game in this World Cup qualifying drive, Panama had been eliminated from any possibility of going to Germany next year. It was a time to play for pride, and to build for the future.

On October 8 the game at the Rommel may have meant nothing for Panama's chances, but for visiting Trinidad-Tobago, it was crucial. In the previous match in Port-of-Spain, the Trinidadians proved to be bigger, stronger and faster than the Panamanians. But looking to the future, Panama fielded a young team --- in some cases very young, as in 16-year-old Gabriel Torres --- which acquitted itself very well. This time the Leo Beenhacker's boys from Trinidad-Tobago may have been bigger and stronger, and they were certainly were more experienced, but they were not noticeably faster.

And in the Panamanian net, Jaime Penedo, having resolved his dispute with Arabe Unido and apparently bound for a European club, performed well.

For the first half, Panama was as good or better than the visitors, but neither team put the ball in the net. In the 16th minute of the second half, Stern John took a beautiful pass that put him between two Panamanian defenders and, taking no time to dribble, let loose a left-footed blast that Penedo couldn't stop.

That was all the scoring in Panama's last home game for this cycle of the national soccer team. Trinidad-Tobago went on to beat Mexico 2-1 in its final game of the tournament, on the strength of two Stern John goals, and thus pulled off an impressive come from behind performance in a tournament that started out  badly for them but ended up with them winning a pass to Germany.

Panama ended this cycle in Foxboro, Massachusetts on October 12. By this time the Americans had already qualified for the World Cup, so this game was about pride and experimentation on both sides.

The young Panamanian team again acquitted itself well, but five minutes into the second half Kyle Martino took advantage of a defensive lapse in front of Penedo and scored from about 25 feet out. About six minutes later Penedo came out of the net to stop a breakaway, but misplayed it and Taylor Twellman got the pass instead and was able to score rather easily. Panama's best chance to score, on a penalty kick by the veteran Julio Dely Valdés in the game's 86th minute, failed when "Panagol" missed the net.

It was an emblematic end for a Panamanian national team that got farther than any previous one, but in the end lacked the offensive punch to climb to the next level. At the end of the CONCACAF hexagonal, Panama was in the cellar with a record of 0 wins, 8 losses and two ties.

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