🌎 Rondón penalty pushes Venezuela past Mexico; Ecuador earn vital win

Copa América continued Wednesday evening with two tightly-matched fixtures as Ecuador took on Jamaica, and Venezuela clashed with Mexico. Here is what went down in Group B.

Venezuela 1-0 Mexico

Scorers: Rondón (P) 56′

Venezuela fended off late Mexico pressure to collect all three points thanks to a Salomón Rondón penalty.

Unlike the Jamaica, Ecuador showdown earlier in the night, Mexico and Venezuela didn’t quite provide the same amount of attacking ferocity, but there was plenty of drama to note.

After a first-half void of quality in the final third, Venezuela finally got their chance to snatch the lead when Julián Quiñones was whistled for a foul in the box, forcing the referee to award a spot-kick.

Veteran striker Salomón Rondón, who plays in Mexico, stepped up drove the dagger in from the spot to dent the scoresheet.

Mexico looked to strike back, but some heroic Rafael Romo goalkeeping kept Venezuela in the lead past the hour mark.

After knocking on the door, Mexico finally found the fortune they needed when a Venezuela defender raised his arm to block a shot, and El Tri were awarded a penalty of their own.

The fortune wouldn’t last long however, as Orbelín Pineda stepped up and sent a slow, rolling penalty attempt right at the keeper.

Despite another late push, Mexico could not find the final finish to snatch a point.

Ecuador 3-1 Jamaica

Scorers: Palmer (OG) 13′, Páez (P) 45+4′, Minda 90+1′; Antonio 54′

Ecuador hung on to collect a vital three points in a narrow victory over Jamaica.

It was a fiery affair from the very start, as many of these Copa América games have been, and Ecuador benefitted from the chaos first.

What appeared to be a cross from Piero Hincapié from the touchline took a slight deflection before some careening into back of the net from an extremely acute angle.

Ecuador doubled their lead with nearly the last kick of the half thanks to youngster Kendry Páez, who dispatched a penalty-kick after Jamaica was called for a handball in the box.

Luckily for the Reggae Boyz, they have plenty of attacking talent on their side to balance the scales, and West Ham man Michail Antonio got them rolling after the break but striking and cutting the deficit in half.

The drama was ramped up when after a lengthy VAR review for a potential handball in the Ecuadorian box, no penalty was give, much to the chagrin of the Jamaican players and bench.

That gut-punch seemed enough to take the wind out of their sails, and Ecuador capitalized with a stunning solo goal from Alan Minda to drive the final nail into the coffin.