Ismael Diaz tallied twice as Panama beat Guadeloupe 5-2 Monday at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Carson, Calif.
Panama took its opening game of Group C play by sprinting out to a 4-0 lead in the first 22 minutes and by controlling possession for 63 percent of the match. Panama also outshot Guadeloupe 23-14.
Christian Martinez got the scoring going with a goal from 12 feet out in the sixth minute. He was assisted on the play by Jorge Gutierrez, who rescued the ball along the back line and found Martinez unchecked.
That’s when Diaz got going.
The 28-year-old took a pass from Michael Murillo and connected in the 13th minute. Then he made it 3-0 in the 17th minute when he scored unassisted charging into the box to convert a deflected corner.
Eduardo Guerrero converted a penalty shot into the bottom left corner in the 22nd minute to push the advantage to 4-0.
Guadeloupe ended the shutout bid on Jordan Leborgne’s goal at the 29-minute mark of the first half, then got the margin down to 4-2 in the second half when Florian David connected on his own penalty at 71 minutes.
Tomas Rodriguez notched the final goal in extra time.
–Field Level Media
