Belize put up a spirited performance against their higher-ranked opponents at the Estadio Julian Tesucun in Peten, eventually losing 2-4 in this friendly international. Jonny Brown put the hosts ahead on 21 minutes, but Harrison Roches equalised for the Belizeans just before half-time. Mario Castellanos restored Guatemala's lead five minutes into the second half, just before the game's major turning-point when Belize defender Ian Gaynair was shown a second yellow card. Remarkably, the Jaguars immediately found a second equaliser through Elroy Kuylen, but the introduction for his final international appearance of Guatemalan legend, Juan Carlos Plata, exposed the tiring 10-men of Belize, with further goals from Dwight Pezzarossi (68 mins) and Carlos Figueroa (74 mins) making the final score 4-2. Overall, this was a disappointing result for Jose de la Paz Herrera's men, but encouraging signs were there for the team as an attacking force, especially considering the absence of top scorer Deon McCauley, and with the resolve shown when managing to get a second equaliser despite being a player short.
Belize team: Woodrow West, Trevor Lennen, Everal Trapp, Ian Gaynair, Dalton Eiley, Elroy Smith, Elroy Kuylen, Victor Morales, Lisbey Castillo, Harrison Roches (sub: Bernard Linarez 46'), Orlando Jimenez.
Two of Belize's opponents in next year's Central American Cup (CAC) met in Panama City last Friday, the hosts defeating El Salvador 1-0. Belize's other opponents in January, Nicaragua, did not have a fixture. Panama is currently in the middle of an intensive series of friendly fixtures before the CAC begins in their country, with forthcoming home fixtures against Peru and Cuba, and home and away matches with Honduras, all before the end of the year.
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