ESTELI, Nicaragua – Abel Mendez scored in the first minute of second half stoppage time to earn Nicaraguan side Real Esteli a dramatic 1-0 triumph over CA Independiente of Panama in the first leg of their 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup semifinal on Thursday night at the Estadio Independencia in Esteli, Nicaragua.
There were chances for both sides in the first half, but no goals were produced during the initial 45 minutes.
Real Esteli had their usual strong start by applying pressure and got a good look through an Arley Bonilla header in the 3’ and a Harold Medina shot that missed wide minutes later.
But soon CAI began to impose their will on the proceedings and started asking questions of the home side’s defense, with Carlos Small and Hector Hurtado two of the more active players.
Real Esteli sought to wrestle back control of the match in the second half and peg the visiting Panamanians back in their own area, but they had to be wary of CAI’s dangerous transition game. It made for a very end-to-end affair, but still with no goals.
Things tilted toward Real Esteli in the final minutes and CAI goalkeeper Eddie Roberts had to make a soaring save in the 87’ to deny a buzzing long-range effort from Oscar Acevedo.
But Roberts could do nothing to prevent Mendez from tallying the game-winning goal in stoppage time. A cross from the right saw Real Esteli’s Ebert Martinez miss entirely, but it set up perfectly for Mendez to latch onto and fire into net to earn Real Esteli the dramatic 1-0 victory.
