Season › 2015-16 › News Oviedo grabs an assist as Costa Rica stun Colombia , 12 June, 15comments | Jump to most recent Borges and Oviedo embrace after the pair combined for what proved to be the winning goal Bryan Oviedo stepped off the bench to play a big role in Costa Rica's third and ultimately decisive goal last night as they beat Colombia 3-2 and handed the United States top spot in Copa America Group A. The Everton defender had been an unused substitute in his country's first two games, a draw against Paraguay and a heavy 4-0 defeat to the USA. He was given his chance as a half-time introduction in Houston, however, deployed in the right-back role in which he struggled at times for the Blues this past season. But when he popped up on the flank on the overlap in the 58th minute and centred for Borges, the latter swept home to make it 3-1. Costa Rica had got on the board early when Johan Venegas curled home a stunning shot from 20 yards in only the second minute. Colombia levelled just four minutes later though Frank Fabra but the same player ended up bundling the ball into the net at the other as he tried to deal with Venegas's wicked cross. José Pékerman threw his star man, James Rodriguez on to try and change the game at the break but they ended up chasing the game after Borges' goal. Marlos Moreno pulled another back for the South Americans with 17 minutes left but the Costa Ricans held firm, with Oviedo intervening in injury time to deny Rodriguez. The result means that the US, who edged Paraguay in a feisty affair in Philadelphia in which Deandre Yedlin was sent off early in the second half for two yellow cards in less than a minute, top the group and could therefore avoid Brazil in the quarter finals, depending on results in Group B today. Reader Comments (15) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Chris Wilson 1 Posted 12/06/2016 at 07:04:36 You know what was funny about this? Bryan was playing right back. Eric Myles 2 Posted 12/06/2016 at 08:50:28 Despite calls from many to let him go I still think Oviedo has a useful contribution to make, more so than Gibson or Kone for sure.Remember that before his terrible injury many were advocating selling Baines as Oviedo was playing as good as / better than him. If he can get back to that form then he will be an asset either as a regular player or for future sale. Tony Draper 3 Posted 12/06/2016 at 11:23:21 Eric @2.Spot on. Bryan had a truly terrible multiple break to his leg. To ever play again is close to miraculous, yet he's always maintained his positive outlook.I want players like that in our beloved "Royal Blue Jersey", players who don't let a setback prevent them.He's still short of real gametime in his true position. Unlike some others Bryan genuinely deserves our patience and support. Then after (lets say) another season it's clear that he's not going to make the grade, let him go with all our respect.(Didn't Ross Barkley also suffer a terrible leg break some years back ?). Jim Bailey 4 Posted 12/06/2016 at 11:32:37 Yes2010, broke it in three places David Hallwood 5 Posted 12/06/2016 at 12:37:01 Slightly off piste..is that the worst kit ever, or just slightly behind Arsenal's away kit circa 2000? Alan J Thompson 6 Posted 12/06/2016 at 13:30:45 I think a little more latitude should be given to players who are injured playing for the club, at the very least until the end of their contract. Do players still have to take out their own insurance for various things like this? Dave Williams 7 Posted 12/06/2016 at 14:50:03 Alan - most players take out career ending insurance cover regardless of whether a club covers them too. Alan J Thompson 8 Posted 12/06/2016 at 15:09:51 Thanks, Dave, I wasn't sure if they or the club did but at one time they also, I think, had medical and wages cover. Men in the street, like us, call it either superannuation or welfare. Vince Furnier 9 Posted 12/06/2016 at 16:22:49 "Grabs an assist"? Really, desperate for headlines or what? Patrick Murphy 10 Posted 12/06/2016 at 16:38:33 Vince (9) He's an Everton player, this is an Everton fan-site, anything the lad did in the game would suffice for a headline wouldn't it? Tony Draper 11 Posted 12/06/2016 at 16:47:41 Vince @9."Grabs an assist"? Really, desperate for headlines or what? Outstanding contribution to the close season dialogue that one mate, looking forward to your column. Must dash, I'm trying to catch your appearance in the world paint drying championships! Brian Cleveland 12 Posted 12/06/2016 at 17:17:48 The first thing he did he was make an excellent tackle over on the left when a Colombian forward had broken into the box, wrapped his foot around from the wrong side and won it absolutely cleanly when it would have been easy to give away a penalty.After that he was on the right all the time and the assist was a nice pull back with his right. Defensively there were moments when he did look like he was a little short of sharpness, but understandable given he has been a bit in and out of the team all season. His attitude can never doubted though...One thing to remember about the Colombian team is that they changed the entire team as they had already qualified, but Costa Rica did play an awful lot better than they did against the US. Mistake by Colombia really given that they are now most likely going to face Brazil in the next round. Bad underestimation of their opponents. Vince Furnier 13 Posted 12/06/2016 at 20:24:10 Then how about "plays a blinder" or "excels". And whilst you are dashing away Tony, make sure you don't trip over or slip in something nasty. David Pearl 14 Posted 12/06/2016 at 21:00:48 I'm sure there were Furnier come backs than that Vince. Patrick Carty 16 Posted 13/06/2016 at 16:13:59 He is not good enough for Everton, simple as. Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads © ToffeeWeb