Defenders Gustavo Cabrera, in the 61 minute, and Henry Medina, in the 78th, were sent off but still Guatemala managed to deny their Central American rivals all three points during a spirited and physical match that went against the early Gold Cup trend of one-sided contests.
Goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez, who needed treatment on multiple occasions in the second half, kept his Guatemala defense organised but had to withstand some heavy Honduras pressure in the final minutes to secure the point.
"This tie feels like a win," Jerez told reporters after he was named man-of-the-match.
But Honduras, who competed at last year's World Cup in South Africa, could not make the scoring connection much to the frustration of head coach Luis Fernando Suarez.
"The way we played, we definitely didn't deserve to win," Suarez told reporters. "The players who were supposed to create did not create the space."
