Jonathan David finished off a blistering counterattack with a goal in the 74th minute and Canada earned a 1-0 victory over 10-man Peru in Kansas City, Kan., on Tuesday in a Copa America Group A match.
David’s goal ended Canada’s scoreless run of 344 minutes under new manager Jesse Marsch. The Canadians hadn’t gotten on the board in two international friendlies and a Copa match against Argentina entering Tuesday.
With the victory — Canada’s first-ever at the Copa — the Canadians improved to 1-1-0 to grab the second spot in Group A, just above third-place Peru (0-1-1).
It came on a hot afternoon that saw assistant referee Humberto Panjoj leave on a stretcher after collapsing on the field late in the first half, and Peru’s Miguel Araujo was sent off for his studs-up challenge on Jacob Shaffelburg early in the second.
Peru will be eliminated from the tournament if it cannot beat defending Copa champion Argentina in its final group match on Saturday. Canada faces Chile in the other group-stage finale.
David’s goal came on Canada’s first shot on target and 15 minutes after Araujo’s challenge was upgraded from a yellow card to a red.
The Peruvians were actually pressuring despite their numerical disadvantage when they were caught on the counter from an attempted long throw in.
Cyle Larin started the break from within his own box, using his body to shield off an opponent before spraying an outlet ball to Shaffelburg down the left side.
Shaffelburg then hit an excellent first-touch pass across the field into the sprinting David’s path, and after collecting himself, David drove a low finish past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese that kissed the left post on its way across the line.
Maxime Crepeau made four stops in his second consecutive impressive performance after making six saves in Canada’s 2-0 loss to Argentina.
Tuesday’s performance by Crepeau included two denials in second-half stoppage time. He first reacted superbly to push away Christian Cueva’s side-volley from relatively close range. He was then moving in the same direction when he denied Paolo Guerrero’s dipping free kick.
–Field Level Media
