Mexico and Peru battled to a 1-1 tie in a match where Mexico made a lot of changes and suffered because of it. A whole new starting lineup ended with Mexico struggling mightily in the first half and although they improved in the second, it wasn’t enough to get a victory. Mexico will now travel to Phoenix, where they will face off against their biggest rivals, the United States while Peru will travel north to face off against Canada in Montreal.
The 1st half started with Mexico coming out with a total
alternate starting lineup from their last match against Colombia. A cross into the area looked dangerous and forced Mexico’s goalkeeper, Oscar Garcia, to come out and clear the ball. Both teams traded possession and although it was a lively match, neither side was creating chances. A cross into the area was headed by Violante and deflected wide as Mexico’s players asked for a handball by Marcos Lopez (which Replays showed that it should have been called). Immediately Peru had a longball and a bad clearance allowed Jairo Velez to get past Jeremy Marquez, who tried to look for a foul call and instead just allowed Velez to get into the area and get off a right footed shot past Garcia to score and give Peru the 1-0 lead. A cross into the area was deflected and just out of reach of reach of Orbelin Pineda but Peru’s goalkeeper, Pedro Gallese, would make a save on the play. Off the corner kick, the ball fell to Pineda, whose right footed shot from outside the area went wide. Isaias Violante got off a left footed shot from outside the area that was easily saved by Gallese. Off a free kick, Alvaro Fidalgo got off a great right footed shot that was just deflected wide but incredibly the referee ended the half and didn’t allow Mexico to take the corner kick. The halftime whistle blew and Peru had a solid 1-0 lead as Mexico had given a very poor performance.
The 2nd half started with no changes from either side, which for Mexico was surprising. Off a free kick, a great cross by Denzell Garcia would find a wide open Victor Guzman, who headed the ball past Gallese to score and tie the match at 1-1. Off a free kick, the cross into the area was headed just wide by Wilder Cartagena. Mexico subbed out German Berterame, Denzell Garcia and Victor Guzman for Santiago Gimenez, Luis Romo and Diego Campillo. A combination play ended with Mateo Chavez getting off a left footed shot that was easily saved by Gallese. After getting the ball from a clearance, Pineda got off a right footed shot from outside the area that went wide. Peru subbed out Adrian Ugarriza and Alessandro Magallanes for Alex Valera and Jhonny Vidales. A bad clearance by Garcia allowed Valera to get off a left footed shot that forced a great save by Garcia, who made up for his mistake. A bad clearance allowed Obed Vargas to get off a volley from outside the area that went wide. Mexico subbed out Orbelin Pineda, Alvaro Fidalgo and Isaias Violante for Roberto Alvarado, Santiago Sandoval and Hugo Camberos. Peru subbed out Marco Huaman for Oliver Sonne. Peru subbed out Jairo Velez and Yoshimar Yotun for Cesar Inga and Jairo Concha. Off a corner kick, a bad clearance by Mexico allowed Valera to get off a shot that went just wide. The whistle blew and the match ended with Mexico getting another tie but this one a lot less valuable than their first.
After a great debut for Rafael Marquez against Colombia, Mexico had a downgrade in performance that gets them another tie but against an inferior opponent in Peru. Marquez’s number of changes led to a poor first half with Mexico not creating much and losing possession to a Peruvian side that did their things. Peru needed to bounce back after a crushing 4-1 loss on Saturday against the United States and it showed on the field, while Mexico might have misjudged the friendly and expected and easier match than they had. In the 2nd half, Mexico settled down and had a better performance but although they were the better team, they didn’t create many opportunities. Mexico will need to improve because they have a incredibly important match on Saturday against the United States. Not only are the United States their biggest rivals but they have had a better performance in the FIFA break with wins over Peru (4-1) and Chile (4-2). Marquez will need to that match asw ell as the one against Chile next Tuesday a lot more seriously than he did tonight.
