Sending off sours Canada victory
CANADA 2 JAMAICA 0
TORONTO — A night to celebrate for Canada turned slightly sour Saturday as Vancouver Whitecaps teenager Alphonso Davies saw red late in a 2-0 friendly win over Jamaica.
Sixteen-year-old Davies apologized via social media after being sent off in the 75th minute for kicking out at Jamaica’s Damion Lowe after the two went down in a tangle in the corner. Lowe had seemingly precipitated the incident by shoving the Canadian.
It was unclear what contact Davies made with his boot, but Lowe clutched his face and Costa Rican referee Ricardo Montero pulled out the red. Davies exited, pulling his jersey over his face in seeming embarrassment as he walked off.
Davies was the darling of the Gold Cup this summer, with three goals and a handful of awards. But he collected nothing but controversy on Saturday after coming on in the 70th minute for his sixth cap.
“To be honest, it happened so fast, I didn’t really know what was going at the time,” Davies said after the game.
“I’ve just got to go back and reflect on what happened.”
He was more forthcoming on Twitter, saying: “I just want to apologize to Canada Soccer for my breakout on the field earlier today, and to the people that came to watch the game.”
Coach Octavio Zambrano didn’t defend the play, but supported his young midfielder.
“He’s a young guy,” Zambrano said after the match. “A lot of things have happened to him — a lot of things that people know and other things that people don’t know. We just have to be patient with him. He’s a great kid. I stand by him. I am not overly concerned because I know his essence as a human being. He’s going to be OK.”
The win, a measure of revenge for being knocked out of the Gold Cup by the Reggae Boyz, continued the Canadian men’s resurgence under Zambrano.
There is more work to do, but the Ecuadorian, who is 3-1-2 at the helm, has Canada playing with confidence and poise.
Anthony Jackson-Hamel and Jonathan Osorio scored for Canada, which led 2-0 after just 30 minutes. Winger Junior Hoilett was the man of the match, tormenting defenders while showing off a deep bag of tricks.
A poor performance by Jamaica helped the home side before 21,724 fans at BMO Field.
Jamaica, which vaulted 19 places after the Gold Cup, is currently ranked 57th in the world. Canada is No. 95.