ATLANTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Panama pulled off a shock 2-1 victory over a 10-man United States in a heated Group C encounter in the Copa America on Thursday, with Jose Fajardo netting the decisive goal in the 83rd minute.
The dramatic win came after the U.S. were reduced to 10 men following a red card for Tim Weah in the 18th minute.
The numbers were levelled in the 88th minute when Panama’s Adalberto Carrasquilla was dismissed for a crunching challenge on Christian Pulisic.
The win moved Panama level on three points with the U.S. squad, who will most likely need a victory in their final group match against Uruguay on Monday to progress to the knockout stages.
It was a costly night all around for the hosts, with goalkeeper Matt Turner being substituted at halftime with a leg injury after a collision with Panamanian defender Cesar Blackman in the 12th minute.
Weah was sent off after a video review showed he had shoved Roderick Miller in the back of the head away from the ball amid a tense and fiery start to the match.
After Weah’s dismissal, Balogun delighted the crowd with a splendid strike from 17 yards to give the hosts the lead in the 22nd minute. However, the joy was short-lived as Blackman equalised from the edge of the box four minutes later.
Ethan Horvath replaced the injured Turner in the U.S. goal at the break and nearly faced a penalty in the 64th minute, but the call against U.S. defender Cameron Carter-Vickers was overturned by video review.
The U.S. thought they had taken the lead in the fifth minute through Weston McKennie, but the goal was disallowed on review because Tim Ream was offside.
Their best opportunity in the second half came in the 81st minute when a header by Ricardo Pepi was saved by Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.
Panama then seized the initiative, scoring the winning goal when substitute Fajardo smashed home Abdiel Ayarza’s cross.
(This copy has been refiled to remove an extra word from the headline)
(Reporting by Field Level Media; Editing by Jamie Freed and Gerry Doyle)
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