Mendoza: Peru moved joint-top of Group C in the 2011 Copa America after a late 1-0 victory over Mexico, a result which left the recently crowned Gold Cup champions on the verge of elimination.
Mexico's inexperienced side found themselves at the receiving end of a Peruvian blitz in the opening mnutes as Rinaldo Cruzado, Carlos Lobaton and Paolo Guerrero all registered early efforts as Sergio Markarian's men looked to signal their intent.
A barrage of Juan Manuel Vargas corners continued to test Mexico's haggard-looking defence, but the back of the net was elusive, even to Peru, who enjoyed as good a spell as anyone in this edition of the trophy.
As the contest trudged towards the half hour mark, it threatened to sink into anonymity. Vargas, Cruzado and Lobaton were unable to combine as they had done in the early stages, and Mexico’s defence began to settle into the tie, standing in the way of any corners or through ball la Rojiblanca threw at them.
It was perhaps unsurprising that the first half ended with a stalemate on the cards once more – for all of Mexico's determination, they rarely found themselves in Peruvian territory, save a short range effort from Aquino which was well blocked from Santiago Acasiete, while Peru's only sight of go
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