Houston (AFP) – Alphonso Davies scored in the first half and Milan Borjan made several brilliant saves as Canada held on for a 1-1 tie with Costa Rica to remain undefeated at the 2017 CONCACAF Golf Cup.
Teenage phenom Davies opened the scoring with his third goal of the tournament in the 26th minute for Canada who are the surprise co-leaders atop Group A after beating French Guiana 4-2 in their opener.
The 16-year-old Davies used his blazing speed to race past the Costa Rica defence and hammer a cross to the near post. Davies scored two goals against French Guiana in his Gold Cup debut on Friday.
Davies almost scored again in the 36th minute as he slipped around a defender and picked up the ball but fell before he could get a shot off at the BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Davies left the game after rolling his right ankle early in the second half. At that point the complexion of Canada’s attack changed. Without their offensive threat, Canada had to sit back and rely on their defence to preserved the tie.
Goalkeeper Borjan did his part, becoming their best player as he came up with several diving saves to keep the score level with Costa Rica threatening on almost every corner kick.
Francisco Calvo tied it off a corner in the 42nd minute, outleaping a Canadian defender and redirecting the ball past Borjan, who had suffered a nasty black eye in Friday’s 4-2 win over French Guiana.
The majority of Costa Rica’s scoring chances in the second half came off corners as the Canadians were guilty of mental lapses on defence and had to be rescued time and time again by Borjan.
The draw means Canada is tied for first place in Group A at four points with Costa Rica who recorded their first ever win over Honduras in their opening game.
