Cordoba: Peru claimed a shock 2-0 win over Colombia after extra-time thanks to strikes from Lobaton and Vargas. Their Copa America adventure continues as the Colombians missed a penalty and struck the woodwork twice in normal time as they unbelievable crashed out of the competition.
The Colombians settled into the game immediately, knocking the ball about confidently but could not muster any clear cut chance as the Peruvians eventually matched the tempo of the game.
Peru's Vargas was proving to be an excellent attacking outlet for his side as he flung in two dangerous balls before unleashing his own shot from 30 yards which had Martinez scrambling only for the shot to zip narrowly wide.
Falcao led Colombia's attack expertly involving his team-mates, mainly Aguilar, and it was the former who almost had a chance to draw first blood but Peru's Ramos nudged ahead of the Porto man and ushered the ball behind to safety.
Vargas tried his luck from distance again but Martinez was equal to the effort this time. Colombian captain Yepes headed over wastefully from Guarin's corner which then signalled the end of an entertaining half.
The second half began slowly with fouls stunting any momentum building in either team. Yepes found his team-mate Moreno with a sumptuously measured ball and the forward's first touch allowed him a shot at goal but it was slammed wide of the post.
Moreno once more proved the thorn in the Peruvian defence as he drew a foul in the box which earned Colombia a golden chance to break the deadlock. However Falcao inexplicably hit it low and wide as Sergio Markarian's outfit breathed a sigh of relief.
But that miss only seemed to galvanise Colombia, as Moreno rattled the post for his nation as they relentlessly searched for the opener. Peru's Balbin forced Martinez to tip a shot over the bar as they managed to stem the tide of the waves of Colombian attacks.
But deep into injury-time, Colombia were mere centimetres from producing the winner. Guarin blasted a shot from the edge of the box but Fernandez put it onto the bar with his fingertips as Peru lurched fortunately into extra-time thanks to the woodwork.
As the Colombian continued to largely dominate proceedings in extra-time, Peru's Lobaton snatched a goal from nothing. In the 101st minute, Martinez failed to deal with a cross and it dropped to the 31-year-old who rifled the ball in from 18 yards out to give Peru a 1-0 lead.
Vargas added gloss to the win as his strike in the 112th minute killed off any hopes of a Colombian comeback. He lashed a shot into the top corner to certify his team’s extended stay in Argentina.
The victory for Peru means they will face Argentina or Uruguay in a mouth-watering semi-final clash which is to take place on July 19th. Meanwhile Colombia will return home devastated after crashing out of the tournament through nobody else's fault but their own.
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