Shaffelburg’s brace powers Canada to 2-0 win over Peru in Montreal

MONTREAL — Jacob Shaffelburg's first-half brace powered Canada to a 2-0 win over Peru in Saturday's international friendly at Saputo Stadium.

Shaffelburg opened the scoring in the 19th minute off a feed from Daniel Jebbison and doubled the lead in the 35th, giving Canada a 2-0 halftime edge it never relinquished.

Canada controlled the match throughout, holding 61 per cent of possession and outshooting Peru 17-4. The visitors never put a shot on target.

Head coach Jesse Marsch fielded an even younger side than the one that faced Chile last week, with the starting eleven averaging under 24 years old. Goalkeeper Owen Goodman earned his first senior cap, while Richard Chukwu and Jebbison made their first starts.

The second half brought more milestones. Justin Smith, in his first senior camp as cover for Derek Cornelius's hip injury, came off the bench for his senior debut. Samuel Piette also entered as a substitute to earn his 70th cap.

Peru gave goalkeeper Diego Romero his first cap in place of veteran Pedro Gallese. The South Americans arrived in rough form with one win in their last 15 matches.

The result was Canada's second straight win over Peru after the 1-0 Copa América group-stage victory two years ago. Peru won the previous friendly between the sides 2-0 in 2010.

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