Colombia coach Pekerman rues Valencia loss after Peru stalemate

By Camila Ramirez TEMUCO, Chile (Reuters) - The loss of midfielder Edwin Valencia midway through the first half was a turning in point in Colombia's 0-0 draw with Peru at the Copa America on Sunday, coach Jose Pekerman said. Brazil’s 2-1 win over Venezuela, which gave them top place in Group C and a last-eight clash with Paraguay, meant Colombia scraped through as the second-best third placed team to a quarter-final against Group B winners Argentina on Friday. Peru had the same goal difference as Colombia but finished second in the group on goals scored and progressed to a quarter-final with Bolivia, who were second to hosts Chile in Group A. "We tried everything, Colombia always sought to win the match. We came close, in the first half we put a lot of pressure on Peru," Pekerman told reporters. "But then we suffered an unexpected injury, inopportune, unfortunate. That's always a difficult situation ... Valencia was the nexus who made all our players fit together." Colombia lost their rhythm after Valencia fell badly on his right knee in the 20th minute of the match at Temuco and had to be replaced by Alexander Mejia. "The game evened out a bit, we tried to accommodate ourselves but didn’t quite manage,” said Pekerman, whose side had beaten Brazil 1-0 in their previous match after a shock 1-0 loss to Venezuela. “We had chances in the second half and sought desperately to score,” the Argentine added. “A goal changes things and if you don’t score it gets tough. To be 0-0 was not good for us, we played under the sword. “Peru kept their lines tight, their priority was to draw and sporadically try to make the most of a chance ... We were never able to play through balls which is what we like.” Pekerman’s compatriot and Peru counterpart Ricardo Gareca said his team had "reached an important objective we had set ourselves". “We played an interesting game and in time we’ll be able to grow a lot more,” said Gareca, charged with rebuilding the Peruvian team in a bid to reach their first World Cup finals since 1982. “The opening minutes were tough because Colombia came at us but we gradually controlled the game. Overall the team looked balanced and we kept a clean sheet.” (Reporting by Camila Ramirez; Writing by Rex Gowar; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)