

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press





TORONTO -- A night to celebrate for Canada turned slightly sour Saturday as Vancouver Whitecaps teenager Alphonso Davies saw red late in a 2-0 friendly win over Jamaica.

The 16-year-old Davies apologized via social media after being sent off in the 75th minute for kicking out at Jamaica's Damion Lowe after the two went down in a tangle in the corner. Lowe had seemingly precipitated the incident by shoving the Canadian.

It was unclear what contact Davies made with his boot but Lowe clutched his face and Costa Rican referee Ricardo Montero pulled out the red. Davies exited, pulling his jersey over his face in seeming embarrassment as he walked off.

Davies was the darling of the Gold Cup earlier this summer, with three goals and a handful of awards. But he collected nothing but controversy this night after coming on in the 70th minute for his sixth cap.

"To be honest it happened so fast, I didn't really know what was going at the time," Davies said in a very brief media scrum after the game. "I've just got to go back and reflect on what happened."

He was more forthcoming on Twitter, saying: "I just want to apologize to @CanadaSoccerEN for my breakout on the field earlier today, and to the people that came to watch the game." The tweet was accompanied by a GIF subtitled "I'm sorry."

Ironically his pre-game tweet showed him kicking a corner flag in a goal celebration below the words "game day."

Coach Octavio Zambrano didn't defend the play but supported his young midfielder.

"He's a young guy," he said after the match. "A lot of things have happened to him. A lot of things that people know and other things that people don't know.

"We just have to be patient with him. He's a great kid. I stand by him ... I am not overly concerned because I know his essence as a human being. He's a great kid. He's going to be OK."

The win, a measure of revenge for being ousted out of the Gold Cup earlier this summer by the Reggae Boyz, continued the Canadian men's resurgence under Zambrano. There is more work to do but the Ecuador native, who is 3-1-2 at the helm, has Canada playing with confidence and poise.

Anthony Jackson-Hamel and Jonathan Osorio scored for Canada, which led 2-0 after just 30 minutes. Winger Junior Hoilett was the man of the match, tormenting defenders while showing off a deep bag of tricks.

A poor performance by Jamaica helped the home side before 21,724 on a breezy night at BMO Field.

Jamaica, which vaulted 19 places after the Gold Cup, is currently ranked 57th in the world. Canada is No. 95.

The game was a rematch of the July CONCACAF championship quarter-final, which saw the Reggae Boyz dispatch the Canadian men 2-1. The Jamaicans went on to upset Mexico 1-0 in the semifinal before falling 2-1 to the U.S.

Jamaica's pace posed early problems for Canada but the home side went ahead in the 16th minute, taking advantage of a giveaway by veteran defender Jermaine Taylor after some Canadian pressing. The ball went straight to Hoilett, who curled in a low cross to Jackson-Hamel and the Montreal Impact forward tapped the ball in for his third goal in eight appearances.

Osorio made it 2-0 after an interception by captain Atiba Hutchinson. Samuel Piette passed to Jackson-Hamel who deftly flicked the ball past two defenders to an open Osorio. The Toronto FC midfielder celebrated his second international goal in front of the south stand, sinking to his knees.

Jamaica's best chance in the first half came in the 45th minute on a Kemar Lawrence cross that found a wide-open Romario Williams. But the former Montreal Impact draft pick's weak shot was parried by goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler.

Both sides made changes in the second half, with Cyle Larin and Samuel Adekugbe the first off the Canadian bench. An injured Adekugbe lasted just seven minutes, replaced by Mark-Anthony Kaye at left fullback.

The stream of second-half changes did little for the flow of the game, although Jamaica rallied somewhat.

Zambrano fielded a largely young, inexperienced squad. The starting 11 totalled 266 caps of which 204 came from Hutchinson (77), Marcel de Jong (54), Dejan Jakovic (38) and Piette (35).

Leutwiler made his first start in the absence of regular No. 1 Milan Borjan, earning his third cap.

Jamaica coach Theodore Whitmore was unimpressed by his team, calling the first half "embarrassing."

Without elaborating, he blamed "off-the-field incidents," leading up to the game.

"I guess it's something that we need to address from the (Jamaica Football) Federation point of view," he added. "The players were a bit lethargic in the first half of the game."

The Jamaica starting 11 featured eight of the starters from the Gold Cup final. Canada had just five of the same starters from the tournament quarter-final.