Barranquilla, Colombia – Colombia strengthened its hold on second place in the final South American 2014 World Cup Qualifying group on Tuesday after posting a comfortable 2-0 victory over Peru at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez.
Colombia got off the mark quickly as star striker and newly-minted AS Monaco man Radamel Falcao converted a penalty kick in the 13th minute to give his side the early advantage.
The hosts then added a second goal on the stoke of halftime as Teofilo Gutierrez found the back of the net.
Peru never looked like scoring throughout the match and things got even harder for the visitors when Carlos Zambrano was sent off 20 minutes from time as Colombia held on for the full three points.
The result moves Colombia to 23 points from 12 matches, while Peru remains in sixth place in the group on 14 points.
Elsewhere in South America on Tuesday, group leaders Argentina managed a 1-1 draw with Ecuador despite Javier Mascherano being shown a red card three minutes from time.
Sergio Aguero converted a spot kick just four minutes in for Argentina, but Segundo Castillo found an equalizer for Ecuador in the 17th minute. The result sees Argentina remain on top of the group with 26 points, while Ecuador stays in third place.
Edison Cavani scored in the 27th minute as Uruguay held on for a 1-0 victory over 10-man Venezuela, while in COMNEBOL's final match of the day, Eduardo Vargas, Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal all fired home goals as Chile topped Bolivia by a 3-1 score.
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