Harrison, N.J: James Rodriguez scored on a quick restart in the 75th minute and Colombia beat Canada 1-0 in the nightcap of an international friendly doubleheader Tuesday night.
After being frustrated repeatedly by goalkeeper Milan Borjan and a Canadian team that defended with numbers, Rodriguez drew a foul just outside the penalty area. While Canada tried to arrange its wall, Juan Fernando Quintero set the ball and quickly played it square across to Rodriguez, who scored from 18 yards out on a left-footed shot that beat Borjan inside the right post.
The goal electrified the partisan crowd of 22,727 and gave Colombia its second victory in five days at Red Bull Arena. It defeated El Salvador 3-0 on Friday before a sellout crowd of 25,000.
The match also was the third in six weeks for Colombia in the New York area. It lost 1-0 to Brazil on Sept. 5 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Ecuador beat El Salvador 5-1 in Tuesday's opening game.
Rodriguez was denied by Borjan on several occasions and the Real Madrid striker just missed high or wide on several more.
Ecuador had the better of play in the first half, generating three shots on goal and having a goal by Radamel Falcao disallowed for offside in the 17th minute.
Canada often kept 10 players behind the ball and did not manage a shot.
The South Americans' best chance came three minutes before halftime when Rodriguez drove a free kick from 25 yards that Borjan had to dive to knock away at the right post.
In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Rodriguez shot high, wide and worked his way to the byline before getting off a shot that was covered by Borjan.
Canada's best effort came in the 89th when Cyle Larin managed to dribble unchallenged to near the 18, but his effort was easily grabbed by Colombian keeper Camilo Vargas.
