Hat-trick hero Guerrero gives Peru third place at Copa

Posted on July 24, 2011 by SoccerPunter

Hamburg striker Guerrero was involved in the opener as William Chiroque fired home three minutes before the break before ripping the Venezuelans to pieces with a second-half showing which was helped by a sending off for Venezuelan midfielder Tomas Rincon.

Guerrero drove in his second goal just after the hour mark and, after Juan Arango had briefly threatened a comeback by making it 2-1 in the 78th minute, Guerrero turned the screw with two further goals in time added on.

Venezuelan hopes of drawing level were hit just before the hour when they were reduced to 10 men.

Rincon, who missed his side’s semi-final defeat due to a red card in the quarter-final win over Chile, was harshly dismissed again on 58 minutes when Carlos Lobaton made a meal of a challenge that merited a yellow card at most.

“We are happy to have clinched third place. We all fought hard for this,” said Guerrero as Peru showed that under coach Sergio Markarian they have improved from the side which ended the last World Cup qualifying tournament bottom of their group.

Guerrero’s goals took him top of the scoring charts at the event with a total of five.

But he said that personal achievement was secondary to the win.

“I work for the team – they are the most important for me,” he said.

Uruguay meets Paraguay on Sundy to decide the ultimate winner for Copa America 2011.

View the head to head stats for Uruguay vs Paraguay