Injuries, travel fatigue or off-the-pitch gamesmanship: no matter what the cause, the result will stand in the records. Canada has suffered its first defeat in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers under head coach Stephen Hart. The traveling Canadians lost 0:2 loss to Panama at the Estadio Rommel Fernández on 11 September 2012, a loss on Match Day 4 of the CONCACAF 3rd Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Qualifiers.

Panama was the better team for much of the match, a match that was briefly interrupted after a series of the stadium lights failed early in the first half. After the lights were turned back on, Panama scored on either side of the break, with Rolando Blackburn scoring midway through the first half and Blas Pérez scoring midway through the second half.

After the match, coach Hart noted that his team was sluggish, but had not yet identified whether it was the travel, humidity or rough welcome from the local Panamanian fans. Hart was also forced into making an early lineup change after De Rosario suffered an injury inside the first 10 minutes. He was already without striker Olivier Occean (injury) and attacking midfielder Will Johnson (suspension) from Match Day 3.

In the first half, Marcel de Jong created Canada's first chance on a play down the left side. Perhaps getting one step too deep, he fired a shot that beat the goalkeeper, but missed the far post along the ground.

On another rush late in the first half, Tosaint Ricketts used his speed to get inside the box, but he could not beat the defence pair that stood tall to knock Ricketts to the ground.

It was midway through the first half that Panama scored the first goal. It was Armando Cooper that started the danger down the left side, ultimately letting loose a cross that turned into Panama's favour for an offensive corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Blackburn made contact in the air, heading the ball towards the back post before it ricocheted back into the goal.

On Panama's second goal, Alberto Quintero burst down the left wing and rounded defender David Edgar before teeeing up goal scorer Pérez. From the edge of the six-yard box, Pérez easily finished from close range for a 2-0 lead in the 57th minute.

Canada's speedy forwards Ricketts and Simeon Jackson did win several free kicks and corner kicks for the Canadian attack, but Canada failed to convert on any of their set plays. Canada came closest in 77th minute on a free kick from just outside the box: de Jong's kick, however, sailed just wide of target.

The Panama-Canada match at Estadio Rommel Fernández drew 21,853 fans. In two years of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Canada's record now stands at six wins, three draws and one loss under coach Hart. For the second time in four matches, meanwhile, midfielder Julian de Guzman was selected Canada's man of the match.

LINEUPS FOR CANADA AND PANAMA:
Canada's starting XI featured Lars Hirschfeld in goal, David Edgar at right back, Kevin McKenna and André Hainault at centre back, Ante Jazic at left back, and Julian de Guzman, Simeon Jackson, Marcel de Jong, Atiba Hutchinson, Dwayne De Rosario and Patrice Bernier from the midfield up through to the attack. In the first half, De Rosario was injured in the 9th minute and replaced (after the lights came on) in the 21st minute. In the second half, coach Stephen Hart replaced both Edgar and Bernier with Nik Ledgerwood and Pedro Pacheco in the 79th minute.

Panama's starting XI featured Jaime Penedo in goal, Eduaro Dasent at right back, Román Torres and Felipe Baloy at centre back, Luis Henríquez at left back, and Armando Cooper, Gabriel Gómez, Amilcar Henríquez, Rolando Blackburn, Alberto Quintero and Blas Pérez from the midfield up through to the attack. In the second half, coach Julio Dely Valdés replaced Blackburn with Anibal Godoy (69'), Quintero with Yairo Glaize Yau (74'), and Cooper for Ralph Barahona (86').

THE GAME AWAY FROM THE GAME IN PANAMA:
Amongst the antics employed by Panama in the lead up to the match, they facilitated the secret recording of Canada's closed Match Day One training session and they promoted a Panama supporters party outside Canada's hotel. The federation-promoted party, which lasted more than three hours into the early hours of the morning of match day, was notably highlighted in the news in both Panama and Canada. During the match, the grounds crew at the Estadio Rommel Fernández endeavoured one more act of gamesmanship in favour of Panama: they watered only half the pitch (to the advantage of Panama's attackers) during the half-time break.