Canada lets win slip away

 EDMONTON (CP) -- Canada's defence fell asleep for the last five minutes of the game Sunday and woke up with a nightmare of World Cup proportions -- a 2-2 tie with Mexico.
 With a 2-1 lead and less than five minutes to play -- and its slim chances of qualifying for the 1998 World Cup hanging in the balance -- Canada's defence faltered and let Mexico's Ramon Ramirez slip in for the equalizer.
 Canada had battled back from a miserable first half to take the lead on a cold afternoon in Edmonton. But a Canadian breakdown late in the game allowed Ramirez to sneak in alone behind the defence and tie the game in the 85th minute.
 "It's like when you sleep and dream about playing the Mexicans, you are winning 2-1 as the game winds down," Canadian team captain Randy Samuel said.
 "But dreams aren't supposed to end like a nightmare, and that's what happened here today."
 Samuel said the tie was "without doubt, the most disappointing game of my (14-year) career with the national team."
 Although Canada still has two games left to play in the 10-game final round qualifier, the team's slim chances to qualify for next year's World Cup in France are all but extinguished.
 To qualify, Canada (1-4-3) needs to beat the United States on Nov. 9 and Costa Rica on Nov. 16, giving it 12 points -- just to have a prayer in second or third place of the group.
 Canada then has to rely on luck: Mexico must beat the U.S., Costa Rica and Jamaica; Jamaica in turn must then win or tie against El Salvador; and finally, the U.S. and El Salvador must tie their closing qualifying match.
 Mexico (4-0-3), on the other hand, leads the qualifying group and is one point away from a berth in the World Cup tournament next year in France thanks to the tie.
 On Sunday, Mexico completely dominated the first half despite -11 C conditions in windy Edmonton. A goal by Enrique Alfaro in the eighth minute set the stage.
 But Canada seemed like a new team in the second half, which came out strong and scored two goals in nine minutes -- while Mexico trailed for the first time in qualifying.
 Coach Bob Lenarduzzi said the team showed its vulnerable side in the first half when Mexico opened the scoring.
 "I thought we were in for a long afternoon," Lenarduzzi said. "But the team battled back, and we got ourselves into the lead."
 Forward Alex Bunbury made a pretty pass to midfielder Carlo Corazzin who buried it in the net in the 55th minute.
 "We have a lot to be proud of," Bunbury said. "We had them on the ropes. We were four minutes away from a big win."
 Nine minutes later, Bunbury led another Canadian charge. A throw-in by defender Frank Yellop came off a Mexican player and right onto Bunbury's foot, who made it count for a 2-1 lead.
 But try as it might, Canada could not maintain the lead to the very end. Mexico scored in the 85th minute.
 Lenarduzzi said it was still too early to talk about his future with the national team, following the disappointing World Cup run.
 But he was pleased with the "outstanding " play of newcomers Martin Nash and Jason Bent -- two players who will be depended upon for Canada's future soccer hopes.