Canada has shown that they are a legitimate challenger for one of the CONCACAF spots on offer at the 2010 World Cup. However, at this moment that is probably of little consequence given the nature of their controversial loss to the USA in the Gold Cup semi-final.
With only seconds left and Canada pushing for an equalizer a ball was lofted forward towards the US penalty box. Onyewu stretched for the header and finished up heading the ball to the feet of Atiba Hutchinson who calmly side footed it past Keller in the US goal.
From the limited TV replays we received in Canada – apparently the Toronto thingies were playing a game of rounders – Hutchinson was not in an offside position when the initial ball was played forward and although he was in an offside position when he benefited from Onyewu’s wayward header the only way it could have been judged offside was if the ball had deflected of the big US defender.
It would require an active imagination to construe Onyewu’s header as a deflection. But an active imagination apparently is exactly what the assistant referee has as he immediately flagged and the referee accepted his call. If there are any referees out there who might shed some light on this decision I know a good number of Canadian fans would love to hear from you.
The first thirty minutes of the match consisted of the USA trying to play a bit too quickly while Canada could have done with a bit more pace to their game. Although the US may have had the better of the play Canada had a couple of set piece opportunities that might have turned profitable.
But it was the USA that opened the scoring through full back Frankie Hejduk. Hejduk may have trouble with his distribution at times but you have to admire the enthusiasm and energy that he brings to every game. And you have to admire the way he struck the ball from just outside the box to put the US into the lead.
The second goal came from the penalty spot after Beasley was tripped by Canadian keeper Pat Onstad. Beasley was played in by the simplest of passes inside full back Paul Stalteri. Donovan drilled his penalty down the middle.
The two goals the USA scored in the last ten minutes or so of the first half served to change the shape of the game in the second half. The play spread out and as Canada tried to push forward there were acres of space for the US midfielders and forwards to run at the Canadian defence. As the second half progrressed the US’s bad habit of spurning chances reemerged and it proved costly, although thanks to the officiating, it was not fatal.
The emergence of Ian Hume was a turning point for Canada as the wee man starting hustling the US defence and running at the them at every opportunity. Suddenly Canada’s attacks became more intense and threatening and when Hume equalized with a quarter of an hour left we knew we were in for a barnstorming finish.
Ratings Canada Onstad (6) – Had no chance with either of the two US goals. Otherwise rarely tested.
Stalteri (4) – Was guilty of a sloppy back pass in the second half. Was unable to get forward into attacking positions.
Hastings (6) – Handled Dempsey and Johnston well.
Hainault (6) – Ditto.
Jazic (7) – A very competent performance.
Bernier (6) – Pace of the game was a bit too quick for him but he made few mistakes.
Hutchinson (7) – Never imposed himself on the game but he showed again that he is type of player who can turn a game in an instant.
Nash (4) - When given time he sprayed a couple of great passes but in close quarters he was ineffective.
De Guzman (7) – Victim of a brutal challenge in the first half but De Guzman was Canada's most consitent performer over 90 minutes.
De Rosario (5) – Looked like he was going to pull off something special in first half but faded in the second.
Gerba (6) – A thankless task being the lone striker with little support for long stretches of the match. Fought valiantly.
Subs. Hume (8) – A terrific performance off the bench only reinforced the unanswered question as to why he was used so sparingly in this competition.
Nakajima-Farran – no rating
USA Keller (6) – Handled what he came his way.
Hejduk (8) – Scored a call and was here, there and everywhere…although you may not want to see that in your right back.
Onyewu (3) – He might be a fan favourite but too often he is an accident waiting to happen.
Bocanegra (4) – Was lucky to be on the park after a spectacularly late challenge on De Guzman in the first half.
Bornstein (5) – Showed great promise and energy in the first half but suffered in the second half as much of the US attacks avoided the left side.
Dovovan (6) – The upside his Donovan continued to look for the ball even though he struggled most of the evening. He will want to remember his set up for the first goal and his well-struck penalty. He will want to forget his wiff with an open goal in front of him. That was in the 50th minute and would have killed the game as a contest.
Bradley (4) – Was prominent in the early stages of the first half but his performance dropped off alarmingly as the game progressed. Rightfully shown a straight red card for a challenge that was late, high, from behind and designed to stop a player breaking away from him – the referee got that one spot on!
Mastroeni (7) – Patrolled his area well with a minimum of fuss as a good holding midfield should do.
Beasley (6) – Everytime I watch Beasley I am left with the feeling that he could have contributed so much more.
Johnson (4) – Poorly timed runs and failed to link well with Dempsey and the midfield.
Dempsey (5) – Absolutely starved of the ball but failed to go and get as well.
Canada destroyed Guatemala 3-0 in a Gold Cup quarter-final match in which Guatemala was fortunate to get the nothing. Canada dominated from the start and Guatemala had no answer to a team that controlled the game in all areas of the field.
There might have been a few eyebrows raised when Coach Stephen Hart recalled midfielders Patrice Bernier and Martin Nash in place of Issy Nakijima-Ferran and Chris Pozniak. As it turned out the Guatemalans hardly got close to Nash all afternoon and Atiba Hutchinson and Julian De Guzman were given free rein to control the midfield. De Guzman must have covered every blade of grass at least twice while Hutchinson exhibited a fantastic change of pace when breaking from the midfield.
As expected, Guatemala started the game defending deep and allowing Canada possession. However, after a lapse in concentration led to Canada’s first goal Guatemala found it impossible to adjust from their one-dimensional game. The second goal scored by Ali Gerba was probably as nice a goal as Canada as ever scored. A series of one touch passes eventually found Gerba unmarked in the centre of the penalty box and he powered a side-footed shot high into the Guatemalan net.
The third goal that came before half-time was an own-goal courtesy of Henry Medina. Even at 3-0 down Guatemala was unable to mount any kind of threatening attack and Canadian goalkeeper Pat Onstad’s only action came when he was put under pressure and had to hack away a ball that had been played back to him.
Altogether an exceptional performance from Canada and now a Gold Cup semi-final game waits on Wednesday at Soldier Field in Chicago against the host country.
Officiating - Referee Courtney Campbell of Jamaica had an outstanding game with one exception. The elbow thrown by Carlos Ruiz that cut Richard Hastings should have been a straight red card. Instead Ruiz got away with a yellow.
As the Canada – Haiti match coincided with part of the FSR last night I didn’t get a chance to see the full game until today.
An improved performance by Canada – they played at a higher pace and kept Haiti under pressure when they had the ball. Toronto’s Chris Pozniak came into the side to play as the defensive midfield player, while Atiba Hutchinson dropped a bit deeper to play alongside Julian De Guzman in the centre of midfield. Over the ninety minutes the two moves gave Canada a more solid look in the engine room although the price paid was a lack of support to Rob Friend who played as the lone striker.
Dwayne De Rosario’s two goals inside five minutes just after the half hour mark of the first half put Canada in the driver’s seat. The first came after a Stalteri cross that bypassed striker Rob Friend but dropped to De Rosario. The Haiti keeper got caught out badly at his near post. The second was from the penalty spot when the lively Issey Nakajima-Farran was fouled after nipping around a defender. The power in De Rosario’s spot kick compensated for a placement that was a bit to close to goalkeeper Gabart Fenelon for comfort.
Either side of half time Haiti enjoyed their best spell and that lasted for around twenty minutes. During that time Canada lost their way defensively and needed keeper Pat Onstad to come to the rescue on at least three occasions. In one case Onstad took a sickening shot to the head as he dove at an on-rushing Haitian forward. After a delay of over five minutes Onstad continued on.
Going into the last eight of the Gold Cup (opponents still not known) the centre of the Canadian defense is probably the biggest concern. Under any sort of pressure Hastings and Hainault look very uncomfortable. Despite De Rosario’s two goals against Haiti there were long stretches of the game when he was not involved in the game as he was left marooned out on the left wing. To be consistently successful Canada has to find a way to bring De Rosario into the game for longer stretches.
Ian Hume was left on the Canadian bench again – something that I think surprises many people while Rob Friend could have benefited with more support up front. He was left to plough a lone furrow with minimal support from midfield.
A post-script to how Guadeloupe stacks up against other teams in the region. In the Shell Caribbean Cup of 2007 – the qualifying competition for this Gold Cup – Guadeloupe played eleven games, winning seven and losing four. They beat French Saint-Martin, Dominica, Martinique, Dominican Republic, Antigua & Barbuda, Cuba and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They lost to Guyana twice, Haiti and Cuba. In total they scored 22 goals and conceded 14.
While the fans left BMO Field last Saturday talking of Toronto’s first win, first goal and even the first sending off, it was a disciplined and rugged defense that accounted for this win over MLS Champions Houston Dynamo.
With wind, rain and a game time temperature of 8 degrees (46 F) silky soccer was never on the agenda. Nonetheless, Houston started the game with some zip in their play and pinned Toronto back early on. But despite their lively play it didn’t translate into many clear cut scoring opportunities for the defending champions.
The best Houston effort came from a corner kick when Eddie Robinson took advantage of a hesitant Greg Sutton only to see his downward header cleared off the line by Ronnie O’Brien.
And it was O’Brien who set up the Toronto FC goal from a wickedly delivered free kick at the mid way point of the first half. Taken right footed from a little over 30 yards out on the left hand side the free kick was delivered with tremendous pace and swerve. It was the sort of free kick that defenders have to have the courage to attack. None did, and Welsh scored a “dandruff goal” – it came off a bit of his head and a bit of his shoulder.
As half time approached Houston continued to enjoy the majority of possession but the Toronto defenders were able to funnel the Dynamo attacks into the centre of the field where Carl Robinson dealt with any danger.
Dynamo’s best chance can just after half time when newly signed Joseph Ngweyna took advantage of an uncharacteristic slip by centre back Jim Brennan and found himself clean through with only the keeper to beat. Ngweyna put the ball wide and although Dynamo huffed and puffed they created little in the way of clear cut chances.
With ten minutes to play Edson Buddle took advantage of the Houston pushing forward in search of an equalizer and with only keeper Pat Onstad to beat he hit the ball straight at the keeper.
So Toronto FC adds another first to their growing list – this time their first shut out. Six games into the MLS season and the defense is unrecognizable from the Chinese fire drill that took the field in their first three games and conceded nine goals.
The signings of full backs Marvell Wynne and Kevin Goldthwaite has added a bit of speed and balance while Jim Brennan has been excellent playing in an unaccustomed role at centre back. Coach Mo Johnston has the other centre back Andrew Boyens on a short leash with only the basics being requested. However, given that Boyens looked about as comfortable as a man with piles perched on a cactus during his first two appearances against Chivas and New England, it is a wise move.
And one that is paying dividends as Boyens has been a far more effective player in the last two games as he has kept it simple. Carl Robinson has given Toronto FC a much more solid look playing the holding role in the last two games while the midfield in general is doing their part by harrowing the opposition when needed and maintaining possession when able.
Toronto FC is now off the bottom in the East and on Saturday DC United, who trail TFC by two points, arrives at BMO Field looking for their second win of the season.
Were you at the game or did you watch it on TV? Let’s hear your take on the match.
Saturday started at 4:30 a.m. and finished around midnight. In between there was a trip to Toronto to work the Chicago game for Fox Soccer Channel and what a great day it turned out to be. The new stadium is a terrific venue but it is the enthusiasm of the fans that stands out. The close to 20,000 fans (including a healthy number of supporters who made the trek from Chicago) in attendance were given a match to remember with Toronto FC notching their first goal and eventually their first win.
There was also the first red card in Toronto FC’s history with the scorer of the first goal Danny Dichio sent off along with Chicago Fire’s Diego Gutierrez on the stroke of half time. Todd Grisham, who was anchoring the FSC presentation, asked just as we were about to start the second half who might now have the advantage.
My opinion was that it would be easier for Chicago to cover the loss of Gutierrez in midfield than it would be for Toronto to compensate for the loss of their big striker. How wrong I was and it was down to how Toronto coach Mo Johnston reacted to the enforced change.
Johnston moved Edson Buddle further forward from his support role to take the lone striker position. Maurice Edu was also asked to work harder than he had even done in the first half when he helped set up the Toronto goal and to get forward and support Buddle. But the most crucial move was keeping Ronnie O’Brien and Andy Welsh wide on the right and left touchlines respectively.
It was a move that could have backfired and provided the Fire with an opportunity to overrun the midfield. As it turned out O’Brien (making his first MLS appearance for Toronto) and Welsh (playing his best game so far since arriving from England) stretched the Chicago back three and midfield and never allowed the Fire to dictate play in the second half.
The Toronto midfield constantly changed the point of attack from wing to wing and it paid off with two second half goals. Like the first goal, the second and third goals came from crosses from the right wing and both involved diagonal runs across the Chicago defense. First Buddle and then Welsh created space for Kevin Goldthwaite and Maurice Edu at the back post and both goals were put away with some panache and composure.
This first win for Toronto sets up an intriguing encounter this Wednesday at BMO Field with reigning MLS Champions, the Houston Dynamo. Houston’s ranks include Canadian internationals Pat Onstad and the mercurial Dwayne de Rosario.
Quip of the day: Fans attending the game on Saturday were provided with cushions upon their entry to the stadium. The cushions also doubled as Frisbees and were launched on mass onto the park when Toronto scored their first ever goal. Well known Canadian broadcaster and analyst #### Howard was working the sideline with FSR anchor Jeremy St. Louis. As an army of volunteers cleared the field of cushions #### turned to Jeremy and said, “Could be problems on Wednesday night with the battery give-away”.
Thank you to all the fans who stopped by to say hello at the FSC desk on Saturday. A special thanks to the gentleman who was kind enough to provide me with a pint of Tetley’s.
Were you at the game or did you watch it on TV? Let’s hear your take on the match.
"The Sea of Orange that flooded Pizza Hut Park is heading back to Houston a very happy bunch. Thousands of Dynamo supporters arriving at the Park hours before Sunday's MLS Cup Final sporting orange t-shirts, face paint, scarves, you name it - if it was orange they had it and man could they sing. A city without a team a year ago has really found a home, and the PK win over New England only puts the icing on the cake for a whirlwind year for the fomer Earthquakes. Congratulations to a rabid fan-base...that is a very special group of staff and players.
New England fans weren't as numerous as Houston fans, but those making the trip where every bit as colorful and full of voice. How tough it's got to be to see their side take an extra-time lead, watch it disappear in an instant, and then witness the season end on a PK save by Pat Onstad? Five straight Eastern Conference Championship appearances, and three Conference titles is something to be proud of, and though that 'un-finished' business theme will linger for another year there were 10 other teams at home and watching Sunday.
Although there were moments of activity inside the 90, the nil-nil score through two halves had to be a disappointment for the teams, the league, and the supporters because both sides showed alot of offensive ability all season. Other than Taylor Twellman getting robbed mid first-half by Pat Onstad, and a boost in energy when Clint Dempsey came on just past the hour, the match was far from the high-scoring contest guys like Twellman and Ching were anticipating Saturday. That said, I understand no one wants to be the one to throw away one-shot at a title...I only wonder what we would have seen if someone had cashed in early.
Hard to believe Monday is a trade-period day. Tuesday protected lists get turned in, and Friday Toronto FC selects 10 players...just like that the off-season is here, and the Houston Dynamo head into 2007 as defending champs with now 12 teams looking to knock them off.
Might one of those teams be fielding a David Beckham or a Luis Figo...can't wait to find out!"
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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