Gold Cup: Canada v Costa Rica (R)

[matthew]

Well six hours to kick off and I haven't even gone to bed yet.

La Nacion is reporting: Hirschfeld, DeVos, Hastings, Bent, McKenna, Dasovic, Fenwick, Canizalez, Imhof, Stalteri and Corazzin as our 11. While I'm sure that's not the gospel, it makes sense to me since I figured we'd see Dasovic and Fenwick no matter what. If that's true, do we figure:

--------------Hirschfeld
Bent--Fenwick--DeVos--Hastings
Imhof--Dasovic--Stalteri--Canizalez
----------Corrazin---McKenna

They are also saying that Costa Rica will lineup as someone posted yesterday:

------------------R.Gonzalez
------------Marin---Wright---Martinez
A. Castro--Centeno--Villejos--Leo. Gonzalez
----------------------Lopez
-------------Fonseca----Parks

Holger refused to talk to the Costa Rican media yesterday. At least he's an equal opportunity snubber.

The referee is Richard Piper from T&T. I don't think I've ever heard of him, but I don't always remember names for refs.

Ready to go.

cheers,
matthew


The secret of life is to find moments of levity and grace in what is, ultimately, a tragedy. Watching Canadian soccer is good practice for this.

[littleD]

Fenwick and Dasovic. *shudder*

Those are bad words. :D

[redhat]

quote:Originally posted by matthew



--------------Hirschfeld
Bent--Fenwick--DeVos--Hastings
Imhof--Dasovic--Stalteri--Canizalez
----------Corrazin---McKenna


It was reported that Holger might use a 4-4-1-1, with Stalteri as
attacking midfielder in support of McKenna. I guess we'll see it in
3 hours. [|)] I guess Bent will mark Parks (?) and Dasovic will play
his favorite position.


quote:
The referee is Richard Piper from T&T. I don't think I've ever heard of him, but I don't always remember names for refs.

I think I saw him at the pub near our hotel last night; should have
offered him a pint.:) I would stereotypically prefer him to someone
from Central America or Mexico as ref ...

[shaku_bert]

is anyone surprised that Nash isn't in? He should be fairly fit and I thought Holger always favoured Martin (as long as he's fit).

[Cheeta]

Maybe Nash and Hume.

Whooaa. Need more coffee. Holger. Two subs in one game. Righhhhht.

"Minority of one"

[shaku_bert]

Well, I know Holger isn't looking here for advice [:p] But his substitution regimine baffles me. We only see one sub, and then it only at the end of the game when little use will be made of the fresh legs.

I understand he wants to stay to his gameplan (not to be racist but he IS German and Germans have the stereotype of being regimented and stubborn) but one would imagine there are times to take chances (like when you're losing 4-1 to Germany) and let some other players have the run of the field.

[Cheeta]

Well, hour and bit to go. Still haven't decided if I'm going to nip off to the pool hall to watch or just yell in my basement. Nice thing about a saturday afternoon match is you can usually get the barkeep to at least switch one set over.

Cheeta cub's just shaking her head and doing that eye rolling thing. Grown man (physicaly anyway) all nerves over a stoopid soccer match in a mean nothing tourny. Yeah, well what do you think I'm going to be like later next year as WCQ gets on?

Don't know about anybody else but my house has certain rules when important matchs are playing all punishable by crucifixion (it was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for you) and usualy center around touching the VCR or bothering me with fu'king trivial bull**** like kitchen fires, home invasions, or constables with warrents. Etc, etc.

P.S. Canadian lager only during the game lads!!! Have some respect, man!

P.S.S. Keep the tradition alive! Cannon back a lager with each Canadian goal! Tape the match so you can see the 2nd half when your memmory's working again at a later date.

"Minority of one"

[littleD]

I guess I'll watch the first half. Gotta work nights, so 2pm is like the "latest" I can stay up.

Will be the first time I see any Canada MNT action since the last GC, against the US.

[Crazy_Yank]

I don't understand why Dasovis is starting. From what I've seen of him on FSW he isn't very good, even by A-league standards. I've seen all the Canadian sides play and I know there are better players than him.

"Try not, do. Do or do not. There is no try" - Yoda

[Sigma]

Just found out that my hotel I am staying at in Chicago has internet TV.... at least I will be able to follow the game. :)

-------------------------
Sigma do toho!

[Desigol]

Latest Score (Heading towards Half Time)

Canada 0 Costa Rica 0.

You don't win friends with salad!

[littleD]

Canada had 2 clear chances. Imhoff, I believe was absolutely robbed.

Canada's defence...slow and unorganized it seems.

Stalteri's been pretty useless.

[Crazy_Yank]

quote:Originally posted by littleD

Canada had 2 clear chances. Imhoff, I believe was absolutely robbed.

Canada's defence...slow and unorganized it seems.

Stalteri's been pretty useless.


I thought Stalteri has been your best player. The lack of a creative play maker is hurting the midfield.

"Try not, do. Do or do not. There is no try" - Yoda

[shaku_bert]

on spanish radio i heard them yapping about nash. was he booked or had a good chance?

[bettermirror]

stalteri has been great.

there ain't gonna be any middle any more.

[bettermirror]

GOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

paul stalteri! 59th minute!

(hirschfeld pulls off a wicked save from parks in the 61st - world class)

there ain't gonna be any middle any more.

[shaku_bert]

gooooooolllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!


canada!
Canada!

[shaku_bert]

am I right in my translation of the radio that holger made a substitution?
Canizales for Nash?

[Jeffery S.]

MC2 is on for Nash, and later around m. 65 Atiba comes on for Bent.

Costa Rica has taken off Parks the striker, and later a 2nd González off for another Castro (there is already one on the field).

Radio Única has every game off the Gold Cup except Canada-Cuba, wonder why that is? Do they just assume they don't have followers for either?

Make the ball run, so you don't have to.
-Johan Cruyff

[Krammerhead]

quote:Originally posted by littleD

Fenwick and Dasovic. *shudder*

Those are bad words. :D


Your a HATER! Dasovic HATER!!!

I like that we put Yul Brynner in goal.

[ADutchCanuck]

YEAH BABY!!!!!!

1-0 WIN!!!!!!!!

Man of the Match- Hirschfeld :D

FORZA FEYENOORD!!!!

Amstel Cup Finalists 2002-2003
3rd place in Eredivisie 2002-2003
2001-2002 UEFA Cup winners

[Jeffery S.]

We win, 1-0 on Stalteri's goal.

Good little ticker on the CSA site, kudos to them for that.

We are amazing.

Make the ball run, so you don't have to.
-Johan Cruyff

[bettermirror]

CANADA WIN! CANADA WIN!

there ain't gonna be any middle any more.

[mattbin]

My player ratings:

Lars Hirschfeld - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Chris Pozniak - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Paul Fenwick - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Jason De Vos - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Richard Hastings - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Jason Bent - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Nick Dasovic - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Daniel Imhof - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Martin Nash - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Paul Stalteri - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Kevin McKenna - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Subs:

Miguel Canizales - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Atiba Hutchinson - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.

Coach:

Holger Osieck - 10
Because Canada 1 - 0 Costa Rica.


I'm proud of these guys. They had to bend but never broke. Above-average performances from Pozniak and Bent (first half at least), stupendous performances by Hirschfeld and Stalteri, McKenna has improved greatly as a playmaker and passer in the offensive zone (but SHOOT DAMN YOU! SHOOOOOOT!), and Fenwick had a good strong game throughout.

Our quarter-final opponents had better take note. We're here to win.


Allez les Rouges,
M@

[loyola]

Great win, now we need to win the group to avoid the US and get El Salvador or Martinique in the semis.

Lars played quite well, another great GC performance for him.

Our defense looked bad at time, Hasting is the weakest player in our defense. Stalteri played an excellent match.

I'm happy to see us win a big game like that against a very good Costa Rican side.

[Crazy_Yank]

Full marks to Canada for pulling off the upset. Replace Dasovic though. He was letting players make dangerous runs all day. Against a better team those will turn into goals. Also, did DeVos even play today? I didn't look very good. Stalteri was impressive. I can see why Werder Bremen rate him so highly.

"Try not, do. Do or do not. There is no try" - Yoda

[Cheeta]

Mattbin, good ratings.

Yeah, yeah. Come on Kev, hit the fu'kin thing!

Excellent match. Just excellent. Lars man of the match easily. Speciel mention to Paul S. and Big Kev.

Little dodgey there on some of those diagnol runs by CR but good play at the back all around I though.

Nice to see Bent on that right side (and Pozniak). Especially looking to go forward. Stalteri to Bent to Stalteri to Bent intercepted on route to McKenna and muscled in by Diesel Stalteri for his 5th international! Absolutely wonderful.

That Holger. Good subs. Timely subs. The man was looking for the 2nd on a counter and didn't care who knew it! Selfish bastard was brilliant.

Oh My God. If they had wanted a 10 year old girl operating the center line camera they should have just called me, daughter's free this afternoon and would have worked for a Dairy Queen sunday. Horrible.

"Minority of one"

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by loyola

Great win, now we need to win the group to avoid the US and get El Salvador or Martinique in the semis.

Lars played quite well, another great GC performance for him.

Our defense looked bad at time, Hasting is the weakest player in our defense. Stalteri played an excellent match.

I'm happy to see us win a big game like that against a very good Costa Rican side.


They were going at Hastings all game. Pozniak, IMO, showed well and moves ahead of Hastings on the left side depth chart (He is usually a left side player is he not) and might be a good back up for Tam on the right as well.

The opinions expressed above are just that.

[Cheeta]

How about Gonzalez and Bent battling it out? Beauty, eh! Bent gets an assist (by accident but lots of good, good, play immediately before) and Gonzalez nearly plays hero at the other end.

Fenwick! Ha! Break a leg against Cuba, Paul. Not yours naturaly.

"Minority of one"

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack

Excellent match all together, because we beat a team ranked 18th in FIFA. Most of the deficiencies (sp?) against Germany were present, but CR isn't Germany. The defence looked lost at times. I think it might be time to put McKenna back on D, and maybe play Canizalez as a striker. The few times that Canizalez touched the ball, he looked dangerous.

-------------------------

"Underneath the fading sun,
The silent sum of a businessman
Has left us choking"

Half Day Closing - Portishead


Well I don't know about dangerous but certainly comfortable and confident. That one sideline run and dribble. Very nice.

"Minority of one"

[matthew]

I wasn't going to say a negative word because I am so proud of these guys, but that wouldn't be like me.

Great effort today. Lots of heart and determination. The grit is back and I love it. I don't know if we were the better team or not, but we wanted it more and we got what we deserved,

I thought everyone played pretty well and only Lars really had an oustanding game. Staklteri and DeVos were standouts, but they're standout players so that only figures. I knew Hastings would get some stick, but I thought he did very well with little support from Nash. The diagonal balls that were beating us on the right were beating Bent because he was getting back, Nash wasn't as much. As soon as MC2 came on, we were dealing with A Castro fine. I also like Hastings coming forward. I'm not saying he played a blinder or anything, but I didn't think he was any worse than anyone else.

I thought Dasovic and Fenwick both played well and gave a great account of themselves. Fenwick especially looked good. I still think he's too old to be in the running for 06, but it was nice to see him play well.

Holger> the subs! Brilliant timing and tactically realizing what we needed. Where has that been for the last 18 months? Sorry, I feel the love. Okay I would have subbed Hutchinson for Dasovic and moved Bent to the middle and I probably would have went for Hume instead of Corrazin, but Carlo's a veteran guy, so I won't complain.

Now I hope we see a couple of new starters to keep a few legs fresh (does anyone think Nick can go 90 twice in three days in that heat?).

Oh yeah that camera work was atrocious. And since when are there three time zones in Canada (next game at 6:30 ET and 4:30 PT.)?

cheers,
matthew


The secret of life is to find moments of levity and grace in what is, ultimately, a tragedy. Watching Canadian soccer is good practice for this.

[Krammerhead]

quote:Originally posted by matthew
(does anyone think Nick can go 90 twice in three days in that heat?).


Yes, but he shouldn't.

[Georgio]

quote:I think it might be time to put McKenna back on D, and maybe play Canizalez as a striker.

Whose going to win those knock downs though. Mckenna is too strong a presence .. he wins all the battles to gain/regain possession. I agree we could use McKenna to solidify the back where we looked suspect at times but the way that Holger likes to play off of a big high man just won't work with Canizales. Canizales does look dangerous though and is a good player in a role where he is running at people. It looks as though he has the same confidence as DeGuzman on the ball in the short time that I saw him. Maybe he could be a player to replace a tiring striker though. I hope to see Hume do that against Cuba though.

Hastings has improved immensely with is passing and composure on the ball since he first started playing with the Nats. He does still get beat too easily at times. Is that his pace or anticipation of the opposing teams attacking buildup? I thought he did fine though.

What scares me is an opposing player in both the Germany game and this one are able to beat two or three players in the center just past our defensive third in the areas where Dasovic and Imhof are supposed to be either shutting them down cleanly or just running right through them. If Dasovic can't keep up then grab an arm and hold on for the ride. He played better then in the Germany game though and his experience does show.

Great match, great result. Holger made good and timely substitution decisions.

Men of the match IMO were Stalteri and Lars and I liked what I saw from Bent. He makes good decisions on and off the ball.

Right On!!

[Cheeta]

Absolutely. Little more offensive side against Cuba I'm thinking. Didn't score against CR on a corner allthough we certaily troubled them to no end. The air war is our one advantage against any side we're likely to meet outside of the final as far as I'm concearned so we might as well apply it.

I was just thinking during the game however as Nash was sending ball after ball into the box who do we have to take penalty kicks? I mean untell Corazzin came on we didn't really have a spot kick specialist on the pitch. At least one that I'm aware of.

P.S. Did Xausa look like he was chomping at the bit there during that one sideline shot or what? Don't know if he has enough pace to start against Cuba or not but he looks like he'll be all up Holger's ass to get some playing time yet.

"Minority of one"

[Canuck Oranje]

Man of the match definitely Hirshfeld.. He made some world class saves..

The man I would hate to play defense against... McKenna.. He seems to be annoying to play against. I sensed the Costa Rican defenders didn't like him much. Not in a nasty way but he seemed to draw a lot of attention.


Stalteri was our best out player even if he was indifferent at times..

Don't like our defence.. Need someone speedy back there to pair with DeVos.. Fullbacks not good enough with the ball Pozniak was ok at first but faded a bit...
Hastings was his usual self.

Canizales made some nice runs ... played well deserves another look as does Hutchinson.

[Cheeta]

If anything we know about the back line it's that Fenwick (Gerry says Fennick, I say Fen-wick) and JDV have an understanding on the green. Just need some flankers to maybe, kinda, sweep a little back there if you get me because yeah, those big men aren't exactly the best at turning are they?

McKenna is as good as a striker now untell he's dead. Bunbury didn't do as good a job as a target and his best years are far ahead of him. Do wish he had more pace though but Geezus, he's getting better in every aspect with every match we see him. Nice battles there at times too! Good strong, physical, efforts.

Big Kev,, your the big man.
SHOWMETHEHEARTOFMID-LO-THIAN!!!

P.S. Gotta go. Promised the little one ice cream after all the cursing and beer spilling.

P.S.S. Hey Matthew, Gordon, MaryAnne says Hi.


"Minority of one"

[matthew]

Well say hi back to MaryAnne for me.

There was a conversation going on downstairs that noticeably fell silent after I yelled "oh f***" after Imhof got robbed.

Nice to see the Boston boys representing. Tough with 5 or 6k Ticos to deal with, but they looked great after the goal.

cheers,
matthew


The secret of life is to find moments of levity and grace in what is, ultimately, a tragedy. Watching Canadian soccer is good practice for this.

[Canuck Oranje]

I have to agree with some comments here about Dasovic.. He has that patented late tackle that takes himself out of the play. put in Hutchinson.. He did well and is probably better defensively than Canizales. And Can't be worse than Dasovic.

[Canuck Oranje]

Move Bent to the middle.. Maybe he will even look more like Edgar Davids..lol Bent played well I thought

[ADutchCanuck]

quote:Originally posted by mattbin




I'm proud of these guys. They had to bend but never broke.

So in a sense we were "Bent";)

FORZA FEYENOORD!!!!

Amstel Cup Finalists 2002-2003
3rd place in Eredivisie 2002-2003
2001-2002 UEFA Cup winners

[Desigol]

What a result! I didn't follow the second half, but when reading the posts and finding out Canada took the lead I thought "They'll blow it!", but fortunately they didn't. Good luck boys.

You don't win friends with salad!

[Krammerhead]

You've got to love Sportsnet, quickly cutting off the game without any decent post game coverage for what in this time zone was the American show "You've Gotta See This" which is basically taped American rubbish.

[Canuck in Boston]

Back from the match. We had a nice turn out around 25 or so....bargined with some El Salvadorian to support us. I pitty the rest who are staying for all three matched. Very warm and no shade at all.

We were full marks for the win. Lars played very well. Stalteri ran miles and looked a little frustrated at times. Very nice win with a less than 'A' side. The young guys(Poz,MC2,Atiba) looked OK...bodes well. McKenna showed great grit.

You guys saw the match so I won't continue.

"Who's used all the penicillin?" "Oh Mark Paxton sir, he's got knobrot off some tart." Gareth Keenan

[beachesl]

Much of what was said, before and after, about the deficiencies of our defence, but the suprise story of the game was how they held together in the last half with those concentrated Tico attacks. Smart use of the line, they obviusly worked on that. When the Ticos did get through, they had to deal with a brilliant Lars and then our swarm came to help. Not pretty, but it worked. A lot of luck, as well as big Tico error
in not attacking the side more and choking.

I thought we had lost it when we didn't capitialize at the beginning of the first half.

Nobody played badly. Bent and Imhooff were revelations, Nash was brilliant ( I was suprized that he was subbed by Can, but that turned out to be great, as did can). McKenna was great as well.

Holger did just about everything right. Couldn't imagine the scoreline!

Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!!!

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change
the subject. -- Winston Churchill

[beachesl]

quote:Originally posted by Crazy_Yank

Full marks to Canada for pulling off the upset. Replace Dasovic though. He was letting players make dangerous runs all day. Against a better team those will turn into goals. Also, did DeVos even play today? I didn't look very good. Stalteri was impressive. I can see why Werder Bremen rate him so highly.




Thanks, buddy[8D]!

I think you are a little off on De Vos though. His defensive leadership was the reason that the Canadian wall was so strong and solid against those second half Tico attacks, something we were
sorely missing against Germany. And, you have to consider that his linemates are our weakest players. He also gave us some good feeds offensively and was there on the set pieces on attack. He was there. Oh yes, he was there.

[Jarrek]

Yes!!! Go Canada Go!!!

[Ed]

Super Lars to the rescue!
Chalk that win up to the one-legged wonder!

Free the banana cream 3!

[Jarrek]

Lars was absolutely spectacular today. With some of those close range saves, I don't think Onstad would of fared better. What do you guys think? I know that Onstad has played wonderfully for the San Jose Earthquakes, but I think it was a favourable coincidence that Hirchfeld started.

[Vancouver Fan]

There is one thing I was particularly happy with today.Holger made the 3 timely subs that you couldn't argue with.It was enough to help Canada hold off Costa Rica.After the goal I never felt that the outcome was in doubt.Costa Rica didn't look like they had a goal in them today.

One of the important things here is that even if we don't advance past the quarter finals we beat a team from our region that made it to the last World Cup.It is probabaly the team we will have to beat to make it to Germany 2006.It should give them confidence knowing that we beat them with a less than ful strength squad.

[beachesl]

"After the goal I never felt that the outcome was in doubt."

Vancouver fan, that is pretty impressive optimism.

[Vancouver Fan]

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

"After the goal I never felt that the outcome was in doubt."

Vancouver fan, that is pretty impressive optimism.


I wasn't that optimistic after the goal we scored against Germany.

[redhat]

well, back from the 3 games. met G-L, the Keays, Theo, and the rest of
the boys. got a few Americans and an El Salvadorean lady to cheer with us. an ES guy kept asking us to shut up and sit down. can't understand
him of course. Also met Kevin McKenna's parents who flew in from Calgary. Snuck in my digital camera for a few pics. The fascist police
at Foxboro Stadium would NOT allow digital cameras or camcorders. whatever ....

Please note we are outnumbered (apparently 20,000 to 30), our team disrespected, and even the souvenir shop did not have any Canadian team
jerseys or shirts. (They did for all other teams, including CRC and ES.)


my take on the game:
man of the match: Paul Stalteri. He's no Larry no more. We'll miss him
after the Quarters ...

players for the future:
Lars Hirschfeld - brilliant saves and great positioning. Lots of great
comments from our Yankee friends.

Maycoll Canizales - his possession skills were very impressive. Werder
Bremen certainly refined his skills.

nice surprises:
Nick Dasovic and Carlo (where did they get Carlos?) Corrazin. I was
dreading the worst and these two battled hard. Some errors, but what
did you expect?

As expected:
Kevin Mckenna - always tugged, mugged, and never gets a call for him.
But again battled hard to win the ball.
Jason de Vos - pretty solid on defense, lots of running after corners.


Nice of the lads to applaud our section after the game. GL asked me if it was was worth it, driving over 30 hours to Boston to see this game -- damn straight. Thanks boys.

[Cheeta]

Hey redhat, who was the nutter wearing the toque?

Heard some rumor of a cow bell making an appearance but didn't hear it on the broadcast. By the way thanks to the wonderful coverage provided by Sportsnet those behind the goal seatings likely gave you and your lot a better look at the match then all of us at home.

Sooo. When are we going to get a look at those snaps? I'm dying here.

"Minority of one"

[mattbin]

quote:Originally posted by ADutchCanuck


quote:Originally posted by mattbin




I'm proud of these guys. They had to bend but never broke.

So in a sense we were "Bent";)



Do you have any idea how hard I was trying to avoid that pun?

:(



Allez les Rouges,
M@

[PaulV]

Match photos from the game from someone in Boston.

http://www.bostonbbs.com/Asp/Photo.asp

Unfortunate comment next to the link for CAN-CRC, but the pictures themselves are worth a look. Good one of the Voyageurs from a distance.

[Canuck Oranje]

Regarding the comments coming from Sampson and some of the American press, Canada won with no controversy. Canada missed chances too. Costa Rica was probably more stylish;but, so what. What must really must hurt is the fact that Canada won without some of its key players and without first class preparation. What is key to me is that the two teams were not that far apart and we have more excuses than they do.

A great start and we should get better in this tournament. Hope we see Hutchinson and Canizales more. And I think Hume would be a great sub with 15-20 min remaining.

[redhat]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

Hey redhat, who was the nutter wearing the toque?

Heard some rumor of a cow bell making an appearance but didn't hear it on the broadcast. By the way thanks to the wonderful coverage provided by Sportsnet those behind the goal seatings likely gave you and your lot a better look at the match then all of us at home.

Sooo. When are we going to get a look at those snaps? I'm dying here.

"Minority of one"


Forgot his name (with the touque), but cheered loudly with Mirza.
The cow bell was not allowed, but the drum was. We had an idea
what your tv picture was like as the intl feed was broadcast on the
videotron. Yeah it was probably better live (with the noise and
the Spanish obcenities -- but probably not as bad as in those countries). Don't know if you can hear some of our cheers.
("same ol'Ticos, always cheating..." cheer)

My pics are mainly of the group and the one with the McKennas.
Digital cameras were not allowed by the Stadium police.
I'll email it to Jarrek for posting later. Thank God our hotel has
high speed ...

As for the guy with the roots toque, I'll have to defer that to GL.

[redhat]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

Hey redhat, who was the nutter wearing the toque?

Heard some rumor of a cow bell making an appearance but didn't hear it on the broadcast. By the way thanks to the wonderful coverage provided by Sportsnet those behind the goal seatings likely gave you and your lot a better look at the match then all of us at home.

Sooo. When are we going to get a look at those snaps? I'm dying here.

"Minority of one"


Forgot his name (with the touque), but cheered loudly with Mirza.
The cow bell was not allowed, but the drum was. We had an idea
what your tv picture was like as the intl feed was broadcast on the
videotron. Yeah it was probably better live (with the noise and
the Spanish obcenities -- but probably not as bad as in those countries). Don't know if you can hear some of our cheers.
("same ol'Ticos, always cheating..." cheer)

My pics are mainly of the group and the one with the McKennas.
Digital cameras were not allowed by the Stadium police.
I'll email it to Jarrek for posting later. Thank God our hotel has
high speed ...

As for the guy with the roots toque, I'll have to defer that to GL.

[Rupert]

Hey guys - greetings from Plymouth. Good to see Jason Bent back in action for Canada at last. Just one question: was he playing right-midfield or right full-back? Thanks.

Rupert

[Rupert]

Hey guys - greetings from Plymouth. Good to see Jason Bent back in action for Canada at last. Just one question: was he playing right-midfield or right full-back? Thanks.

Rupert

[ADutchCanuck]

Right midfield was his position

FORZA FEYENOORD!!!!

Amstel Cup Finalists 2002-2003
3rd place in Eredivisie 2002-2003
2001-2002 UEFA Cup winners

[ADutchCanuck]

Right midfield was his position

FORZA FEYENOORD!!!!

Amstel Cup Finalists 2002-2003
3rd place in Eredivisie 2002-2003
2001-2002 UEFA Cup winners

[Rupert]

Thanks Dutch! Was Bent subbed just because he was tired or was he (perish the thought) injured?

[Rupert]

Thanks Dutch! Was Bent subbed just because he was tired or was he (perish the thought) injured?

[shaku_bert]

just tired/tactical.

I thought he played fairly well. In the past I recall him not having a good first touch and he was prone to spray the ball anywhere but towards his teammates. Saw none of that yesterday. He got lucky that the CR defender knocked his pass to Stalteri but he also had some great distribution and was very busy on the field.

[shaku_bert]

just tired/tactical.

I thought he played fairly well. In the past I recall him not having a good first touch and he was prone to spray the ball anywhere but towards his teammates. Saw none of that yesterday. He got lucky that the CR defender knocked his pass to Stalteri but he also had some great distribution and was very busy on the field.

[Canuck Oranje]

Re: Bent. Fresh legs.. No injury..

[Canuck Oranje]

Re: Bent. Fresh legs.. No injury..

[Gordon]

Damn Shaw...went down after my first post and stayed down until I finally gave up at 1am :( So, first things first: Say hello back to Maryanne, Cheeta.

I thought we played pretty well and were even with Costa Rica for all by the 10-15 minutes on either side of the half. Lars played very well. He made the one exceptional save on Parks and played at an international level with the rest. Not show stopping, game saving saves, but the kind of saves you expect from a keeper at this level. It is his shot stopping (as Ed said) that puts him above Pat, IMO, and his development in the other aspects of he game is coming along very nicely. His positioning was great, and he seemed very composed in the box generally. Hastings played pretty well, Matthew, and my observation about Pozniak was not really stick for Hastings. I just liked the way Pozniak played with the ball, the way he marked his man, and I thought he showed very well when his man had the ball (i.e. one on one defending). Hastings game has come a long way and you are correct in that those long diagonal balls had as much to do with Nash as Hastings. He got over there quick enough, so generally I was satisfied with his play. He was beaten one on one a bit more than I'd like to see, but the big zero beside Costa Rica on the scoreboard speaks to that.

As for Steve Sampson's [:o)] comments, well they speak for themselves. I hope he maintains that philosophy, since it will be easier to come back from a deficit against them.

I was very pleased with the Tactics, which I did not view as negative at all. Canada maintained a counter attack threat after they got the lead, and when they did, they did with decent numbers. Compare that to the game against Ecuador, where the counter threat never existed. Until they got the lead, Canada attacked and not only got 3-4 good chances, but had several opportunities to spring through players, either just deflected or just a bit off the mark. Thats the kind of thing that gets better as the tournament goes on.

Based on the last two games, I think McKenna has fought his way into the number two striker position. He is still raw, but his ball skills show improvement every time he plays and he is a handful for the defenders with his size, tenacity and physical play. I thought he had the second goal, or at least a damn good shot at it, there towards the end but his touch and pace let him down. He can't do much about the latter, but his touch gets better every time I see him play.

The opinions expressed above are just that.

[Gordon]

Damn Shaw...went down after my first post and stayed down until I finally gave up at 1am :( So, first things first: Say hello back to Maryanne, Cheeta.

I thought we played pretty well and were even with Costa Rica for all by the 10-15 minutes on either side of the half. Lars played very well. He made the one exceptional save on Parks and played at an international level with the rest. Not show stopping, game saving saves, but the kind of saves you expect from a keeper at this level. It is his shot stopping (as Ed said) that puts him above Pat, IMO, and his development in the other aspects of he game is coming along very nicely. His positioning was great, and he seemed very composed in the box generally. Hastings played pretty well, Matthew, and my observation about Pozniak was not really stick for Hastings. I just liked the way Pozniak played with the ball, the way he marked his man, and I thought he showed very well when his man had the ball (i.e. one on one defending). Hastings game has come a long way and you are correct in that those long diagonal balls had as much to do with Nash as Hastings. He got over there quick enough, so generally I was satisfied with his play. He was beaten one on one a bit more than I'd like to see, but the big zero beside Costa Rica on the scoreboard speaks to that.

As for Steve Sampson's [:o)] comments, well they speak for themselves. I hope he maintains that philosophy, since it will be easier to come back from a deficit against them.

I was very pleased with the Tactics, which I did not view as negative at all. Canada maintained a counter attack threat after they got the lead, and when they did, they did with decent numbers. Compare that to the game against Ecuador, where the counter threat never existed. Until they got the lead, Canada attacked and not only got 3-4 good chances, but had several opportunities to spring through players, either just deflected or just a bit off the mark. Thats the kind of thing that gets better as the tournament goes on.

Based on the last two games, I think McKenna has fought his way into the number two striker position. He is still raw, but his ball skills show improvement every time he plays and he is a handful for the defenders with his size, tenacity and physical play. I thought he had the second goal, or at least a damn good shot at it, there towards the end but his touch and pace let him down. He can't do much about the latter, but his touch gets better every time I see him play.

The opinions expressed above are just that.

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by shaku_bert

just tired/tactical.

I thought he played fairly well. In the past I recall him not having a good first touch and he was prone to spray the ball anywhere but towards his teammates. Saw none of that yesterday. He got lucky that the CR defender knocked his pass to Stalteri but he also had some great distribution and was very busy on the field.


Some very nice runs too, a better touch from McKenna on one occasion and he was in alone on the keeper from about 30 meters. He attacked very well and added a nice dimension onthe right.

The opinions expressed above are just that.

[Andrew W]

Had to work during the game :( but just watched my tape after a long sleep (knew I wouldn't be able to watch CR while tired, too frustrating). Brilliant!
As for negative tactics, a buddy of mine is Chilean and he watched the game between Chile and CR in Santiago recently. He said CR laid back and counter-attacked. Hmmm!
Sampson [:o)] is an ass, always has been and always will be. One word for you Steve-oh, scoreboard.
Agreed with Holger's comments about Cuba - must be cautious and play with the same edge/desperation.
P.S. thanx to sportsnet for cutting to You Gotta See This immediately after the final whistle, I was afraid I would miss it. :D

[Cheeta]

Well I just had an eye opener.

Anyone else notice not one complaint on the ref. or Holger. What a difference winning makes with perseptions.

No ones compained about Holger's starting lineup. The formation. The tactical regiment. The Gaffer's gotten some very nice praise from a few fellows (myself included) for the timing, selection, and apparent purpose of the sub's. And it seems at least everyone's so far in agreement that the lads looked fairly in tune together, playing off the same page. Not bad. Lars isn't the only one who needs a Gold Cup to keep the ol' career alive and refreshed.

That T & T ref. sure bought a few from the Costa Ricans but did fairly well I'd otherwise say. And the back line played the offside to great effect more than once. That's not easy work and you'd hate to see it spoiled by a lazy or less than professional linesman. Nice that we didn't.

"Minority of one"

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack

The more I read Sampson's comments, the more I think that he is a man who is worried about job security. A team that is ranked 18th in the world, should be able to put guaranteed chances into the net (further proof that FIFA rankings are flawed). Cuba has been improving in the last year or so, and has been doing decently in their friendlies leading up to the Gold Cup. If Cuba also upsets Costa Rica, Sampson will probably lose his job.

-------------------------

"Underneath the fading sun,
The silent sum of a businessman
Has left us choking"

Half Day Closing - Portishead


Now wouldn't that be a pity. Sampson's short holiday in the central Americas over. And after all the glowing praise he's received from his countrymen on saturday's broadcast and others. How very disappointing for them all that would be.;)

"Minority of one"

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

Well I just had an eye opener.

Anyone else notice not one complaint on the ref. or Holger. What a difference winning makes with perseptions.

No ones compained about Holger's starting lineup. The formation. The tactical regiment. The Gaffer's gotten some very nice praise from a few fellows (myself included) for the timing, selection, and apparent purpose of the sub's. And it seems at least everyone's so far in agreement that the lads looked fairly in tune together, playing off the same page. Not bad. Lars isn't the only one who needs a Gold Cup to keep the ol' career alive and refreshed.

That T & T ref. sure bought a few from the Costa Ricans but did fairly well I'd otherwise say. And the back line played the offside to great effect more than once. That's not easy work and you'd hate to see it spoiled by a lazy or less than professional linesman. Nice that we didn't.

"Minority of one"


Hey Cheeta:

Ignored your advice about drinking Canadian beer. At half time (when it was finally noon in Sask.), I decided that since Azteca was where I wanted to see the boys play, a Corona was the appropriate beverage. Was worried I might have errored for the first 10 minutes however :D

[Cheeta]

Oh, Geezus, man!

Well your heart was in the right place.

Should have seen the panic around my place. Decided against going to the Cue Club in the end but had forgotten about the noticably vacant beer fridge at about oh, quarter to. Thanks to some F1 viewing habits in my younger days I was still able to make kickoff with my dozen little Mooseheaded friends. With beer, you're never alone.

By the way. Apparently we're off to rent a Rug Doctor this afternoon. Lost 1/2 a beer to spillage and foam on Imhoff's chance and just dowsed everything on the Stalteri goal. Ug.

"Minority of one"

[dbailey62]

Regarding Sampson, yes he is an arrogant SOB and perhaps he came up short on his team's preparations for the match (he should have expected our tactics and been prepared to deal with them) but he really was let down by his strikers.

You can't blame Sampson for his forwards missing a couple of sitters!

Jeez our defense scares the sh*t out of me sometimes!!!

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by dbailey62

Regarding Sampson, yes he is an arrogant SOB and perhaps he came up short on his team's preparations for the match (he should have expected our tactics and been prepared to deal with them) but he really was let down by his strikers.

You can't blame Sampson for his forwards missing a couple of sitters!

Jeez our defense scares the sh*t out of me sometimes!!!


Fair enough. There were enough goat horns being worn by the men in the CR lineup that you'd have though that they were getting ready for a witch's sabbath.

Still, good to see Sampson sweating a little.[}:)]

"Minority of one"

[Canuck Oranje]

Would we give Holger a break if he was let down by his defence? Plain and simple 1-0 Canada

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by dbailey62

Regarding Sampson, yes he is an arrogant SOB and perhaps he came up short on his team's preparations for the match (he should have expected our tactics and been prepared to deal with them) but he really was let down by his strikers.

You can't blame Sampson for his forwards missing a couple of sitters!

Jeez our defense scares the sh*t out of me sometimes!!!


ONE sitter.

The opinions expressed above are just that.

[bettermirror]

no. they missed that one chance that lars put off the bar. that shoulda been a goal too.

i thought the referee was only, OK. not as bad as most concacaf ref's! i give him a "B."

so, stalteri will be gone after the cuban match? who do we replace him with? (HUME PLEASE!) and what are the chances he'll decide to stay?

surely his place is secure at bremen. and legally bremen cannot force him back for meaningless matches in july!

there ain't gonna be any middle any more.

[Ed]

Bremen have been very good with Canada over Stalteri's games for the national team, for years. They want to be playing in Europe this season and want a full team for the Intertoto or whatever it's called these days.

Free the banana cream 3!

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by bettermirror

no. they missed that one chance that lars put off the bar. that shoulda been a goal too.


I don't know. I think Lars had position and prevented sufficient seperation to make it a contestable shot. A contest Lars won (as he should have). It was one of those saves where many will oooh and ahhh over the deflection, but it was really made by sound play prior to the shot. Really, from a technical perspective, Lars played better - in a technical sense - yesterday than he did against the US in the last Gold Cup (although he was outstanding then) because he playing smarter in his positioning. With his reflexes, if he can consistently hit the level of mental brilliance he had yesterday, his upside is huge.

The opinions expressed above are just that.

[Canuck Oranje]

We can get caught up in the shoulda's and the coulda's. For every offensive shoulda, there is a defensive shoulda. At the end of the day, the score is what counts. With a team like ours that doesn't play much together, it will get better in time.. Looking forward to finding out how much.

We beat a prepared and almost full-strength favourite in our first game. You gotta be good to be lucky.

[matthew]

Gordon, my Hastings comments were in response to Loyola's comments more than yours.

I definitely had problems with Holger's 11, Holger's 18, etc. But this isn't the time for negativity. The lineup is there and I think once the team hits the field all of the negativity should go. I've even forgiven Radzinski.

So yeah, it's easier to keep quiet after a win and yes there were some moves that had me shaking my head (subbing Bent and leaving Dasovic in), but Holger's subs were perfectly timed and they worked - in as much as we didn't lose.

I too was really impressed by Lars. While I was nearly soiling myself anytime the ball came near our goal, towards the end when they sent through-balls forward I felt a quick calm, knowing that Lars would get there first and we'd have posession back. I haven't felt that way since Forrest retired.

cheers,
matthew


The secret of life is to find moments of levity and grace in what is, ultimately, a tragedy. Watching Canadian soccer is good practice for this.

[bettermirror]

lars must get some true first team ball. even if sullivan is sold at spurs he'll still be behind keller. (should he still be behind keller?). he should try and get a loan to a first division club and aim for tottenham's top spot in 04-05.

there ain't gonna be any middle any more.

[Canuck Oranje]

I agree Lars needs to be loaned out this year. Keller will be number one at Spurs unless he loses it (whether he should is another story)

[bettermirror]

keller is a very good goalie. and maybe has another year in him where he will truly be better than lars. spurs are quickly finding themselves in a similar situation to leeds a few years ago. two very good goalies. martyn/robinson.

i worry that lars will get overlooked because he's canadian. he's class, and to find lars playing in germany or italy (i think he has the presence and style to succeed in italy) one day wouldn't surprise me. spanish teams are known to make interesting purchases.

lars is 24? pretty good for a kid who was at calgary a short while ago.

with the success of players like **********, stalteri and hirschfeld, it really makes you wonder what a national league would do for our national team.

there ain't gonna be any middle any more.

[Grasshopper]

Hey Red Hat:

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself while I still had a voice, probably had something to do with the one hour of sleep that James, Tony, Mike, and I had Friday night. I'm glad you made it down and added some representation from a different part of the country. What a great trip!

Blair a.k.a. the nutter wearing the toque


quote:Originally posted by redhat


quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

Hey redhat, who was the nutter wearing the toque?



Forgot his name (with the touque), but cheered loudly with Mirza.
Yeah it was probably better live (with the noise and
the Spanish obcenities -- but probably not as bad as in those countries). Don't know if you can hear some of our cheers.
("same ol'Ticos, always cheating..." cheer)

As for the guy with the roots toque, I'll have to defer that to GL.

[The Ref]

At the risk of sounding a bit off the wall and too late. I just finished watching a tape of the game which I had set to record it while I was out of town. I must admit that at times our team looked very, very good. Playing in a way that could easely carry them far and certainly many notches above what they could do a few years back. However at other times they looked outclassed whenever CR was attacking from the wings. Overall, I saw a lot of progress. Hirschfield was superb, far better than Onstad. I liked MacKenna too, the man left everything on the field. I was impressed with this guy Canizales. Why doesn't he play more? He can easely be a starter.
:)

[Reza]

And here is my late two cents...

It was definitely a much better performance against CR than the one from 3 years ago. It should also be noted that despite all the talks about favorite and non-favorite, all Canada-CR matches have either ended in a tie or with 1 goal difference, either way, in the past.

On the game, the lack of Menezes was obvious. For the early part of the 2nd half, CR start to shred the Canadian defence, something that an in shape Tony Menezes would not have allowed. Here is hoping that he can find a club and get back into shape, because he is sorely missed.

But overall considering that 5 players (Radzinski, DeRossario, Nsaliwa, Brennan and DeGuzman), all of whom are central to Canada's offence, were not present, the performance was good and if any team misses that many players from their offensive, you can't blame them for being too defensive.

Now, Canada's destiny is in its own hand. It should be able to find its way to the semifinals, which is really almost all we need. Get the 5 games under our belt, get some experience, get a few spots up in FIFA rankings and get ready for the world cup qualifyings.

The biggest bonus of this all was that MC^2 and Atiba got some experience and with Larry leaving us half way through, they would be definitely called upon again and again.

So, just hope the best for Menezes and I think if he makes it, we should at least be in a better shape than both '98 and '02 WCQs openings.

Reza

[Andrew W]

Hey, I'll be negative all I want :(.
Just can't think of anything right now :).
In response to anything criticism of the nats style: It is all about the results; just win baby; winning ugly; scoreboard is all that matters.
Pick your phrase and run with it regardless of what other think of the tactics.
In response to the players letting Samson down; you don't usually fire players.
As for Cheeta's theory on what ale to gulp when watching. Make mine a Canuck beverage. Actually, watching my tape, I made my way across the country (due to leftovers from a party), I had an Alex Keith's, O'Keefe's, Sleeman's ale, Big Rock and a Kokanee. [xx(]
Cheers all and enjoy the game today.

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Andrew W

Hey, I'll be negative all I want :(.
Just can't think of anything right now :).
In response to anything criticism of the nats style: It is all about the results; just win baby; winning ugly; scoreboard is all that matters.
Pick your phrase and run with it regardless of what other think of the tactics.
In response to the players letting Samson down; you don't usually fire players.
As for Cheeta's theory on what ale to gulp when watching. Make mine a Canuck beverage. Actually, watching my tape, I made my way across the country (due to leftovers from a party), I had an Alex Keith's, O'Keefe's, Sleeman's ale, Big Rock and a Kokanee. [xx(]
Cheers all and enjoy the game today.


Good, good. Good on yah.:D

"Minority of one"

[Cheeta]

quote:Originally posted by Andrew W

Hey, I'll be negative all I want :(.
Just can't think of anything right now :).
In response to anything criticism of the nats style: It is all about the results; just win baby; winning ugly; scoreboard is all that matters.
Pick your phrase and run with it regardless of what other think of the tactics.
In response to the players letting Samson down; you don't usually fire players.
As for Cheeta's theory on what ale to gulp when watching. Make mine a Canuck beverage. Actually, watching my tape, I made my way across the country (due to leftovers from a party), I had an Alex Keith's, O'Keefe's, Sleeman's ale, Big Rock and a Kokanee. [xx(]
Cheers all and enjoy the game today.


Good, good. Good on yah.:D

"Minority of one"