Given what came before, it is hard to not be happy with Canada’s effort against Poland. This match was a largely evenly played until the final twenty minutes, when Canada slumped noticeably – understandable for a side with so many players either out of season or struggling to find first team football with their clubs. Ultimately, the two teams were separated by the one moment of brilliance on offer, a perfectly worked 19th minute goal by Poland’s Maciej Rybus.
Notes
- The goal really was a thing of beauty: a nice ball in to create separation; a fine header down to Rybus; and a great touch and turn by Rybus. That said, watching the replay it became clear that Kevin McKenna had failed to make any challenge on the ball played in, neither attempting to win the ball nor confront the attacker. Caught ball-watching.
- Lars Hirschfeld was beyond rusty. It was as bad a goal-keeping performance as I have even seen go unpunished by a weak goal. At one point I honestly wondered if he was troubled by the stadium lights – I usually assume that excuse is poor at best. The instinctual part of Lars game – the actual shot stopping – seemed largely intact, but the finer points of punching, handling and distribution were comically bad.
- Early in the match, Canada wasted corners from the left side of the pitch, the first two or three failed even to reach the near post. This is the precise kind of problem that comes to the fore when a team skips five consecutive match dates.
- Its been over five plus years since his senior debut and Jaime Peters is exactly the same player he was at seventeen – a lightning fast winger with iffy ball control and passing skills.
- In the first half, Atiba Hutchinson was more aggressive in attack than I am used to seeing for Canada. He seemed to have a largely free role at times, with Julian de Guzman playing the deeper-lying role. The result was one especially nice ball put through to Tomasz Radzinski.
- Poland was surprisingly capable in the dark arts, in particular demonstration. One minor (though effective) shirt tug by Dejan Jakovic apparently resulted in the near death of one Pole. Another responded to an admittedly strong tackle by Josh Simpson with a flying pratfall worthy of Buster Keaton.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Growing (Old) Pains
As a reasonable, rational person I should not be writing about this match, since it would generous to say that I even “saw it”. Apparently, a Macedonian internet stream can simply not support the massive worldwide interest in Canadian soccer. But, what I did see of the match, did underscore some things that I already had been thinking about posting, so here we are.
The careers of Canadian national team players have rarely ended gloriously – few, if any, have received a send off befitting their service to the team. It appears that Stephen Hart wants to change that: he wants to give Paul Stalteri the chance to retire as the all-time caps leader, and he wants the curtain to come down for Tomasz Radzinski in the country of his birth. This is laudable stuff, and very unlike the national team program of the past.
The match against Macedonia, however, showed the downside of using international matches as testimonials – and, was the worst match put in by the team since the debacle in Durban two years ago. Stalteri and Richard Hastings – another veteran who will have aged out of the squad before 2014 qualifying begins – were part of a hapless defence that made every set-piece an adventure and could start nothing going forward.
It would be nice to see the name of Paul Stalteri – a vital player for the 2000 Gold Cup winners, and veteran of three World Cup qualifying campaigns – alongside Randy Samuel at the top of Canada’s cap list, but he has been a terrible defensive liability at right-back for the last two years. Against Macedonia, Stalteri and Hastings were shown-up badly and repeatedly – though Hastings owed his position in the starting line-up to the (hopefully brief) absence of Dejan Jakovic.
Stalteri is virtually assured of at least one more start at right-back, since the squad that will face Poland on Wednesday offers only young debutant Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault as an alternative. But, if Stalteri is to achieve the handful of additional caps he needs to match Samuel it should be as a late game substitution or in a more forgiving position – perhaps in a deep-lying midfield role.
Personal Notes
- As bad as the back-line was, no one on the field for Canada was much stronger. The game had a mailed-in quality all around.
- This match really underscored why even friendly matches against European competition are so tough. Macedonia or Estonia may not overwhelm with the quality of their players, but they have been through the fires of qualifiers against the Netherlands in Amsterdam, or Scotland in Glasgow. Relatively speaking, Canada must look like an easy mark (and often is).
- It is beyond offensive that a mailed-in friendly played in front of a few thousand yawning Macedonians in 2009 could end up really hurting Canada in World Cup qualifying for 2014. But, since FIFA monthly rankings are so important in the current system, and since CONCACAF Dictator Jack Warner can choose to use whatever month most flatters Trinidad and Tobago, Canada can never afford to let its ranking slip.
- I’m starting to worry about Julian de Guzman, he looks totally disengaged after just a couple of months of playing at a lower level of competition. If Toronto FC continue their ineptitude he may never recover.
- As I was making notes during the match, I was going to make a big deal about the decision to let Iain Hume take the penalty kick over Simeon Jackson – and then came the second PK chance.
- Canada still needs Dwayne De Rosario. He is the only Canadian player who can change a match going forward, and create goals even when – as today – Canada isn’t stringing together passes. If Radzinski had an important role in 2010 qualifying, De Rosario could just as well have one in 2014.
The careers of Canadian national team players have rarely ended gloriously – few, if any, have received a send off befitting their service to the team. It appears that Stephen Hart wants to change that: he wants to give Paul Stalteri the chance to retire as the all-time caps leader, and he wants the curtain to come down for Tomasz Radzinski in the country of his birth. This is laudable stuff, and very unlike the national team program of the past.
The match against Macedonia, however, showed the downside of using international matches as testimonials – and, was the worst match put in by the team since the debacle in Durban two years ago. Stalteri and Richard Hastings – another veteran who will have aged out of the squad before 2014 qualifying begins – were part of a hapless defence that made every set-piece an adventure and could start nothing going forward.
It would be nice to see the name of Paul Stalteri – a vital player for the 2000 Gold Cup winners, and veteran of three World Cup qualifying campaigns – alongside Randy Samuel at the top of Canada’s cap list, but he has been a terrible defensive liability at right-back for the last two years. Against Macedonia, Stalteri and Hastings were shown-up badly and repeatedly – though Hastings owed his position in the starting line-up to the (hopefully brief) absence of Dejan Jakovic.
Stalteri is virtually assured of at least one more start at right-back, since the squad that will face Poland on Wednesday offers only young debutant Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault as an alternative. But, if Stalteri is to achieve the handful of additional caps he needs to match Samuel it should be as a late game substitution or in a more forgiving position – perhaps in a deep-lying midfield role.
Personal Notes
- As bad as the back-line was, no one on the field for Canada was much stronger. The game had a mailed-in quality all around.
- This match really underscored why even friendly matches against European competition are so tough. Macedonia or Estonia may not overwhelm with the quality of their players, but they have been through the fires of qualifiers against the Netherlands in Amsterdam, or Scotland in Glasgow. Relatively speaking, Canada must look like an easy mark (and often is).
- It is beyond offensive that a mailed-in friendly played in front of a few thousand yawning Macedonians in 2009 could end up really hurting Canada in World Cup qualifying for 2014. But, since FIFA monthly rankings are so important in the current system, and since CONCACAF Dictator Jack Warner can choose to use whatever month most flatters Trinidad and Tobago, Canada can never afford to let its ranking slip.
- I’m starting to worry about Julian de Guzman, he looks totally disengaged after just a couple of months of playing at a lower level of competition. If Toronto FC continue their ineptitude he may never recover.
- As I was making notes during the match, I was going to make a big deal about the decision to let Iain Hume take the penalty kick over Simeon Jackson – and then came the second PK chance.
- Canada still needs Dwayne De Rosario. He is the only Canadian player who can change a match going forward, and create goals even when – as today – Canada isn’t stringing together passes. If Radzinski had an important role in 2010 qualifying, De Rosario could just as well have one in 2014.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
TFC’s Playoff Hopes (If Any)
Over the past month, the playoff hopes of Toronto FC have quietly faded. The results have not been terrible – in August, the team was level on goals in league play. Nevertheless, on the first of September, the club sits outside of the playoffs and looks likely to stay that way.
Projecting from the current standings – if teams hold the home and away form established so far this season – the final table would look like this (current point total, as of September 9th is in brackets):
.1. Columbus.......52 (39)
.2. Houston........49 (40)
.3. Chicago........48 (38)
.4. Los Angeles....47 (38)
.5. Chivas USA.....47 (33)
.6. New England....47 (33)
.7. D.C. United....44 (32)
.8. Colorado.......44 (33)
.9. Seattle........42 (34)
10. Real Salt Lake.41 (33)
11. Toronto FC.....40 (31)
12. FC Dallas......31 (23)
13. Kansas City....30 (21)
14. San Jose.......26 (20)
15. New York.......20 (16)
The top four are pretty much home and cooled, having opened up a four-point gap on the field. Additionally, Chivas has five home matches remaining, and has great home form – they project to take 11 points from those matches alone; D.C. United also has five home matches left, and, based on form, should take 10 points from those; and, New England has two or three games in hand on the rest of the field, making them a good bet for the playoffs. That makes seven teams with a decent leg-up on eight playoff spots.
As it stands now, Colorado projects to slip into the eighth spot, owing largely to having a game or two in hand on the others. Seattle and Real Salt Lake will likely not take as many points from their remaining fixtures, but they could hold off TFC with the small lead they now have.
Obviously, there is a good deal of flux possible in all of this, but, what is fairly clear is that 42 points – Chris Cummins stated goal – is likely to not be enough to secure a playoff spot; it is likely to take 44 or 45.
This is an unfortunate turn of events for TFC, since for the last three seasons 40 points was enough to secure a playoff spot. It comes down to the unusually large number of points surrendered by the clubs at the bottom of the table, which has raised the point totals of most of the clubs above them.
Projecting from the current standings – if teams hold the home and away form established so far this season – the final table would look like this (current point total, as of September 9th is in brackets):
.1. Columbus.......52 (39)
.2. Houston........49 (40)
.3. Chicago........48 (38)
.4. Los Angeles....47 (38)
.5. Chivas USA.....47 (33)
.6. New England....47 (33)
.7. D.C. United....44 (32)
.8. Colorado.......44 (33)
.9. Seattle........42 (34)
10. Real Salt Lake.41 (33)
11. Toronto FC.....40 (31)
12. FC Dallas......31 (23)
13. Kansas City....30 (21)
14. San Jose.......26 (20)
15. New York.......20 (16)
The top four are pretty much home and cooled, having opened up a four-point gap on the field. Additionally, Chivas has five home matches remaining, and has great home form – they project to take 11 points from those matches alone; D.C. United also has five home matches left, and, based on form, should take 10 points from those; and, New England has two or three games in hand on the rest of the field, making them a good bet for the playoffs. That makes seven teams with a decent leg-up on eight playoff spots.
As it stands now, Colorado projects to slip into the eighth spot, owing largely to having a game or two in hand on the others. Seattle and Real Salt Lake will likely not take as many points from their remaining fixtures, but they could hold off TFC with the small lead they now have.
Obviously, there is a good deal of flux possible in all of this, but, what is fairly clear is that 42 points – Chris Cummins stated goal – is likely to not be enough to secure a playoff spot; it is likely to take 44 or 45.
This is an unfortunate turn of events for TFC, since for the last three seasons 40 points was enough to secure a playoff spot. It comes down to the unusually large number of points surrendered by the clubs at the bottom of the table, which has raised the point totals of most of the clubs above them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
