Gordon Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Seen Lang beat to many outside players on pace to agree that she is slow. Maybe not jitterbug quick, but blasting by outside mids and fullbacks at all levels tells me she has some straight line speed. Which is what she needs at Centreback. She swept well, covering primarily for Radcliff (think that was her name) who was beaten like a redheaded step child by the American wingers. Seen more experienced pros make bigger mistakes than Lang did too. If she is a tenth of a second quicker to the ball, the US is shutout. Note the absence of any other Canadian defenders on the play as well. I think Lang made only one or two mistakes in the game and that she did not make a mistake on the goal conceeded. Sometimes, thats just the way the ball bounces. Rarely see a soccer game without mistakes, mental or physical. ...seen Stalteri and De Vos butcher plays, Also Sol Cambell, Rio Ferdinand, Thurman, various other world class centrebacks as well. Saw arguably the best striker in the world (Henry) muff an easy volley against the Ukraine yesterday. Think Lang's found her position, personally. Needs more experience, of course. She might have what, 4, 5 months of experience at centre back. Give her time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis_Rancagua Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I am curious to know if the addition of more Canadian teams in the W-League this year played a huge factor in canada's performance in this tournament. If so, then I am assuming that there is more good news to come, especially when London (Ontario) joins the W-League next year. For this reason, I would like to see more women's teams in the W-League such as Winnipeg, Kingston, Kamploops, Lethbridge, Hamilton, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Sigma Do we seriously think that 50,000 people are going to show up again for an U19 match (boys or girls)? To me that is just unrealistic.... If you read my post you will note that I don't expect 50,000. But I certainly expect at least 10,000 for the final. I'm sure the CSA is very dissappointed, as 3,000 attendance is garbage ! Winnipeg had 10,000 for the girls Pan-Am final, and I expect any location in western Canada with a population of 200,000 would have got the same. I have to agree with Ed. I've been saying for years that Ottawa would be a great venue for soccer, but based on these garbage crowds, I don't think they deserve World Cup Qualifying matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Gordon Seen Lang beat to many outside players on pace to agree that she is slow. Maybe not jitterbug quick, but blasting by outside mids and fullbacks at all levels tells me she has some straight line speed. Which is what she needs at Centreback. She swept well, covering primarily for Radcliff I think you are referring to Radchuk, though I thought both she & Raber played well on the defensive flanks through the tourney. Maybe not as spectacular with the offensive runs as Candace Chapman was 2 years ago, but overall pretty solid. I also thought Lang played very well at the back considering her lack of experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Four or five months experience for Kara? I think it is more like 4 or 5 games! Gordon is right, lets give her time. Gerry and Helen mentioned that two key defenders, Tanya Dennis and (Stephanie Gibson?) were hurt, so we may not need Lang there, but for what it is worth I thought she did a good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 No doubt it still has potential, but for World Cup Qualifying, I'm not prepared to mess around. I want the opposition to face a large pro-Canada, hostile crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhatter Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 From my perspective, this may have been the best game I've seen a Canadian's women's team play against quality competition. The Americans had the better part of possession, but there was only one play, aside from their goal, where their passing ability made the Canadians look flat footed and led to a scoring opportunity (although the shot taken was easily handled). Much of their passing was around the back, with little purpose - and once or twice it got them into real trouble. For me, the difference for Canada between this game and others I have watched is that passes from the back or midfield were going to forwards who were coming back to the ball. Certainly there were stray kicks that went nowhere (as did many American passes from the back), but very often it was controlled by a Canadian forward who then tried to do something on her own, or work with another player. In recalling the senior team, I remember way more aimless balls forward, and, as often as not, the inability of the forwards (especially Latham) to control the ball if it came to them. My memory may be faulty, but I think that most of the time the Canadian senior players had to run onto the ball to get it, rather than coming back to the ball to receive it. This is most evident in comparing Canada's domination of Mexico in this tournament to the domination by the Mexican sweeper in their victory over Canada in Olympic qualification. I do feel that the criticism of Kara Lang on this board is quite unfair, although I guess that those who wish to do so certainly have that right. I think the person who deserves the most criticism is Helen Steamboats, with a close second to the producer who gives us shots of the coach while the play is going on. Both of them drive me bonkers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Firstly even 3,300 for a U-19 qualifing tourney ain't bad . Secondly , leave Lang alone she'll eventually be a controlling mid-fielder or an awesome defender . Let her grow into a role . I for one thought she did a good job in distributing the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beaver Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Yes, the Lang criticism is unfair and myopic and not particularly well informed. No, she does not have blistering pace, but she played very well and the back four as a group only gave up one goal and very few chances ALL tournament. I'd much rather see her in right mid, to be honest. Slot Timko on the left, Chichini and Maranda in the middle, and that is a pretty tenacious mid, with decent skill. Of course, we are playing 3 up front, aren't we? No room for four in the mid. Still, Lang performed very well considering this is NOT her usual position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leekoo Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Sigma Do we seriously think that 50,000 people are going to show up again for an U19 match (boys or girls)? To me that is just unrealistic.... Also $20 is too expensive for U19 soccer (boys and girls). I didn't mind the price, but I know it scared away some of the people I wanted to take to the game. the ticket price was very reasonable ... the CSA is not a ticket agency/broker so it hired TICKETMASTER ... added to the price were taxes and surcharges ... EXAMINE THE CSA MEDIA RELEASE OF APRIL 28 The Canadian Soccer Association today announced that north side single-day reserved seating tickets for the CONCACAF Women’s U-19 Qualifying Tournament at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa will go on sale on Monday, May 3rd at 11:00 a.m. through Ticketmaster outlets. North side single-day tickets (2 games) are $9.00 for the pool round, and $12.00 or $17.00 for the consolation/final plus handling and convenience charges. Four-day reserved seating tournament passes for the north side include three Ottawa pool round days and the final are still available at a reduced price of $39.00 plus handling and convenience charges. Tickets for Ottawa are available at all Ticketmaster ticket centers, the Ottawa Ticketmaster charge-by-phone centre at (613) 755-1166, and on the Ticketmaster website (www.ticketmaster.ca ). South side general admission bulk tournament passes (4 days), priced at $10.00 per pass, are available to members of the Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association (EODSA) through Melanie Rutherford EODSA - (613) 233-6561. 4-Day Tournament Pass Contest Extended The four-day Tournament Pass contest has also been extended to 12:00 a.m. (midnight) Sunday, May 2nd. The contest will entitle the buyer to enter a draw for various sports prizes including: one signed 2003 Canadian Women’s World Cup team ball, one signed Men’s World Cup team ball, four tickets to the U-19 Canada v Germany game in Ottawa on Thursday, May 13th, five pairs of tickets for the Men’s World Cup Qualifying match against Belize on Wednesday, June 16th, two season tickets to the 2004 Ottawa Fury W-League Season, and four front row ticket package to an Ottawa Lynx home game (courtesy of Ticketmaster). Montreal Venue (Admission) Single-day and four-day reserved seating tickets for Percival Molson Stadium on the campus of McGill University in Montreal are currently available at all Admission ticket centers, the Admission charge-by-phone centre at (514) 790-1245, and on the Admission website (www.admission.com ). South side single-day tickets (2 games) are $9.00 for pool round game days, and $17.00 for the semi-finals, plus applicable handling and convenience charges. Four-day reserved seating tournament passes for all three Montreal pool round days (six games) and both semi-finals are still available at a reduced price of $39.00 plus handling and convenience charges. North side general admission bulk tournament passes, priced at $10.00 per pass, are available to members of the Quebec Soccer Federation (FQSF) through Valérie Benoît FQSF - (514) 252-3068 ext. 3908. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Man Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 The CSA has no one but themselves to blame if they disappointed with the crowds. You have to spend money to make money as they say. Soccer people in Ottawa had no idea this event was happening. Hell the CSA didn't even have an event specific program with player’s names on it for sale. No sideline advertising or in stadium advertising. I bet they got a grant from FIFA, did up the costs of staging the tournament and realized it was enough to cover expenses and went umm job done. I wonder what the European U-19 Girls championship drew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 There was absolutely no advertising although the Ottawa Citizen did have articles about the games. However, I think most people in the city had no idea that the tournament was taking place unlike the tournament in Edmonton. The organizers also seemed totally unprepared for the walk-up crowd which while the line seemed pretty big could not have been that many people considering the announced attendance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Looks like I need to correct one of my earlier posts in this thread. There is a picture of Amanda Cicchini on the cover of today's Toronto Sun and a story and another picture on page 3. The story says that she is in Grade 11 and thinks Canada will win the U19 World Cup this fall, among other things. The correction and good news, seeing she is in grade 11, is that would make her an 1987 and, therefore, eligible for the next U19 WC as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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