Winnipeg Fury Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Canada loses to Guatemala BURNABY, B.C. (CP) - It was only the first of a six-game qualifying round but Canada's World Cup soccer team already finds itself behind a familiar eight-ball. "We can't afford to start off the way we did in any other matches," goalkeeper Pat Onstad said Wednesday night after surrendering a pair of goals to Carlos Ruiz in a 2-0 Guatemala victory. "We've got to fight back. I believe in this team and I think this team has a lot better chance (to qualify) than we did last time." Onstad, several players and coach Frank Yallop appeared surprised by their lack of success against the Guatemalans. "I think they were a little better than we expected and they thoroughly deserved the win." said Onstad. "We didn't start off well and when you get down 1-0 and 2-0 it's very difficult to come back in international soccer." Ruiz, the leading scorer for the MLS Los Angeles Galaxy, scored in the eighth and 55th minutes. "We had bits and pieces of chances in the game but all in all it was the correct result," said Yallop. "We looked disjointed. We looked like we hadn't played together for awhile. We looked unsure of ourselves until maybe in the second half when we started to get into it a little bit." Guatemala pressured the Canadians from the opening kickoff and it paid off when midfielder Daniel Imhof turned the ball over to Guillermo Ramirez in the Canadian zone. The Guatemalan captain's far-post pass left Ruiz with a tap-in. Ruiz was more artistic on the second goal as he burst past defender Nevio Pizzolitto to corral the ball and chip it over Onstad who was well off his line. "I got caught in no-man's land so I have to hold my hand up as well as the rest of the guys," said Onstad. "It's just one of those things that happens." The loss came when Canada was looking for maximum points as it started this round of qualifying with two home games. The next game is Sept. 4 against Honduras at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium. "This game was very important to us; 2-0 in Canada is very important to soccer in my country," said Ruiz who was mobbed by fans after the match. "Guatemala soccer is getting better and better every game." The game before 6,725 fans was the first of six for the Canadians in the Group B semifinal round of qualifying in the CONCACAF region which includes North and Central America and the Caribbean. It didn't help that the Canadians were missing two key regulars, striker Tomasz Radzinski and defender Jason deVos. "That made a bit of a difference but this is why we have a squad of players, this is why we have to build the program," said Yallop. Radzinski, who led Canada with two goals in preliminary qualifying play against Belize, suffered a calf strain when his Fulham club opened English Premiership play Saturday against Manchester City. Target man Olivier Occean, 22, of Montreal and Odd Grenland of the Norwegian Premier League, took Radzinski's place up front with veteran Paul Peschisolido. A bone scan revealed deVos, who plays for Ipswich Town of the English Football League Championship (formerly First Division), had suffered a stress fracture at the top of his fibula. The Canadians began to get some chances against the well-organized Guatemalans near halftime. Occean, who was the most dangerous, and Peschisolido narrowly missed on headers. Canada carried the play after Ruiz' second goal with Paul Staltieri firing over the bar from long range and Occean being foiled on a goalmouth scramble and a 79th minute header. "Today was not my day," said Occean who played in his first World Cup qualifier. "We were unfortunate but that's what happens in football. Nobody's perfect and today I just missed my chances. "It's a disappointment, that's for sure but we've just got to keep our heads up. Next time's going to be better. We were not ready to play our game today."Break> NOTES: Costa Rica, which plays here on Oct. 13, will be the first away test on Sept. 8 ... the last time the Guatemalans played in Canada was 1999 when they lost 2-0 in Canada Cup play in Edmonton and 1-0 in a friendly in Toronto ... Mauro Biello, the all-time leading scorer for the A-League Montreal Impact, replaced Radzinski on the roster but did not see action ... deVos was not replaced ... the only substitution was Adrian Serioux in for Julian de Guzman near the end of the first half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted August 19, 2004 Author Share Posted August 19, 2004 "We had bits and pieces of chances in the game but all in all it was the correct result," said Yallop. "We looked disjointed. We looked like we hadn't played together for awhile. We looked unsure of ourselves until maybe in the second half when we started to get into it a little bit." I don't understand this. Of course we looked disjointed because we hadn't played together for a while. Secondly, half these guys are from the B-Team, so they have never played together. Is Yallop surprised by this ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcl_19 Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 There was one more sub.....peters for simpson(?) I think that for our next match the roster should look more like it did vs belize Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh1 Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Let's see 1st of all we go 4 years without a home date . Then we walk all over Belize . Then we look like like a MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM playing a senior squad with no tune-ups in between dah. When will the powers to be get it ......if you want to be a team .....you have to play games to-gether. I'm the ultimate nationalist but , c'mon. In order to be a team you have to play once in awhile. ( sour grapes...disgusting is the only word for that last performance ) If Euro clubs are top priority tell the CSA before you show up for resume purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelownaguy Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Looking back, I honestly don't think we got more out of those Belize games then we would of got playing a Canadian university team in scrimmage. We needed at least one game against Jamaica or T and T in between the Belize series and last night to get everyone on the same page against good opposition. But thats a lot easier said then done with guys all over the globe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted August 19, 2004 Author Share Posted August 19, 2004 Yes, our preperation sucked. The coach of Guatemala understood what it takes and stated when he took the job that Guatemala would have close to 10 prep games prior to Canada. The results show. Canada needs more games for the senior national team, whether they be club teams, full internationals, B-Team, A-Team, away and at home. Definetly one of the worst performances I have seen by Canada at any level. DD and Otto should have been our attacking combination. There is no way Pesch should start another match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhat Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Hey boys, I just got a chance to post after attending last night's game in Swangard. To put it bluntly we just got outplayed by a Guatamalan team with one superstar. The back four had no leadership. We really missed De Vos, McKenna, and Menezes. Stalteri and Jazic played relatively well, but team coordination didn't exist. Pesch played everywhere, but couldn't hook up with Occean. De Rosario tried to do everything, and De Guzman took on quite a few. Serioux was very poised. But that's all the positives. Everything fell apart after De Guzman's injury, and referee didn't help at all. Didn't we already assume this? All the posts so far have some merit, specifically asking for more training and friendlies. As for asking for Yallop's head, that's just as ludicrous as the fan in front of me yelling for "subs" when THERE WASN'T ANYONE AVAILABLE. As for the venue, there were about 50-50 Guats-Canadians, but it seems that Swangard staff/security was on some power trip. Have you ever seen a Canadian soccer fan being held in an arm-lock by RCMP? It appeared worse than the brownshirts in Boston. For those who thought the Southsiders/Voyageurs were quiet, they were not. RCMP tried to get the fans to SIT DOWN. In a WCQ game! Hard to believe this would happen IN OUR COUNTRY. The event was very disappointing, especially since I flew in from Winnipeg, and my brother from Montreal. The Voyageurs/Southsiders were great and friendly, but for hosting this event the CSA gets a D. No advertising, and I couldn't even get a program (sorry Cheeta) since they were being sold by kids, not the CSA booth. On the upside, there are 5 games to go, and Yallop will have to take this more personally. Now to face the insults and jabs from the people in Winnipeg ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted August 20, 2004 Author Share Posted August 20, 2004 quote:Originally posted by redhat As for the venue, there were about 50-50 Guats-Canadians, but it seems that Swangard staff/security was on some power trip. Have you ever seen a Canadian soccer fan being held in an arm-lock by RCMP? It appeared worse than the brownshirts in Boston. For those who thought the Southsiders/Voyageurs were quiet, they were not. RCMP tried to get the fans to SIT DOWN. In a WCQ game! Hard to believe this would happen IN OUR COUNTRY. The event was very disappointing, especially since I flew in from Winnipeg, and my brother from Montreal. The Voyageurs/Southsiders were great and friendly, but for hosting this event the CSA gets a D. No advertising, and I couldn't even get a program (sorry Cheeta) since they were being sold by kids, not the CSA booth. On the upside, there are 5 games to go, and Yallop will have to take this more personally. Now to face the insults and jabs from the people in Winnipeg ... Regarding the conduct of the security, I suggest you submitt a complaint to the CSA and RCMP. Tell them you flew in from Winnipeg and that it was out of line and like nothing you have seen for a Canadian international. I remember when I saw Honduras at Swangard in 93, similar heavy RCMP presence with fights in the crowd, etc. Unfortunate about the play of our team, but there's no other stadium like Swangard. Truly beautiful. Hopefully you had a solid trip. Someone (Shaka Bert ?) posted on here a few days ago about the Adidas outlet at Wilkes & Waverly. They have some quality Canadian gear. I picked up a long sleeve Canadian soccer sweatshirt for $11 ! (Perhaps our poor performance is driving the price down !) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Georgio Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Redhat, Hutch was available as a sub if you "literally" meant that we had no subs available. Yallop is a good coach and we will prevail, this was just the kick in the arse we needed to play to our potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante79 Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury "We had bits and pieces of chances in the game but all in all it was the correct result," said Yallop. "We looked disjointed. We looked like we hadn't played together for awhile. We looked unsure of ourselves until maybe in the second half when we started to get into it a little bit." I don't understand this. Of course we looked disjointed because we hadn't played together for a while. Secondly, half these guys are from the B-Team, so they have never played together. Is Yallop surprised by this ? Canada should of played a friendly before the Guatemala game! Guatemala played 2 games I believe! next game we will have Hume back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachesl Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Guatemala played six friendlies since the June sieries'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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