July 2 Friendly - Canada vs Honduras (R)

[canadiankick97]

quote:Originally posted by Kurosawa

With the Whitecaps??? or for Canada???

For Canada

[snake]

injury time

2-1 honduras

[The Ref]

Were the two Ronnies there? that is Pipe and Sharpe.

[snake]

final

2-1 honduras

[canadiankick97]

Ok it's official...Sutton played for Canada

[stacks]

Lineups?? Subs??

[Soccer_Josh]

Well lets hope Canada learns from their mistakes, becuase obviously they made some this evening. No offense to Honduras but you can't expect to win a Gold Cup and not beat Honduras. Im sure our boys played their best so hats off to our Canadians.

[beachesl]

Well, I don't think we can draw any conclusions from solely the scoreline. let's wait for the reports from the V's who were there.

[strobe_z]

has ANYONE scored more MNT goals in the last 5 years than McKenna? geez...

[analyst]

I was at the game, and to answer the question, no, Sutton was not to blame. Both shots were very good.

Braz was to blame for the second.

DeRo and Hume started up front - and both wasted early opportunities by not passing. They got repalced by Occean and Gerba.

Bernier and Grande started in cerntral mid- with Peters on the right and Hutchison on the left. Bernier, Peters and Grande got replaced by Brennan, Seriouz and Leduc.

Simpson, Braz, Mckenna and Gervais were D the whole game.

Canada's ball possession was poor compared to Honduras. We kicked it away when we were pressured. In the second half, they didn't pressure as much, and we were able to do more with the ball.

Its a good warm-up, but we will have to be very lucky to advance.

[beachesl]

Honduras takes advantage of Canadian breakdowns to score 2-1 soccer victory

posted July 3 @ 0:42, EST

BURNABY, B.C. (CP) - A young Canadian side couldn't take advantage of some early chances, then gave up a pair of quick goals on defensive laps during a 2-1 loss to Honduras Saturday night in an international soccer friendly.

For coach Frank Yallop it was like watching a movie he's seen before and still hates the ending.

"We don't seem to finish out chances when we have the chance to score," said Yallop, who saw his record drop to 5-6-2 since taking over as national team coach Dec. 16, 2003.

"It's frustrating but I don't get down on the guys. All we can do is work on our finishing. We can't produce fantastic players we have to work with what we've got. We're trying to get to the point where when we have teams on the rack, we can score."

Francisco Ramirez scored in the 52nd minute for Honduras, then set up Wilmer Velasquez on a pretty play just a few minutes later.

The Canadians clawed their way back when defenceman Kevin McKenna scored off a header in the 70th minute.

It could have been a different game if Iain Hume, the bright young prospect who plays for Tranmere Rovers of English League One, and midfielder Josh Simpson, of Millwall of the English League Championship , had connected on some early opportunities.

"We controlled it for the majority of the game," said.

"It's more learning to play together than anything about the game."

The Honduran fans in the crowd of 4,105 at Swangard Stadium hooted their approval and waved blue and white flags after the two, quick goals. The Canadian contingent erupted when McKenna drew Canada to within one.

Canada played an aggressive offence and seemed to be laying the foundation for a favourable outcome until the game caved in on them.

A long ball out of the Honduras end surprised the Canadian defence. Ramirez flashed down the centre of the pitch, then put the ball into the corner of the net outside of keeper Greg Sutton's fingers.

Honduras went up 2-0 on a carbon-copy play. Another long ball caught the Canadians looking. Ramirez raced down the sideline, then sent a cross to Velasquez who scored.

It was the first two goals Sutton, who plays for the defending United Soccer League champion Montreal Impact, has allowed in three starts for the national team.

The game was a warmup as both teams play this week at the Gold Cup competition, the championship of CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Canada opens against Costa Rica Thursday in Seattle, then faces the U.S. Saturday.

The Canadians wrap up the preliminary round of the 12-team tournament July 12 against Cuba at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Honduras plays in a group in Houston.

Veteran forward Dwayne de Rosario, of the San Jose Earthquakes and midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, who plays for Helsingborg of the Swedish Premier League, were both workhorses, moving the ball up the pitch.

Hume, of Brampton, Ont., looked poised to give Canada the lead in the 28th minute. Left alone, he took a nice ball from Hutchinson, then blasted a shot from about 10 yards out. Honduran keeper Victor Goello proved equal to the challenge.

Early in the second half Simpson just missed sending a header from a pretty cross into the net.

Canada, currently ranked 85th in the world, has some history against Honduras.

The sides battled to a pair of 1-1 draws last summer during Canada's failed attempt at qualifying for next year's World Cup in Germany.

Some questionable referee calls cost Canada goals in both games and allowed Honduras to score on a penalty kick.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by analyst

I was at the game, and to answer the question, no, Sutton was not to blame. Both shots were very good.

Braz was to blame for the second.

DeRo and Hume started up front - and both wasted early opportunities by not passing. They got repalced by Occean and Gerba.

Bernier and Grande started in cerntral mid- with Peters on the right and Hutchison on the left. Bernier, Peters and Grande got replaced by Brennan, Seriouz and Leduc.

Simpson, Braz, Mckenna and Gervais were D the whole game.

Canada's ball possession was poor compared to Honduras. We kicked it away when we were pressured. In the second half, they didn't pressure as much, and we were able to do more with the ball.

Its a good warm-up, but we will have to be very lucky to advance.

Thanks for summary.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Bernier was on the left and Hutch played in the middle with Grande. Atiba was our best by a mile. Mckenna and Simpson also played well. Braz, Gervais, Bernier and Peters struggled. DeRo had his moments, while Hume was quiet and was the first to come out. The possession was close to 50/50, but the Hondurans capitalized on two mistakes. They also showed no sportsmanship -rolling around playing dead in the final minutes. The ref should have doled out a yellow or two, and he shortchanged us on injury time. It was a pretty frustrating game, although entertaining.

[snake]

a few friends who were at the game said that josh simpson was the best player for either team today.

[Vancouver Fan]

The only thing I can add is that both Honduran goals came at a time when Canada was pressing hard and had the run of play.The goals were both counters and our back line did not seem organised.I'm just at a loss as to who will step into De Vos shoes in the next few years.

Hutchinson and De Ro were the best Canadians on the day.It looked liked Hutchinson in the middle with Grande to me and not Bernier.

The Canadian goal was off a Grande corner.It looked like we would tie it up.We had several opportunities to put the ball away but the finish was not there.

The Hondurans went to ground at the slightest touch on about 6 different occasions.There should have been about7 added minutes in the 2nd half but only 4 min. were added.Honduras,once again,put on a disgraceful display.

Their 2nd goal was a nice full volley after a cross from the left side.

The result was definately dissappointing.We should have had a better performance on our field.

[snake]

attendance 4105

[maxG]

Was just at the game and I have to ask was there a voyageurs section for this one? If so, you guys need to buy some tickets for some loud fat men who wear red. Also is Olivier Occean also Kayne West?!?!

[maxG]

As for the match itself..... Simpson looked quite good and confident, Atiba looked solid, I wanted to see more from Hume, Jimmy has skill, Mckenna is only good for headers otherwise he blows my hairy sac. The Honudurans are *****'s...... end of story. YEaaaaa

[Moosehead]

It was an entertaining game and I thought we didn't play that badly especially in the later end of the 2nd half. The event showed though that the CSA is not learning and is still incompetent. No merchandise or game programs available.

The Honduran who ran on the field certainly could out run all the unfit game security.

[Footy]

I must agree with Vancouver Fan its as stale yesterday's bread but the Hondurans tactics in the second half were brutal lets see there was diving , falling , rolling , ahhh you all get the picture just brutal football from both teams really if Canada did not get burned on one or both of the goals would of been more of fair result.

Cheers

[Footy]

OK CSA .... Mr. Sharpe hellooo next time I see you in Metro Town Mall I will have to have a word with you .....

Do you and the rest of the CSA care about providing fans with A) Programs or at least some sort of roster sheet !!!

Souvinears ...none for the WC qualifying at Swangard and NONE for this match ! wanted to buy a scarf ....nothing.

C) What was with Tito Puente and his bongo boys band performing could they not have found a Canadian act since this was the Canada day long weekend ? The band said nothing in Englsish and to make matters wore they were pumping up the Honduran fans walking past them ... just a poorly run show CSA this is realy getting embarasing ... shame.[]

[canuck-fan]

I was at the game as well and have similar comments to those poted above. Simpson, Hutch and, when they came on, Brennan and Occean were the best players for Canada. I realy expected more from Hume and especially DeRo, who started well but faded badly before being replaced. Our central defenders (McKenna and Gervais) were solid in the air but terribly slow on the ground. The two Honduran goals were on counter-attackes as we pressed hard, but we were unable to get back in time to cover.

Other players:

Braz was alright, but not as solid as Jazic would have been.

Peters was wasted, as we didn't attempt to exploit his pace on the flank. I also noticed, as I did against Millwall that he is not very good defensively. Perhaps Joe Royle will be able to teach him that part of the game.

Grande was industrious but didn't really create anything. He wasn't as good as he was in the WCQ.

Sutton was fine and had no chance on either of the goals.

Bernier was also quite good and did not look out of place at all.

Serioux can throw the ball a mile and had a couple of nice touches but needs to release the ball sooner, as he was caught in possession a few times.

Leduc was essentially invisible.

All in all, not a bad effort from a patchwork Canadian side, despite the fact that our finishing was awful. We created lots of chances but couldn't hit the net or fired straight at the Hondu keeper. There is no doubt, though, that we will have to be a lot better if we want to advance in the Gold Cup.

[Bertuzzi44]

I agree. I was also there and thought we played pretty good, it just came down to FINISHING!

Let's see... Sutton really wasn't tested all game, except for Honduras' two good chances - which they scored. As for Canada, well the honduran goalie made some GREAT saves, but also our finish was poor. I had us having more full-chances than the hondurans.

OH, and also OUR DEFENCE IS SLOWWWWW!

on both goals honduran strikers simply outpaced our D to create the chances...

and finally, the tactics the hondurans employed in the second half were deplorable...

[Daniel]

At least it looks like many players got some time during the game.

4k in Vancouver? Will we ever see a game in Montréal (although I can see why it'd be in VanC this time)???

[Paddy]

quote:Originally posted by analyst

Canada's ball possession was poor compared to [insert name of opponent here].

I agree.