July 7 GC - Canada v Costa Rica - POST-match [R]

[Soccer_Josh]

quote:Originally posted by Alex

On the Gold Cup site im sure it said the attendance was 15,000 now CSA has it as 10,000. I think it was around 5,000 from waht I saw on TV

The croud grew as the game went on.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

[

Well I agree and disagree regarding Simpson. I agree with the part about him looking " woefully out of season ". I think that is about the kindest thing that I can say given what I saw last evening. But the bit about: "but his skill on the ball is still apparent", well I didn't see that at either.

I think people are referring to his offensive attacks where he kept beating Costa Rican players with the ball at his feet or getting fouled by them setting up free kicks - which happened about 6 or 7 times at least, as far as I could tell. He had a nice run after the Pendergrast gift in the first half and several more in the second, though occasionally his timing was off, probably due to this being his out of season time.

[Soccer_Josh]

I was reading along and some people said that our crosses are terrible. We have a few good quality crosses but when they come into the box we can't win it in the air, I have said this before but why are people complaining about crosses when we can't win them anyway?

[El Hombre]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

Lastly. Nobody is completely unbiased and I have noticed examples whereby we have a greater tendancy to give euro based players the benefit of the doubt in our evaluation and new commers who are a-leaguers don't enjoy the same. How could Patrick Leduc have been singled out by some for poor play yet Simpson and Brennan don't. I like Brennan and am glad he's back, but he wasn't great last night. Leduc did not play poorly. Not a standout either but he did some good things and seemed to work well with Grande.

Except of course for that pass to Grande as Grande was walking away. []

As for why he's being harangued here more than others, it's probably because the central midfield role is a pretty important one and I don't remember anything of note that Leduc did (except maybe win a ball back after he lost it in the 2nd half). Simpson made some nice runs, one in particular in the first half to carry the ball into the corner and then cross it comes to mind, and Brennan was involved as well with hit and miss crossing ability (and he almost squeezed that free kick through).

I'm not saying Leduc shouldn't have started, but I think he should've come off earlier (maybe with/instead of Gerba) as we were down a goal and we needed fresh legs in midfield to create something and I feel we had better players on the bench.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but, re. Simpson and Brennan we don't really have any left sided players to replace them with, do we?

[analyst]

I was at the game last night and enjoyed the atmosphere and the opportunity to see some players get their first starts, so I could see how they do against better opposition than they face in the ALeague. Unfortunately I didn't make notes so this is what stands out the next day.

Simpson - quick, but lost the ball too often. Several times he wouldn't pass the ball to Grande who was open, instead he kicked it long to the strikers, who were outnumbered and as a result CR got possession. He should have passed to Grande and tried give and go's. Did Yallop tell him to kick the ball long instead?

Grande - all his 12 or 13 corners and set pieces were horrible. Why didn't Yallop have someone else take them?

Braz - his ball handling is sub-standard. That may be why Sutton kicks long balls instead of building the paly from the back line.

Braz also is not agile, nor is he very fast.

Leduc - as slow as Braz - not a good formula for a midfielder. Serioux is better.

Brennan - his crosses were poor, and his lack of finish around the net cost us a point.

Hutch - a good game.

De Ro - lots of effort, but he could not beat a defender 1vs1, even though he tried several times. He should be switched to midfield permanently. Don't waste any more time trying to make him into a striker.

Yallop - too slow with the subs.

Sutton - a good game. Would like to see him start build-up from the back line.

The team had no short passing game - we couldn't string 4 or passes together.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Browsing the reaction in this thread, I'm a little surprised at the heat some of the lads are taking. McKenna and Hutch did a great job keeping the backline together and were NEVER in trouble. Braz was solid, Simpson had an off night. Chances were missed, the ref was a ****, these things happen to lesser sides.

Three quarters of this board bitch on and on about no domestic league; then the manager fields a fairly cohesive NA squad and the tears start about the Europeans who are away. Unbelievable.

Then Yallop gets blamed for the referee. This is the biggest load crap I've ever heard. Passion is not the problem with Canadian soccer.

Then some agent dick continues his campaign against a KID who beat out his kid for a spot on a kids team. Piss off you cigar stroking f@ck.

And, if you think CR are poorsports, man I wish there was a recorded copy of the "friendy" against Honduras. CR were pretty stand-up for a Central American side.

I agree however that Ruiz is a thalidomide baby.

[Soccer_Josh]

Your right! Wow you could be the next Greg Forrest!

Can somebody tell me...Was that the regular Costa Rican team that is playing in WCQ[?]

[matthew]

quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

I also think that just like in WCQ we were short on the bench in several positions and don't have adequite high level replacements for possible injuries, suspensions etc or special tactical situations. Again I am very worried that Yallop will continue this pattern into the next WCQ like he did in the last one.

In my opinion this is what we're doing here. We've trying to lock down spots 12-18 on the roster for the established guys in the next two years or so. In that time I think FY will look at more of the youth. I think this is an okay balance of giving fringe guys a chance to establish themselves and bringing a strong enough team to get some results and not embarass ourselves.

I don't think there's too many questions for our starting 11 other than what the best combination is up top and the best combination is in the back. With our forwards here we can try some experiments.

But we've already tried Hume-Gerba and gave DeRo-Gerba and DeRo-OO combinations looks.

We tried Gervais-McKenna as the centreback combo (not enough pace, shockingly).

We tried Atiba as a centreback (didn't look as comfortable as Klukowski IMO and is more valuable as an RB IMO).

Tried McKenna with a centreback with some pace (McKenna's lack of pace not an issue, even with a slower RB than usual)

Another look at Grande at d-mid (looking good I think, little to choose between him and Imhof)

Another Suton start (very solid).

Another look at Bernier at right mid (his best performance to date and a good solution to our right mid depth question).

Chances for Braz and Leduc (one a possibility, another a wash out).

I still would like to see DeRo at a-mid, Braz in the middle of defence, Atiba as an a-mid, Dodds, Hume-Gerba up front. Serioux more time . ..

I disagree with Grizzly about Occean and McKenna being our best forward options and while I thought Serioux played well, I think his long throws are a bit of a gimmick. We need better corners and free kicks. We need to convert on one of those two free kicks right outside the 18. Serioux may be a late desperate option, but does anyone really rate him higher than Imhof, Stalteri, DeGuzman, Brennan or Grande? If we have to rely on 40-yard throws to generate offence, we're in serious trouble.

cheers,

matthew

[Soccer_Josh]

Oh Yeah...one of Canada's cautions was caused by really good acting. I can't remember who got the booking or which Costa Rican player did a belly flop to the ground...but it got my up and yelling at the TV.

[denis]

I like Canada’s possession. I thought midfield possession looked better than normal (thanks largely to Grande). I felt we controlled the play in mid for most of the match. I liked what I saw in the first half with regards to the runs down the wings. If only there were some better crosses into the box a goal or two may have been the result. The defense looked ok for the most part. I liked what I saw from Braz. This was the first time I saw him play and he seemed competent in RB. Simpson look terrible in the first half (especially the trip in the box), he has excellent acceleration, but lost possession and passed the ball away too much. Attiba, always empresses me with his agility and quick movement, the guy never gets beat 1 on 1. However due to his lack of size and strength I fear he’ll just get forced aside by a larger stronger attacker. Up front we need strikers who can score when they get their chances. DeRo has lots of skill, great dribbling ability, speed and we know he can shoot (though perhaps not with regular accuracy). But the guy plays in a bubble; he seems to think he’s the only one on the team. I’d like to seem him play a more patient game, work on finding space for opportunities and create plays rather then running all over the place trying to do it all himself. All in all though I feel that the skill is there to get results, and still a lot of it (including the finishing) will come down to more time playing together. This team also really needs to put much more resources into learning how to score (in play not set pieces). No goals no wins.

[The Ref]

I was glad to see that Yallop finally was able to afford buying a suit, shirt and tie. Anyone knows what he had hanging around his neck, a blue ribbon of sorts.

[Soju]

Did they change their kits again? I see the dark red stripe is white now. Damn you addidas you're making it hard for me to stay IN STYLE.

[pstain]

quote:Originally posted by Soccer_Josh

Your right! Wow you could be the next Greg Forrest!

Can somebody tell me...Was that the regular Costa Rican team that is playing in WCQ[?]

I think this was Costa Rica's B team.

Why does Canada play crosses in when the strikers can't win most of the headers?

[Timotas]

1 – SUTTON Greg - 8/10 - Did everything he had to do... penalty was impossible to save, did well on crosses, demanded the ball, and showed confidence which is what we need.

2 – BRAZ Adam - 6.5/10 - Was pretty reliable... didn't do anything great, didn't make any noticeable mistakes either. Gets a 6.5 and not a 7 because of a few wasted crosses. Is it me or does he kinda seem chubby?

4 – MCKENNA Kevin (Capt.) - 6/10 - McKenna was decent; was quite comfortable on the ball at the back which was comforting. It seemed like he didn't deserve a yellow for the first incident, but what do I know, he could have said something to deserve it. The second yellow; there was minimal contact, but it was pretty obvious he was just going for the player and not the ball. Stupid play.

6 – BERNIER Patrice - 6/10 - Meh. Was pretty blah. That one effort at the end of the match and the ball bounced to him at the top of the 18, he should have done MUCH better. I think he even had time to maybe bring it down on his chest and slot it in the corner.

9 – GERBA Ali - 6.5/10 - Did show some signs of attacks. He got up well to win the ball in the air at times. The thing we did well in this match, where we normally don't, was the strikers holding up the ball after the long ball.

7 – HUME Iain 69’ - 7/10 - From what I saw, I liked. I love Hume's passion and desire to win the ball. He should have came on at the start of the 2nd half.

11 – BRENNAN Jim - 6/10 - Jim's a great player, you can see it when he's on the ball. It's clear though that he is out of shape and not in form. Can't believe he missed the net on that chance... atleast get it on net.

12 – GRANDE Sandro - 8/10 - I love the way this guy plays. He demands the ball and never wastes it like Imhof does. What I like about Grande is that he plays great long balls, which is obviously suited for our long ball style of play. I chose Grand over Imhof any day in the centre midfield.

17 – PETERS Jaime 90’ - N/A - Can't really rate him. He came on and did well down the touchline that one play, but you can't rate someone after one play. I think Peters is suited for this kind of role, where he plays the last 5-10 minutes where he can light a spark and get something going; he is not strong enough to play an entire match as of yet.

13 – HUTCHINSON Atiba - 8/10 - Atiba showed how powerful he can be against Costa Rica. He can tackle well, is very confident, and is very comfortable on the ball.

14 – DE ROSARIO Dwayne 7.5/10 - DeRo did well, but as many as you said above... he can't finish, and you need to finish if you want to be atleast rated a decent striker. That's what being a striker is all about... knowing how to finish. DeRo works his ass off though, sometimes to a point where he tries to do too much. Excluding the chances he missed, I'd say DeRo played a pretty solid game.

15 – SIMPSON Josh - 7.5/10 - Many of you may disagree, but I thought Josh played well. Josh is one of the only Canadian players that can take on players and be successful doing it, which I love to see. Again... he was comfortable on the ball, which is always comforting.

16 – LEDUC Patrick - 5.5/10 - Shouldn't be starting. He did look out of place and was poor at passing and crossing. Serioux should definitely be starting over him.

8 – SERIOUX Adrian 83’ - N/A - Couldn't really rate him because he didn't do much, but looked solid and should be starting over Leduc.

In conclusion, Canada played a game which I actually enjoyed watching. Obviously it'd be a lot more enjoyable if they got the 3 pts or even a single point, but that's the way it goes sometimes. The penalty call was disgusting and got my blood boiling... it was basically just goal given to Costa Rica, who didn't deserve it all.

Looking forward to Saturday. Cuba seemed to do decent against USA for 85 minutes... so I can't see why Canada can't get a 0-0 draw or even a 1-1 draw against them. Maybe even a 1-0 win .

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Timotas

4 – MCKENNA Kevin (Capt.) - 6/10 - McKenna was decent; was quite comfortable on the ball at the back which was comforting. It seemed like he didn't deserve a yellow for the first incident, but what do I know, he could have said something to deserve it. The second yellow; there was minimal contact, but it was pretty obvious he was just going for the player and not the ball. Stupid play.

Did it? That would be a bit strange as he got the ball and not the player (the player got him). I do think it was a clumsy challenge though.

[Gian-Luca]

Picked up this hilarious post from a US poster on bigsoccer:

"In other news, Bernier is now at the University of Washington Medical Center, recuperating from emergency surgery to remove the extra arm from his chest. The operation was performed at the Prendergast Institute for Orthopedic Surgery, which is best known for successfully performing a similar operation to remove an extra arm from the forehead of United States center back Gregg Berhalter. Costa Rican team officials, when asked about their country's involvement in both incidents, declined comment."

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by The Ref

I was glad to see that Yallop finally was able to afford buying a suit, shirt and tie. Anyone knows what he had hanging around his neck, a blue ribbon of sorts.

The blue thing was attached to his credentials for the tournament.

db

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Picked up this hilarious post from a US poster on bigsoccer:

"In other news, Bernier is now at the University of Washington Medical Center, recuperating from emergency surgery to remove the extra arm from his chest. The operation was performed at the Prendergast Institute for Orthopedic Surgery, which is best known for successfully performing a similar operation to remove an extra arm from the forehead of United States center back Gregg Berhalter. Costa Rican team officials, when asked about their country's involvement in both incidents, declined comment."

That is very good.

I'm going to miss the next two games as I'm off to Mexico on Saturday. With my bad luck, we'll win both. Ya right! I just hope for a decent performance against the yanks. No embarrassment please!

db

db

[Bxl Boy]

Thank you Canada ! Yes, thank you, I know now why this blind ref Prendergast cancelled the goal of Belgium against Brazil during the last world cup : he saw a hands... (Nobody never knew why he cancelled the goal, even him didn't say it afterwards ! At half time, he even talked to the Belgian captain and said "sorry, I made a mistake"... when Wilmots told that to a newspaper, Prendergast was furious and threatened him to gou to court !)

I hate Prendergast

[RJB]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Picked up this hilarious post from a US poster on bigsoccer:

"In other news, Bernier is now at the University of Washington Medical Center, recuperating from emergency surgery to remove the extra arm from his chest. The operation was performed at the Prendergast Institute for Orthopedic Surgery, which is best known for successfully performing a similar operation to remove an extra arm from the forehead of United States center back Gregg Berhalter. Costa Rican team officials, when asked about their country's involvement in both incidents, declined comment."

The referee is an easy target. The fact is that Canada did not do enough to win the game. I believe that it was not a penalty, but nonetheless, it was called, and they failed to respond positively. They were terrible finishers, and lacked any creativity until injury time, when Peters injected some pace down the right flank.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by RJB

[

The referee is an easy target. The fact is that Canada did not do enough to win the game.

Yes, I already stated that as well. You can critique your own team, be aware of their faults and need for improvement and still rip the Ref to shreads - they are not mutually exclusive concepts. Canada didn't score and obviously you aren't going to win if you don't, and I fel they needed to create more chances overall. But on the other hand I highly doubt Costa Rica would have scored without the early Xmas present from Prendergrast.

[Kurosawa1555362267]

Good game overall, but once again a crappy result. Still I feel confident we can play a good match against the US and maybe get a point. it does'nt look like the automatic loss I tought it would be before the game.

[Gordon]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

It didn't give us any benefit by arguing, there was a series of goofy yellows afterwards and we've lost McKenna for the next game as well as playing short when trying to come back. Sometimes you have to suck it up and take the hit. And bitch afterwards.

[denis]

quote:Originally posted by Kurosawa

Good game overall, but once again a crappy result. Still I feel confident we can play a good match against the US and maybe get a point. it does'nt look like the automatic loss I tought it would be before the game.

Dude, don’t get over inflated expectations about Canada’s chances when it comes to the US. I agree with most in this forum, they did play better than normal, but we have to put this into consideration, CR played particularly poor. This is the worst Tico side I’ve seen in awhile, B team or not. In truth the score should have been 0 – 0. FY is going to have to do some magic to get goals against the Yanks, even if by some miracle we manage to shut them out, in out current state, getting a goal will be tough unless they totally screw up.

[ken]

this is a first post after viewing for a long time

My view of last nights game:

Greg Sutton; although I have been a supporter of lars as canada's keeper ( since the finland game and the way that he worked with the defense as compared to Onstad) I think that it is claear that Sutton is desevedly no. one, he seemed to have the confidence of the defence and did all that was expected of a keeper.

Adam Bras; I was suprised that he started, but he didn't seem out of place, nothing spectacular but nothing cringeworthy either. deserving of another look as part of the second eleven.

Kevin Mckenna; looked more comfortable on defence than in the N.I. game, I agree with the comments that you can't keep him off the pitch due to his strike rate and heart but his play in the back does not inspire confidence.

Atiba Huthchinson; Mithchell put him at the back in the under20's to settle down the team and I guess thatFY is doing the same. No one has mentioned that the tactics have chaanged and that a part of his job was to harry the ball carrier on goal kicks after canadian corners, the last few games we have been vulnerable to fast counter attacks after corners ( think Duff in Ireland) but there were none in last nights game, I attribute this to a change in tacticcs and Huthchinsons execution of those tactics. A team leader and furure captain.

Josh Simpson; didn't have a particularly good game, seems to have a problem in keeping his feet underhim. Does have the ability to take on people one on one but hasen't shown much success in it ( at the senior level) doesn't mean I wouldn't start him.

Patice Bernier; I thought that this was the best game that I had seen him play for canada, should start against US.

Patrick Leduc; perhaps tv doesn't do justice to his preformance, but I thought that he looked lost out there, an the rare occasion he got the ball he only looked for grande regardless of where he was. let another player start.

Sandro Grande; Agood ball distributing mid fielder. benefits from having a large number of Montreal players about to feed him the ball and knowing where they are likely to be, deserves his starting position.

Jim Brennan; clearly has the skill, looked a bit out of form last night, but then again who else on the squad can do his job, should have scored but didn't, should be the captain against the US (veteran, showed leadership by showing up in nothing tournament and we want him to continue to show up).

Dwayne Derosario; Had some nice runs, couldn't finish, looked dangerous but has the frustrating tendancy to give up the ball regularly, a young Stalteri did that too but he grew out of it, I don't think that Dero is going to at this point in his career, borderline between starter and sub for some of the young strikers.

Ali Gerba; didn't look out of place, merits the place on the squad, but shouldn't start ahead of Hume and Occean.

Ian Hume; did well for the short time on the field, am I the only one that thinks FY sisn't start him because of the likelyhood that he would run into yellow troubles against a central american team and that it would be better to give him a full run against the US whee his style is less likely to get him in trouble?

Adrien Serioux; amazing throws, needs more af a run to give an opinion.

Jamie Peters; One tremendous run, but that was all he had time to do, give hime 15-20 mins against the US.

As to tommorrows game Occean will be back, Gervais will have to play, and I think that Hume will start.

Sutton

Braz gervais Huthinson Simpson

hume bernier grande brennan©

derosario occean