Hungary v Canada - post-match [R]

[DJT]

Final:

Hungary 1 Canada 0

36' Priskin

[Gian-Luca]

That was another game we should not have lost. Hungary didn't have the better players on the field skill-wise, at least as far as I could see. Poor decision-making & teamwork on our part not taking advantage of several ample opportunities, largely due to mis-communications and wrong expectations as to where teammates would be. Kind of predictable however given the absolute makeshift nature of the team (Peters in central mid?) and the interim-coach. If, heaven forbid, we can hire a coach that can meld together the best players we have available (ignoring any political crap) we'll be fine. Finding a coach should be done asap, none of this waiting around for sometime in 2007 crap.

On the bright side it was nice that a few players got their first cap, and Hainault & Pozniak looked pretty good in central defense in their national team debuts in that position. What a backline though once Jazic went out with an injury - Nsaliwa, Pozniak, Hainault & Braz. How many of us would have predicted that a couple of weeks ago?

Issey also looked like he could develop into a tricky player, and Nsaliwa looked great in his return and reminded me how much we missed him. It is too bad for Tam that the Ref bought the Hungarian player's flop which led to the free kick goal. I thought Waganaar was fine in his debut except that he needs to get off his line just a bit quicker in general - but for his first cap I won't be too harsh and I'm glad he played, and he did make one excellent save.

Overall though we had more opportunities, but came close to scoring less often than they did, and that's the annoying thing.

[David C.]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

...Peters in central mid?

Really? After reading about the halftime substitutions, I figured that Bernier would have shifted in the middle, leaving Peters on the right and Issey on the left.

[ken]

A couple of first impressions, good to see Josh start, great save in the first half, the goal was more Atiba's fault than Josh's. Suprised to see Posniak in central mid and Tam on the outside. Poz was ok, nothing big one way or the other. Tam was much more impressive, attacking in the way that Stalteri used to do from the back, a potential team leader from the way he pushed Hume away from the ref after a bad call as well as arguing or atleast making a point with the ref after a questionable penalty. Those on the board who have been calling for his return are right.

Hutchinson and Deguzeman dominated midfield so of course they had to be sustituted at half. Bernier continued his streak of not impressing for the national team. Radzinski worked hard and became frustrated, Hume worked harder but made some bad decisions and lost the ball a lot. Friend did well but did not get the service he needed. didn't really notice Peters, Issey or Olmuch(?). Overall, should have won, still not much finishing (suprise suprise).

Man of the match- Tam. Runners up; Hume, Radz and Deguzeman. By the way who was that colour man Rapael, great job, praised when they did well, pointed out when they screwed up and generally called the game as it was rather than through rose coloured glasses.

[Guest Ed]

Great to hear that Tam did well. After getting screwed over by the Yallop, I am glad he's put the past behind him and rejoined the team.

Lack of finishing kills us. We need more games.

[Desigol]

I agree with Ed. Canada needs more match pratice and continuity. Look at what happened to England under Sven, too much choping and changing therefore the team didn't gel.

[shaku_bert]

Radz sure missed a sitter in the second half. But at least I got to meet Cheeta (and the wee elf) and Redhat! Who are probably still drinking or are passed out at the pub.

[Kurosawa1555362267]

That was a nice run by Peters in the second half. The positive in that game is the comback from Tam Nsaliwa and the inclusion of Hainault. As for Issey Farran Nakajima, he was allright but not much more. And young Ornoch was only there because of the injuries . Maybe both will be ready to be included in the team in a year or two.

[Kurosawa1555362267]

Men's National Team

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Canada falls to Hungary 1:0

Székesfehérvár, Hungary – In a cold and damp evening in Central Europe, Canada, hit with the injury bug, challenged a young Hungary team today in Székesfehérvár, Hungary during an international friendly match-up. Hungary’s lone goal was enough to beat Canada 1:0.

Hungary was obviously starving for a winning performance coming off a disappointing loss recently to 111th ranked Malta.

Canadian Forward Iain Hume set the pace for Canada early by taking charge of the offence. Canada was quickly awarded two free kicks at the 9th and 13th minutes and Hume was given the task on both occasions. His second attempt, from just outside the box, came the closest as it was tipped over the bar by the Hungarian goalkeeper, Zoltin Vegh. Hume then followed up with a header on the ensuing corner that barely missed the mark.

Moments later, Rob Friend drove a staggering header inches over the bar at the 14th minute off a left side corner kick.

Canada was in control of the match until Hungary decided to step up their pace of play at the 17th minute. A run down the right hand side gave an opportunity for a low driving cross which was headed in the right low corner. Fortunately, Canadian goalkeeper Josh Wagenaar, in his first senior team debut, was up to the task and made a show stopping diving save keeping it a scoreless game.

Stephen Hart made a quick substitution early into the match on the 28th minute. Montreal Impact player Adam Braz was brought in to replace Ante Jazic in the midfield.

Thomasz Radzinski, wearing the captain band for Canada, showed signs of domination on the wings. Radzinski made a spectacular interception at the 35th minute in the Hungarian defensive zone but his pass was a touch too far for Friend, who would have had only the goalkeeper to beat.

Canada had a glimpse of weakness in their defensive third at the 36th minute giving up a free kick from 20 yards out. Hungary took the opportunity to cross the ball into the unmarked Tamas Priskin of Hungary who made no mistake with a powerful header over Wagenaar for the goal. Hungary led 1:0.

Canada tried to equalize before the half time whistle when Hume made a fabulous pass that landed in the penalty spot but no Canuck was available to capitalize on the play.

A corner kick late in the 45th minute found Tam Nsaliwa who kicked it over the bar to end the half.

The first half was a low shooting affair with only three shots for Canada compared to Hungary’s two.

Stephen Hart made additional substitutions over the break. Hart brought in Jaime Peters for Atiba Hutchinson while Issey-Farran Nakajima replaced Julian de Guzman, earning his first cap for Canada.

Hungary came out with the same fierce attacking mind set they had at the end of the first half. A corner kick at the 51st minute landed in the penalty area but was easily cleared by the Canadian defence.

A yellow card was given to Hungary Balazd Toth at the 53rd minute for a brutal tackle on newcomer Nakajima.

Peters got noticed quickly with a quick break at the 57th minute. He flew by everyone to be denied only by Vegh who came to challenge him successfully one on one.

Canada continued its quest for an equalizer when Hume fooled his Hungarian marker on the left hand flank. Hume then crossed it in perfectly to Radzinski. However, the Canadian captain could not capitalize on the golden opportunity to tie the game and unfortunately blew his shot over the bar.

Patrice Bernier had a solid match defensively and was given a rare occasion to step up for a free kick for the red and white from 30 yards out at the 67th minute. His shot found the mark but was stopped by Zoltin Vegh.

Friend broke the Hungarian defence at the 69th minute but was quickly met by a racing opponent who tackled him heavily in the box. Friend, forced to the ground, was given a yellow card on a questionable call from the referee.

Hume was given a well deserved break at the 86th minute when Hart decided to give Andrzej Ornoch a crack at the big time and his first cap for Canada.

While Canada had most of the possession and a handful of scoring opportunities, the hard working Canucks could not capitalize on their chances. Hungary won 1:0.

Montreal native Andrew Hainault earned his first senior cap for Canada playing a full 90 minutes.

“The team performance was very promising,” said head coach Stephen Hart. “Under some difficult circumstances we were forced to make some substitutions due to injuries but the players that came on gave a good account of themselves and the young players showed no fear in their performance.”

Match report:

Wednesday, November 12, 2006 - International Friendly

Székesfehérvár, Hungary

CANADA – 0 (0)

HUNGARY – 1(1)

Goals: Hungary – Priskin (36)

Cautions: Canada-Hume (60), Friend (69); Hungary- Huseti (60)

Ejections: none

CANADA: 1-Wagenaar, Josh; 3 – Jazic, Ante (2 - Braz, Adam, 28); 5 – Hainault, Andrew; 6 - de Guzman, Julian (16 - Nakajima, Issey-Farran, 46); 7 Hume, Iain (18 – Ornoch, Andrzej, 86); 8 – Bernier, Patrice; 9 - Radzinski, Tomasz (captain); 10 – Friend, Rob; 11- Pozniak, Chris; 13 – Hutchinson, Atiba (17 – Peters, Jaime, 46); 15 – Nsaliwa, Tam

Head Coach: Stephen Hart

Subs not used: 22 - Sutton, Greg

HUNGARY: 1- Vegh, Zoltin; 2- Bodnair, Laszelo; 3 – Vanczak, Vilmos; 4- Zuhase, Roland; 5 – Balogh, Bela; 6 - Toth, Balazd; 7 – Sandor, Gyongy (15 – Bodor, Boldizsdr, 71); 8 – Vass, Adam; 9 – Priskin, Tamás (14 – Torghelle, Sandor, 78); 10 – Hrepka, Adam (19 – Farkas, Balazs, 70); 11 – Huseti, Szaboles (16 - Rodenbucher, Istrdu, 83)

Head Coach: Péter Várhidi

Subs not used: 12 – Fulop, Marton; 13 – Kanta, Fozref; 17 – Bori, Gabor; 18 – Filkor, Attila; 20 Nemeth, Krisztidu

[jonovision]

I haven't seen the match, but some positives, for me, include:

1 - The player selection. This may not have been our strongest team, mostly due to injuries, but fresh faces like Issey and Hainault, along with the return of Tam and progess with Lars (according to Neil Davidson) are definitely positive.

2 - Use of subs. Although Hart's hand was forced a bit with the injury to Jazic and an arrangement with FC Copenhagen, those substitutes who did see action (all except for Sutton) got enough time to at least get a feel for the game, which he haven't always seen in the past. The exception is Ornoch who probably isn't quite ready yet anyway, and was no doubt as surprised as the rest of us to find himself playing for Canada.

I'm also interested to see how the defence played, with such a makeshift group playing in front of an inexperienced keeper.

Again, we couldn't score and that is disappointing. But I'll wait to see the game (a torrent will be available, I hope) before drawing any more conclusions.

[Gian-Luca]

The only thing with the subs is that I'm not sure why De Guzman was taken out at the half, particularly when we were also forced to sub out Atiba at the same time thanks to the Danish demands.

[JamesW]

So when can we download the game?

[masster]

My take on things:

I really enjoyed the game, except for the result. It was one of the best performances I have seen. Good possesion, nice movement forward; but too much space left at the back and we din't capitalize on our chances. Overall though, I am pleased.

However, I am wondering how much of this was due to good play from Canada, or due to a young, inexperienced Hungarian side. Good performance but poor result. That is something we are hearing too much of lately.

As others have mentioned Canada started off the game really strong. There were just a couple of lapses that led to the 2 chances for Hungary, one superbly saved by Josh, the other the goal, which was due to poor marking by Atiba. From about the 55th to the 85th I think it was all Canada. Throughout the game I thought our midfield was strong. However our players were all over the place. I don't know how much of that was lack of structure coming from the coach or players just shifting positions. I put quality chances at 2-2, Radz's miraculous miss, and an Issey header that went straight to the keeper. I really believe that if Atiba and Julian would have played the whole game, Canada would have found the equalizer.

Whom I liked: Tam, Hume, Peters, Julian, Radz (until his miss..after that he got frustrated and seemed as though he was trying to do too much to make up for his mistake)

Whom I did not like: Bernier, Jazic, Braz (we all know what he can do...nothing special. Give me Klukowski or Brennan at LB. Even though Simpson plays in the middle, I would like to see him get a game here as an attacking full back down the flank.)

I also think that with more games together Radz, Friend and Hume will be a trio that can pot goals for us. Familiarity will help in their passing that at times was unmistakably off. Support them with Atiba and Julian and you have a core of 5 will create offence. This group is untouchable.

Finally, I liked the duo that was doing the game. The play by play guy (Lee Godfrey?) made some mistakes. It was obvious he was doing the game off a monitor and at times it was hard to tell who was who. Besides that he was good. As was the colour guy. You could tell he didn't know all of the players and sometimes called them by their numbers instead but he broke down the play well.

They mentioned Canada's next action would be the Gold Cup. I hope to hell that is not true. This group of players has the makeup to get the job done!

[bettermirror]

"this group is untouchable" - De Rosario!?

[jonovision]

quote:Originally posted by bettermirror

"this group is untouchable" - De Rosario!?

Is there any alignment (given our current 4-3-3) that would make use of all 6: DeGuzman, De Rosario, Hutchinson, Hume, Radzinski and Friend? Or is there not enough defence and toughness in that midfield without a player like Bernier or Serioux?

[masster]

quote:Originally posted by jonovision

Is there any alignment (given our current 4-3-3) that would make use of all 6: DeGuzman, De Rosario, Hutchinson, Hume, Radzinski and Friend? Or is there not enough defence and toughness in that midfield without a player like Bernier or Serioux?

Hey, I was thinking the exact same thing? Can you add Dero to that group and still break up enough attacks in the midfield? Probably not. If you add Dero, who do you take out? I don't think any of those 5.

I have not seen anything from Bernier in his national team games. So the question for me is Dero/Serioux/Grande/Simpson/Brennan..who do you add to this 5? (Probably should be discussed in another thread)

[Ivan]

I was able to take the afternoon off and watch the game, but only got the Spanish feed.

Anyway, my thoughts on the players:

Waganaar - Couple good saves, but slow to react on crosses into the box, one of which resulted in the goal.

Hainault - Great game, strong in the air, one to watch for future.

Pozniak - Not too noticeable which is probably a good thing.

Nsaliwa - Good game. Nice to have him back.

Jazic/Braz - Neither overly noticeable, again maybe a good thing.

Hutchinson - Good half, dominant at times.

DeGuzman - Arguably the best I have seen him play in a Canada shirt.

Bernier - Poor offensively, but gets no respect for his defensive game a la Imhof.

Hume - Worked hard and created opportunities, but gave the ball away cheaply at times taking on 3 or 4 players. Still, my MOTM.

Radzinski - Played well but missed a couple of sitters.

Friend - Held the ball up well but really had no strikes on goal.

Peters - One great run over 3/4 of the field shirking tackles that almost resulted in a goal. Not much otherwise but that one play makes me dream of the possibilities with this kid.

Issey - Looked nervous when he first came on, but improved with time. Not the answer to our scoring woes, but could be a serviceable depth player.

Ornoch - Not on long enough, but big strapping lad.

Overall played well, but just could not get it together in the final third.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by masster

I have not seen anything from Bernier in his national team games.

I didn't see this particular match, so what about his performance today concerned you?

[Obinna]

torrents

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=10039990#post10039990

[Canuck Oranje]

After having watched the game, here are my player assessments:

Wagonaar - He looks like he will be a good one. He made some very nice stops. Still, as others have pointed out, he was slow off the line. He probably needed a "take charge" defender like McKenna in front of him.

Jazic - I would give him the benefit of the doubt. I suspect he had an injury. In any case, it didn't take the Hungarians long to find the weak spot. Once they found it, they were taking advantage. As a result, Bernier was forced to help Jazic a lot defensively.

Braz - Came on to replace Jazic. He was an improvement over Jazic but I think the Hungarians were still of the opinion that the left side of our defence was weakest.

Hainault - Accounted himself well. Still a little green but showed a lot of promise. I wouldn't hesitate to call him again. It would be interesting to see him paired with a Nsaliwa or McKenna in the middle sometime.

Pozniak - He was ok defensively. His touch on the ball was a little weak but he still participated in being a passing option when maintaining ball possession at the back. More than Braz.

Nsaliwa - He was really nice to see out there. Quality touches. Quality passes and I mean some real nicely weighted long passes out of the back. At first, I wondered why he was playing in the right fullback position, but the broadcast team made a comment that the Hungarian player attacking on Nsaliwa's side was their top attacking player. That could mean that it was a matchup strategy. Still, his style of play would have put the Hungarian covering him on the defensive a lot. Still would like to see him in the middle with McKenna. Those long passes would work from the middle too. Maybe when Stalteri is healthy.

Hutchinson - Simply, he is one of our quality players. There was some nice combination possession play between him and Nsaliwa and de Guzman.

De Guzman - Another quality player. He needs to go back to Germany. His style of play is suited to Germany. de Guzman is nice fit with Hutchinson in a two-man holding formation.

Bernier - wasn't as bad as some suggest. He was helpful defensively. However, he was a little invisible offensively.

Radzinski - He still causes trouble for defenses. But he is not a goal poacher. He will be useful going forward and we need to keep him in the team, maybe eventually moving back to the substitutes bench. Some nice interplay.

Hume - He looked like a League Championship striker right down to the temper. His touch was letting him down. On the positive side, he is one of the hardest workers on the Canadian team. He is young and will improve more.

Friend - He probably was one player that needs more playing time with his teammates. One, it would give his teammates a better idea of where to give him the ball and also, Friend needs to better understand where to put the ball in linking plays. Still a solid center forward with good pace. I like his potential.

Nakajima-Farran - Lots of Potential and shows a lot of style but not quite there yet. Needs to get more time with the national team.

Peters - His biggest improvement was his defensive capabilities. Still made some attacking plays. He needs to keep working hard at Ipswich. There is no doubt he will be a good one but likely as a winger. I suspect he was in the middle because of the pulling of Hutchinson and de Guzman at Halftime.

Ornoch - Not much time, but he had some nice touches. Need to see more.

All in all, it was an enjoyable game to watch. The Hungarian goal would have easily been eliminated by a McKenna and a more seasoned Goalkeeper. Our offence was out-of-sync and they need playing time.

The broadcast team - the colour man is very good at breaking down the game even if he doesn't know the players. Godfrey probably would be better if he was on-site.

[JamesW]

For some reason, I can not get this news up on our site...

[Cheeta]

Not the most skilled Hungarian side, but they were to the man full of energy, piss, and vinegar. Physical too I thought. Certainly not shy to tackle. Hard, often and quite frequently, spikes 1st. Kids doing what kids need to do to get noticed. And at home. Very good on them. At worst, they wanted to force Canada to earn a victory, which Canada didn’t in my opinion and so a 1-nil result for Hungary.

Pretty hard for me to find fault on the goal. Outside of a club team structure where you’re gonna work on defending against free kicks like that it’s easy to see how things can’t go perfect. That’s a Hell of a spot to defend free kicks from. Yeah, maybe Hutch could have played Priskin a centimeter tighter and maybe Josh could have attacked the cross a ¼ second earlier (or stayed on his line). Or maybe Canada could have ignored holding a line, conceded the area to the Hungarian and just crowded the goal area. Or, or, or. Very well played by the Hungarians. Think they may have done that one on the practice pitch once or twice.

Wagenaar did seem a bit tentative at times, unsure but given the circumstances who’s to be surprised by that? Excellent stop in the 1st half though. High-light reel stuff.

Oohh. Cheeta like Nsaliwa. Was surprised to see him at right back, but not surprised if you follow. Had a very good match. Strong lad and not afraid to be strong. He plays his game and waits for the ref’ to let him know when there’s a problem. Hasn’t lost any of his pace neither. Good call up.

Hart didn’t have very many options in this fixture. Hell, I’d say he had none so he gets a passing grade based on a few of the call ups alone.

P.S. Ooop. Forgot Hutch and The Guz. Julian has got to get more playing time in and prick around with the ball a little less. But he is what he is and if I have to settle for it I think that’s still something I can happily live with.

Atiba Hutchinson is turning into an absolute God send for Canada.

P.S.S. By the by, nice meeting you Bert. Pity you missed the 1st half, Canada's better I thought. We'll see about having a get-together soon enough. Hope you've still got a job this morning...

[JamesW]

quote:Atiba Hutchinson is turning into an absolute God send for Canada.

I agree. There is one bright spot for Canada, and that is Atiba. And not only is he a great player playing in the ECL, he seems to be more then willing to play on our team.

One question, I saw Canada made four subs, I thought you could only make three subs in Soccer. Am I wrong or has the rules changed?

[gator]

Jamit, Canada made all the subs they could (except backup keeper) In friendlies such as this one the 3 sub rule is waived so the coaches can sub at will! I agree, it's great to see Hutch is keen to play for us! Didn't see it but he apparently was the culprit on their goal! He has looked great in CL!

[The Beaver]

To those who saw the game ( I did NOT):

Would you say this performance was a step in the right direction? Keeping in mind we were using a never-before-seen back line combo, were missing our captain, were missing DeRo and Stalteri etc. From what I've read, it certainly doesn't sound that we took a step backwards.