Canada - Ecuador Post Game Thread (Non-Attendance smack/Petty regionalism thread)

[jpg75]

For those of us that want to discuss the game without dealing with attendance smack and the usual b.s. of regionalistic differences.

Anyone else wondering what is the cause of our second half lapses? It seems like almost every second half in recent memory has seen our opposition come out stronger than us and in most cases score early to mid second half.

Are they making more adjustments?

Are we not emotionally ready to compete coming out of the half?

Are we expending too much energy in the first (doubt it)?

Are we too content with our strong first half performances and/or is our opponent taking us too lightly in the first and they rebound in the second (my favourite)?

[jonovision]

I think the second half lapses on Wednesday had much to do with the change in personnel.

[Guest Ed]

The loss of Jakovic before the end of the 1st half was a part of the 2nd half lapse. He defended high up the field with McKenna supporting, which made things a bit easier for the inside mids Hutch and Dunfield. After his loss, there was a gap that McKenna and Hainault had to face, with Hutch and JdG trying to cover.

But I don't think it is a coincidence that the two goals came after man of the match Simpson left the pitch.

[ThiKu]

I agree with Jono's post. But would that it also had to do with a quality opposition! We are also lucky they didn't have Valencia, to say the least.

[jpg75]

I think the second half lapses on Wednesday had much to do with the change in personnel.

I agree, but what about the other matches? Not sure we can blame substitutions for the Peru, Ukraine or Greece lapses.

[Keegan]

I agree, but what about the other matches? Not sure we can blame substitutions for the Peru, Ukraine or Greece lapses.

I think for the Ukraine and Greece matches we can partly blame the oppositions subs for the second half turnarounds.

[Keano]

I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF TYPICAL ARROGANT TORONTONIANS AND THEIR -

Oh sorry.

I'll vote for it being mainly an issue of Ecuador going in a halftime and working on adjustments, while Canada goes in and discusses how to make sure they keep doing exactly what they were doing in the first half.

[Keegan]

I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF TYPICAL ARROGANT TORONTONIANS AND THEIR -

Oh sorry.

I'll vote for it being mainly an issue of Ecuador going in a halftime and working on adjustments, while Canada goes in and discusses how to make sure they keep doing exactly what they were doing in the first half.

A journalist really needs to question Hart's half time team talks

[BuzzAndSting]

I wouldn't say that Canada was flat for very long against Greece.

As for Wednesdays game it seemed that every offensive rush hinged on De Ro and Josh. When Josh was subbed off that obviously took away from our ability to hold onto the ball. And after the first goal by Ecuador De Ro seemed discouraged and frustrated, which led to mistakes and giveaways.

[killgod]

Anyone else notice Simpson come up with a bit of a limp late in the first half? I know I saw it, the half finished a few minutes later, then a few minutes into the 2nd he was subbed.

Haven't seen any mention of him from an injury standpoint, but I did see the limp/hamstring grab and was concerned.

[Keegan]

Anyone else notice Simpson come up with a bit of a limp late in the first half? I know I saw it, the half finished a few minutes later, then a few minutes into the 2nd he was subbed.

Haven't seen any mention of him from an injury standpoint, but I did see the limp/hamstring grab and was concerned.

I'm sure if there was any issue he wouldn't have even been on for the 2nd half

[Sam]

First off as always it was a fantastic night with the Voyageurs. Atmosphere was very good, especially at the end after the goal. I just finished watching the game on DVR. So a few thoughts

- Hutchinson and Simpson are consistently our two best players. Both of them have been good every game playing for the nats since the home friendlies last summer. Coming off probably a career-club season for each of them I have little doubt they'll bring the same level to the Gold Cup.

- Borjan is awesome, not only a very good keeper but this guy seems like he would be up with us in the stands if he wasn't playing. Near the end of the match he was trying to pump up the south side to get behind the team, and after the Ricketts' goal he was going crazy.

- McKenna had another solid game, may have done better on the Benitez goal from the corner but all around was clearly our best defender. He had some very good tackles and positionally he seemed comfortable. I really like him as captain, he could become a real motivational figure for the team moving forward.

- That goal from Dunfield was unbelievable, reminded me of Gerba's half-volley against Mexico a few years back. Perfect technique, except this one was even better placed than Gerba's. Also it came out of no where, if I had to pick a player who would score a screamer before the game Dunfield would have been pretty low down on that list.

- The second half after Dunfield was removed and even towards the end of the first half I thought our midfield looked pretty weak defensively. They weren't really holding a line, and often were stuck in 1v1 situations against the Ecuadorian attackers. Luckly they had decent support with McKenna and Hainault behind them, but as a unit I was a little disappointed with how the midfield defended.

- Julian De Guzman had a nice heads up play to take the quick free kick for the equalizer, but other than that I thought he was very poor. A few bad giveaways, didn't offer anything offensively and was culpable as part of the aforementioned poor defensive midfield unit. De Guzman on a good day certainly has more to offer than Dunfield, but Dunfield's consistency recently compared to De Guzman has me wondering who is the right choice to start against the Americans.

- I thought Marcel De Jong looked pretty poor. He was alirght defensively, but we need our fullbacks to offer more going forward than he did. After Simpson was subbed out, we didn't have any attacks coming from the left wing. He was slow getting the ball out of our own third after winning the ball, and this led to a few giveaways. The leftback spot is going to be another contentious issue going into the game against the States.

- De Ro was good enough to warrant the start in the Gold Cup, as was Jackson. Niether were brilliant but they did enough.

- Ledgerwood certainly was not out of his depth against Ecuador, but I think Peters still has a chance to take that right back position. As does Hainault, depending on whether the Jakovic injury forces him into the starting centre back role.

- Scoring late goals has never been a speciality of Canada, but its almost always a trademark of winning teams. So when better to start than now. Two injury time equalizers against South American opponents in the last year is a good sign. It also feels f*cking amazing to score a late goal like that.

Last night was certainly a moral victory for our squad and supporters, and leaving the stadium last night I was on top of the world. But re-watching the game there are certainly some issues heading into the Gold Cup that need to be addressed. I hope its an improved team facing the Americans next week after another week of training together.

Allez Les Rouges!!!!

[Keegan]

Last night was certainly a moral victory for our squad and supporters, and leaving the stadium last night I was on top of the world. But re-watching the game there are certainly some issues heading into the Gold Cup that need to be addressed. I hope its an improved team facing the Americans next week after another week of training together.

Allez Les Rouges!!!!

Whoooah Sam, late hang over sleep in? hahah jokes I agree with your points though, dead on and I loved Milan pumping us up and then when we scored he went nuts unbelievable! That's the type of passion you want to see.

What did people think of Peters? I really couldn't concentrate I was so bitter with all the diving

Definitely issues to be addressed, Hart said the team would be selected based on training and not on the Ecuador match so who knows who will impress him in training.

[Sam]

Whoooah Sam, late hang over sleep in?

I posted this in the other thread before it got hijacked by the attendance talk, and I just copied and pasted it over here, so when I wrote that the game was last night.

[StartingEleven]

Wouldn't you all agree that more important than results leading up to the WC Qualifying including the Gold Cup that S. Harts just been trying this or the other thing and seeing who will be the goto guys during qualifying? I just feel that once the Gold Cup starts and then onto the WC 2014 campaign we will see a more consistent starting eleven.

Why else would any manager make so many second half subs in almost every friendly they have had since Argentina. I may be preaching to the choir but its just what I've seen on the late

[loyola]

For those who are criticizing Hart subs, I think you have to keep in mind that this was a friendly and Hart probably wanted to give a run to his top 15-16 players.

I'm pretty sure Dunfield knew he would only play the first half and Julian the second. Hart probably told both players before the game.

Forrest or Dobson said that it was known before the game that Simpson would play around an hour due to some fatigue concerns.

Hart would've probably coached that game differently if we were in a GC do or die game.

[loyola]

BTW, we made around 16-17 passes before the goal (one Ecuadorian touched the ball on a miss tackle during that spell but we didn't loose possession). Great to see!

[yomurphy1]

Forrest or Dobson said that it was known before the game that Simpson would play around an hour due to some fatigue concerns.

Simpson also took a knock earlier in the game and was limping a bit

[Guest Ed]

I just had to re-watch the goal from the corner because real time in the pub it went by too quickly. I thought the marking was poor and wanted to validate. Holy sh1t, poor isn't the f*cking word for it. FIVE, count 'em, FIVE of our players strung out in front of our goal (I think it was 4,5,6,9,19) and NOT ONE OF THEM PICKING UP A MAN. More red shirts behind them and ONE yellow shirt just drifts in from the penalty spot and heads home unchallenged. I'm not a fan of Hainault (but he is admittedly a young guy who could yet improve) and I think that one of his weaknesses is marking, although he was hardly alone culpable on that goal. Borjan should also have done better - no reason I could see that he couldn't have made that ball his.I thought Terry Dunfield was a spark plug for us and we definitely lost something when he went off.

Big picture, I was pleased with the performance and the result. In a friendly, you have to put the substitutions into context - they are to try things out and not to win the match. The real tests are just around the corner. Too bad they won't be played in Winnipeg where there would be a fantastic and fanatical sold out pro-Canada crowd!

If you watched the Sportsnet telecast, the FIRST replay (there were several, from difft angles) shows McKenna turning around to point at Hainault -- as in, WTF did you with your man? -- and Hainault gestured towards Borjan. Borjan was well out when the corner was kicked, Hainault must have assumed he would stay there and go up and get it. Instead, he booked it to his goalline, leaving the easy header for the oncoming attacker.

[hodgkiss]

-jakovic and mckenna were amazing back there and i felt very confident of stopping and clearing any danger that may have come our way and that was very evident.

-borjan was also very solid. the first goal he could have come out to punch or grab i but should have been the centreback's job to get it out of there. 2nd goal was just way to fast wit the wind behind it - no chance. but he made some great saves and his decision making skills are very sharp.

-ledgerwood and de jong were okay - de jong seeing a lot of the ball and bringing it forward but his crosses and feeds were off.

-simpson made some great little runs and looked very impressive.

-and dunfield... up until he scored, he actually looked a little scared to me when he had teh ball. the mids would move it around and he woudl get a touch and then quickly put it back to the player he ot it from after takng just a few steps - repeatedly. but all at once, he got a touch and moved forward and to teh inside. when he let it rip, u knew it was going on goal. great shot and i hope that was a confidence booster for him because i think that was exactly what he needed.

-de guzman - when he came in i wasn't overly impressed but when he is on, he can settle down the midfield and help set the tone and he did just that. the free kick that ended up going to toss was great. it was cheap but if evryone else can be, so can we.

-tossaint - he was looking to make an impact and he did. had lots of hustle and just wanted to touch that ball. he has had a great record at the international level and i expect good things form him. will make a greta player to come on for tired legs in this tournament.

-hainault - not a big fan. i have seen too many mistakes form this guy from the u20's right up to the cmnt. is a bench player at best.

-de ro was okay as well. he seemed to be a decent option on the left for a quick counter - would be nice to see more work with little overlaps on the left side

-jackson was good. not sure if he is better as the poit guy up front or if he was more effective on teh right side. i think in this match he wasn't that effective at all. had a couple of good chances but i have seen him work well from the right side in previous games.

-hutchinson looked amazing out there. his ability to get the ball and shield it from the opposition is fantastic - his head is always up - looking forward to make a pass.

-will johnson was okay. he always had a hustle. and made a few little runs and crosses but i know he is capable of much more - i think he had an off night.

[CanadasBest]

On Wednesdays game specifically some of the substitutions took away the momentum slightly. However I thought the biggest difference was we sat back. We tend to do that too much when we get the lead instead of continuing to press and keep control of the ball. We played our best in the first 35 minutes when Hutchinson pressed forward. When he sat back later in the first half and 2nd half it seemed to make a big difference.

I'm hoping we see Gerba at the front, with Jackson on the right, Simpson on the left, DeRo behind Gerba, and Hutch + Dunfield in the middle. If we had that line-up i'm sure Jackson would have burried that opportunity that Johnson missed after the Dunfield goal.

[BuzzAndSting]

To those at the game; who was the player at the end of the match punching his traded Ecuadorian jersey in the air the the beat of the Canada chants? Rickets?

[guppy]

BTW, we made around 16-17 passes before the goal (one Ecuadorian touched the ball on a miss tackle during that spell but we didn't loose possession). Great to see!

I can remember when the world went bananas the time Argentina had a 25 pass wonder goal against Serbia? Canada is getting there!

[Sam]

I can remember when the world went bananas the time Argentina had a 25 pass wonder goal against Serbia?

Possibly the most overrated goal of alltime.

[BearcatSA]

The loss of Jakovic before the end of the 1st half was a part of the 2nd half lapse. He defended high up the field with McKenna supporting, which made things a bit easier for the inside mids Hutch and Dunfield. After his loss, there was a gap that McKenna and Hainault had to face, with Hutch and JdG trying to cover.

But I don't think it is a coincidence that the two goals came after man of the match Simpson left the pitch.

Jakovic's absence is a big loss IMO. We also lose his composure on the ball: right after the Dunfield goal, Ecuador pressed us with three attackers on the edge of our box but he was able to confidently break the pressure and initiate the build up with an outlet pass.

That's what I also miss with the absence of Klukowski. At his best, he's a better player on the ball than De Jong when under pressure. De Jong is the more robust defender in physical confrontations, but in 1 v 1 in situations Klukowski has proven to be a quick and agile defender. However, Hart may feel that De Jong is the better overall option right now, and that's what counts.

Ledgerwood accorded himself well defensively, supporting the CBs as needed, but he also benefitted from the defensive support of Johnson on a couple of occasions. However, he didn't do anything to lose his starting place vs the US.