lattes Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 That was the best quality live football match I have ever seen! Thanks to Jaime for hooking me up with tix, we were beasts in Mid and ruled that game. Still high on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lattes Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I get the impression that some people think the only way you advance is with a 6-0-0 record. :S I know what you mean but we DID deserve to win that. Even a couple of Honduran supporters said to me that we got robbed. Seeing as Hondo is the hardest team in our group the hex is looking very possible, would be lovely to have 6pts w/ 4 games left though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 On the plus side, I cannot remember seeing DeRo working harder for the CMNT than the last few games. I sometimes wonder though i he doesn't add to the pressure on himself to score, which results in the misses? I worry about that a lot, actually. DeRo always seems to have the highest over-the-bar shots when he's on those tough angles where he seems to be telling himself "gotta get this one". I dunno, either way he's an integral part of the attack, and I'm really liking his wing-play in Simpson's absence. I get the impression that some people think the only way you advance is with a 6-0-0 record. :S It does seem that way. We have four more matches to lock it down, and honestly I'm expecting us to take some points off of Panama, and we'll definitely beat Cuba at home in October. Basically at this point I think we're guaranteed 7 points and we need to make sure we make the most of our September matches to put us over the top, while also hoping Honduras make the least of theirs. Honestly, I could see both Honduras and Panama losing on that pitch in Havana. I know what you mean but we DID deserve to win that. Even a couple of Honduran supporters said to me that we got robbed. Seeing as Hondo is the hardest team in our group the hex is looking very possible, would be lovely to have 6pts w/ 4 games left though! We should've won, but I'll take the point. The important thing is that we're still 3 points ahead of Hondo, 4 ahead of Cuba, and only 2 behind Panama. This group is still ours for the taking. All we need to do is keep up the current level of play, and feed a few more balls into Occean's feet rather than firing them in high every time. If we do that, I think we'll see a few more of our chances converted in future rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killgod Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I know what you mean but we DID deserve to win that. Even a couple of Honduran supporters said to me that we got robbed. Seeing as Hondo is the hardest team in our group the hex is looking very possible, would be lovely to have 6pts w/ 4 games left though! Oh I don't doubt that. We deserved a win, didn't get it...but ok. We got a point, didn't lose any ground on them and proved that we are a better side that can dominate them. People were saying coming into the group that getting points off Honduras would be hard to do, now they are mad we didn't get all 3! There's also too many "certainties" being thrown around. Apparently we're going to get 0 in Sept vs Panama twice and both Panama and Honduras are a lock to take 6 from Cuba. Cuba almost stole a point at Panama last night, it'll be no cakewalk for Honduras to get max points in Sept in their 2 matches with them. They have NO GOALS yet, so good luck taking 6pts with that kind of offence. Jamaica and the US drew at inferior sides last night, anything can happen in this round. Talent wise there's a gap between our region's heavyweights, middle sides and minnows, but results wise it's usually going to be close....close enough for upsets to be very possible. There's a reason why only 2 sides got max pts so far and Mexico needed a GK screw up to get theirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshieScores Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 In a way I feel like I saw something different - We had plenty of opportunities to score but didn't take them. That is different to me than if we had no opportunities to score. I will not pin this result on Hart. It is on the players to convert. He set them up in a system that worked to both contain the Hondurans and provide possession. In the end, the players have to convert. Maybe make your subs 5 or 10 minutes earlier? Whatever. +1 Also, Honduras had ZERO shots on target. Credit goes to our defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killgod Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 It does seem that way. We have four more matches to lock it down, and honestly I'm expecting us to take some points off of Panama, and we'll definitely beat Cuba at home in October. Basically at this point I think we're guaranteed 7 points and we need to make sure we make the most of our September matches to put us over the top, while also hoping Honduras make the least of theirs. Honestly, I could see both Honduras and Panama losing on that pitch in Havana. One thing to note about the Cuba match. It's not a lock, but is our best shot at 3pts of any match based on the "on paper" matchup. However, there's a very real possibility that Cuba's WCQ run could be over by this match, which completely turns things around for how they may approach the game, their morale, etc. We'll think about it more when the time comes, but it's worth consideration when you look at what we could be facing at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Well I'll say this, we need to be top 2 in the group to advance and if Honduras keeps playing like this they'll be finishing 3rd. They are going to be in tough against Cuba in their home and away. Loved the attitudes of supporters at the stadium last night, Hondurans weren't welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killgod Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 In a way I feel like I saw something different - We had plenty of opportunities to score but didn't take them. That is different to me than if we had no opportunities to score. I will not pin this result on Hart. It is on the players to convert. He set them up in a system that worked to both contain the Hondurans and provide possession. In the end, the players have to convert. Maybe make your subs 5 or 10 minutes earlier? Whatever. On the plus side, I cannot remember seeing DeRo working harder for the CMNT than the last few games. I sometimes wonder though i he doesn't add to the pressure on himself to score, which results in the misses? I don't blame Hart either. He played us in form to ensure points and we were extremely strong at the back. They had little in chances to score and it makes it hard for strikers of this quality to convert when you only get one real good chance in an entire match. The Honduran central defence played well as opposed to what I saw vs Panama last friday. They cleared away most of our dangerous attempts pretty well, so credit to them for stepping up. The ones that did make it through though, those have to be on target, just have to be. DeRo does seem like he might have his screws in a bit too tight, working his tail off no doubt but his striking is not what we're used to seeing from him. I hope he can find his rhythm in the fall, we need him to score goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killgod Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Regarding the official... I actually thought he was decent for CONCACAF. He gave us many deserved free kicks, perhaps a couple soft calls against but that happens in any region vs a team who goes down a lot. A bit card happy but every official has his style. He could have been harsher on DeRo for getting a bit violent, but chose to be fair about it. Occean's was a bit harsh, but he certainly went down easy for a big man and when Costly went down in the box late in the 2nd half (more contact than Occean had for sure, but not a foul) the ref was not interested at all...which was nice. Costly was begging for calls all night and got very little attention, no complaints from me. I really don't think he was all that bad. I would love a ref that calls a game in our favour, who wouldn't...we've had enough called in our oppositions favour in the past few years, but I think he was down the middle and playing no favourites last night. We've had much much worse than that and I wouldn't be bothered if he called another match we play in. Just comparing to the Jamaican crew @ Cuba was a big step up, they were absolutely atrocious and changing their minds in favour of Cuba at every turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklefan Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I get the impression that some people think the only way you advance is with a 6-0-0 record. :S Bear in mind that Cuba will face Honduras the next 2 games. It means that after 4 games played Honduras might end with 7 pts. Panama has 6 already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-collins Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Bear in mind that Cuba will face Honduras the next 2 games. It means that after 4 games played Honduras might end with 7 pts. Panama has 6 already. More importantly, we will know by kickoff at home against Panama what has happened in Cuba (3pm start, so heat will be a factor)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killgod Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Bear in mind that Cuba will face Honduras the next 2 games. It means that after 4 games played Honduras might end with 7 pts. Panama has 6 already. Cuba is playing for their right to qualify too, they will give their all. They might have 7pts, they might have 5pts, they might have 3pts... Also, in Oct they need to play each other again. Meaning only one side can get max pts that last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redcoatsforever Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 One point I want to raise: Honduras and Panama are going to be having a lot more difficulty in Cuba than we did. If you watch our tactics, the idea of scoring off of a header on a cross is the way our system is hard-wired. Panama and Honduras however play it on the ground and rely on quick passing and strong runs. Try that on the Cuba pitch, it won't work. I'm not convinced Panama or Honduras will be ale to pull off a solid long-ball effort, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartlikefox Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Best way to look at it, if it was said we'd be 3 points clear of 3rd place Honduras after the first round of games, I'm pretty sure we'd all have taken that going into the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gator Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I must say I was impressed by the mostly pro Canadian crowd last night and the Supporters Section sang from start to finish! I was expecting some real trouble at this match after the fiasco in Montreal but I heard of only a couple of minor incidents! I think a lot of this had to do with a mid week match which probably cut down on away support! It was great early on when a handful of Hondurans tried to engage the South End and they were drowned out by "This is our house, get the **** out"! While we were waiting for the GO Train home there were a bunch of Hondurans (Canadians wearing Honduran shirts) on the platform, I asked them all where in Honduras they were from, none of them really wanted to answer and were happy to board the Westbound train back to their Burlington homes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 To be fair we are probably DECADES away from Canada playing a game on the left coast We absolutely need a proper soccer stadium on the west coast, because one of these days we will need to play a game in January or February. The eastern clubs have the Skydome and Big Owe as foul-weather options, but I don't ever want to see a national game played in those two barns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 They had one chance and we had 3, game ends 0-0. It would have been great to bury them and have 6 points at this stage but 4 points is double what we had for all the last WCQ round. I thought we played well and played our game not theirs. Except for that one chance we didn't break down at the back. Offensively we really need someone to score. It really looks like the old school Canadian soccer at this point. Defend and keep it close and hope for someone, anyone, on our team to get a goal. We can make it to the hex on that but we really need someone to start scoring for us. OO was truly excellent again in that lone striker / hold up role. That is one tough role to play and he is doing it so well. Great to see. We really need it. Great to meet up with the Calgary V's again for a few pints and watching the game. See you in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodgkiss Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 best case scenario for us is taking 3 pts form panama at home and honduras and cuba with a draw. the table would look like this after 3 games played: canada 7 panama 6 honduras 2 cuba 1 that would mean honduras and cuba would HAVE to win at least 2 games to beat us and canada not picking up any other points. with a canada win at home to cuba would pretty much seal it for us. more than likely outcomes... panama 13 (loss in toronto, draw in cuba, win at home to canada, win at home vs honduras) canada 10 (two wins at home, 2 loses on road) honduras 8 (win at home vs cuba, draw in cuba, loss in panama, win at home vs canada) cuba 2 (loss in canada, draw honduras at home, loss to panama at home, loss in honduras) i really think canada (if they keep their current form) can pick up points in any match (home or away) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 While we were waiting for the GO Train home there were a bunch of Hondurans (Canadians wearing Honduran shirts) on the platform, I asked them all where in Honduras they were from, none of them really wanted to answer and were happy to board the Westbound train back to their Burlington homes! Yeah, that **** is hilarious. The people sitting in front of us were Canadian-born of Honduran descent and one of the guys behind us immigrated here from Honduras and was cheering for Canada. One of the female Canadian-born fans teased him about being a traitor and he responded that he'd be a traitor to Canada, the country that let him come here for a better life, if he cheered for Honduras. Then my Dad chimed in that he faced the same conundrum in 1986 when Canada played France and he felt he owed it to Canada to cheer for them instead of France. So there you have it, there are some immigrants in this country that appreciate this country...and then you have their kids who either love their country of birth (me) or take it for granted how much better they have it in this country than "back home". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killgod Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 On the subway out there was a group of young teens....5 of them, all wearing honduras kits. 2 of them clearly looked like they were of Honduran nationality, the other 3 were bloody white skinned gingers. I was in total disbelief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 During the last round while waiting in line at the Mexico vs Canada game in Edmonton I heard several Canadians talking about how "we'll probably lose 8-0". What I would have given to have seen their face after the game (2-2 draw which we dominated). People just seem to expect us to do bad. Their expectations are unrealistically low. The more good results we get the more minds will change. Maybe next time those Canadians will tell their Honduran friends "you cheer for them, I'm cheer for us". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonte Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yeah, that **** is hilarious. The people sitting in front of us were Canadian-born of Honduran descent and one of the guys behind us immigrated here from Honduras and was cheering for Canada. One of the female Canadian-born fans teased him about being a traitor and he responded that he'd be a traitor to Canada, the country that let him come here for a better life, if he cheered for Honduras. Then my Dad chimed in that he faced the same conundrum in 1986 when Canada played France and he felt he owed it to Canada to cheer for them instead of France. So there you have it, there are some immigrants in this country that appreciate this country...and then you have their kids who either love their country of birth (me) or take it for granted how much better they have it in this country than "back home". You got that 100% right mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshieScores Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yeah, that **** is hilarious. The people sitting in front of us were Canadian-born of Honduran descent and one of the guys behind us immigrated here from Honduras and was cheering for Canada. One of the female Canadian-born fans teased him about being a traitor and he responded that he'd be a traitor to Canada, the country that let him come here for a better life, if he cheered for Honduras. Then my Dad chimed in that he faced the same conundrum in 1986 when Canada played France and he felt he owed it to Canada to cheer for them instead of France. So there you have it, there are some immigrants in this country that appreciate this country...and then you have their kids who either love their country of birth (me) or take it for granted how much better they have it in this country than "back home". haha funny ****. I was sitting at the East Grandstand yesterday and in front of me, there were at least 50 honduran fans packed and among that 50, there was 1 kid of Honduran decent with Maple Leaf painted in his face. He looked like he was part of a family group and while rest of supporters were chanting "Hon-DUU-RAAS", he was sitting quietly and looking awfully uncomfortable. He did sing his hearts out during Canadian National Anthem though. Brave young man he is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditty Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Away teams are happy taking a point, its infinitely harder playing down in Central America. That means the impetus is on the home team to do their best to take 3 points, and that means attacking. Any decent team in the world plays more attacking at home and defensive on the road. Not only that this Honduran side is not very good, attacking leads to the opposition having to defend and sit back more, and attacking less, thus attacking gets 2 things accomplished it gives you the chance to score goals, get fouls and cards for the oppositon and it is it provides defense. Playing defensive does not lead to any of those benefits, its simple international soccer 101 Hart played not to lose, playing not to lose at home to teams like Honduras who are in a down moment is not the best strategy to qualify. If we played someone with a bit more defensive responsibility so be it, but we played Nik Ledgerwood wide on the right, who for all his battling qualities provided no danger at all going forward. On the road I can understand picking that squad, but the fact is we are going to be in tough against Panama and Honduras away to get wins so trying for a point or counter attacking or sset piece goals is a sound strategy, today it was not. And its not like we were playing attacking wingbacks either, we played 2 relatively reserved players at FB which should give more ability to play attacking players ahead of them. But I don't think we played defensively. Atiba was bombing around in the 1st half and Edgar got forward a lot. The 2nd half was less adventurous. My point is that we created enough chances to win the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guppy Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 My guess it'll come down to they have to win in Honduras..Unless they get 4 off Panama, then maybe a draw in Honduras would do.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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