CANADA vs Costa Rica (R) 28th May 2013 FRIENDLY 5pm PT//6pm MT//8pm ET

[Keegan]

Edwini Bonsu and Haber pretty much solidified their spots on the Gold Cup team for me. Piette and Bekker need some work and shouldn't be on the final team, although Bekker delivered some good dead balls. I thought Osorio and Pacheco should have been given more time considering they are getting more minutes than half the guys in the XI.

Completely agree with Obinna RE: Morgan... too one dimensional. He is an athletic player who can look good on his day if the ball bounces his way, quite literally.

It's great to see REB with these pacy runs but I can't help but be reminded of Jaime Peters so I'm not getting too carried away, especially as they haven't led to anything yet.

[jordan]

I cant see why pedro doesnt atleast play a half its astonishing. he always has shown well in all the games he has played for us. given he only plays for 5-10 mins

He also seems like the right style of player to be playing against a central american style team.

[Obinna]

He also seems like the right style of player to be playing against a central american style team.

+1

I forgot to include him in my review but what can I say? The guy deserves more minutes. He would be a good addition if they ever let him play.

[ditty]

Yikes, not much of a wordsmith I guess. Sideline pieces have been pretty blah.

"why does randy edwini bonsu dye his hair? As it turns out, for no particular reason. Back to you Gerry!"

Yeah, Gene pretty much mailed it in tonight.

[Vancouver Fan]

Not sure why JDG got so much playing time. I think the strategy was for him to mentor Bekker on the field. Hopefully he was of some help to the young lad with regards to positional play but Bekker would not have learned much from watching Julian begin attacks.

Bekker did well enough but Julian had many unforced errors trying to pass out of our end. I agree that Pacheco should have been introduced a lot earlier.

Perhaps he could have been the one to show Bekker the way.

[madmonte]

Marcus Haber - Like most of the attackers in this game, he's not going to be one of our top options in the big games. Games like this prove that.

REB - Like Ricketts in the past, he can get by guys, but then do nothing after that. A lot of people are very high on him after this game, but I think beating a few guys off the dribble and high work ethic are one thing, having skill to do something with the ball after the fact is another. Looked like a smaller version of Ricketts to me out there.

Piette - Quiet and workmanlike, exactly what you expect from a defensive mid.

Henry - Despite not finishing four headers, he looked good this game. Having watched him a lot, his biggest obstacle is consistency. That might come with knowledge, and top level experience.

Issey - Definitely had positive moments, but again on a day when out best attacking options in midfield weren't able to come...I don't think it was enough to earn a starting role in the future.

Bekker - He's a guy not to give up on. In terms of accurate free kicks curling into the box, he could end up being the best Canadian we've seen in a long time. As was pointed out in another discussion, needs to work a bit on defense and shielding the ball. Another thing, when Costa Rica bottled them in the midfield, Bekker looked confused and trapped at times not having the speed and dribbling to get by his markers.

Hainault - Comes in looking to get national team exposure. Gets it. Does well. Had no problem with Andre on this night. Henry could learn consistency from hiim, but Hainault could learn impact play from Henry.

Morgan - A lot of effort. Almost looked like a desperate attempt to prove he is still valuable at his position. It sort of worked, but he still raises questions with his one v one defence.

Ricketts - Ricketts can't score 2nd tier Norway. Just the guy we need on our national team, right? Look, just because a guy HAS played us doesn't mean we should keep him playing for us when better options appear.

Borjan - Really good communication. His distribution is normally absolutely superb, so for me the above average distribution on display tonight is less than his norm. He's my favorite at keeper, love watching the net streams of Sivasspor.

Ledgerwood - I like him better at the mid position. Sort of a quiet night.

Osorio - It's a long, long way from where he was 2 years ago. He needs camp time.

Daniel Haber - We didn't see enough of this young man tonight. I am looking forward to him getting more callups in the future, was glad he got on the pitch.

De Guzman - I'm no JDG hater. He did his usual competent performance of keeping possession, and at times got in tough with tackles on defence, particularly in his own third in the first half. Couple times he could have done better on the dribble with a couple giveaways though.

[Chet]

Wow, that was disappointing. I saw three guys (REB, Issey and Bekker) who played like they wanted to earn a spot on their national team, and about 12 others who played like they didn't care.

Marcus Haber is about the slowest and laziest striker I have ever seen in a Canadian jersey, and that's saying something.

[nfitz]

8102 announced. Not bad for a Tuesday night at 6 pm.

Good god. That's terrible! 6 pm shouldn't be an excuse. Blue Jay attendance doesn't seem to drop for 4:30 pm starts versus 7:30 pm starts on a weekday.

And for the first game in Alberta in 5 years! They shouldn't be playing on astroturf for that.

Let's hope we can hear the end whining of never getting Canada games. They've done better at Richardson!

[Guest Brethers]

From what I saw before the stream cut out we played quite well and made a few chances. I know Henry missed 4 headers but he did get above his marker for them, Hainault had a completely free header that he screwed up which was a lot worse. Issey looked very bright in the first half. M Haber drifted in and out of the game, I thought he was quite average

[Sam]

I don't understand the rationale behind playing JDG with Piette, which then forces us to play Bekker out of position on the wing. Bekker played out of position against Japan and looked awkward and he did again last night against Costa Rica. If we want to give Bekker some experience on the national team to get him ready for the Gold Cup/whatever else is to come, he really should be playing in a position he is more comfortable in.

[Lord Bob]

Good pro-Canadian crowd. 8,102, of whom 8,000 were cheering for the good guys. Hopefully the CSA continues to try and build support for our national program around the country.

[alberta white]

Good pro-Canadian crowd. 8,102, of whom 8,000 were cheering for the good guys. Hopefully the CSA continues to try and build support for our national program around the country.

Now, If we had two more of those SHINEY new big blue stands next door at Clarke and a clean field to play the game on, then 8000 would have been a sellout, and the place would have been BUZZING and probably INTIMIDATING!

Still what can you do when Clarke Field sits next door to "THE BEST SOCCER STADIUM IN CANADA , BAR NONE".... even though its an 1970's athletics stadium that was built for an event that didn't even have soccer on its program.

By the way if you want to complain about the "THE BEST SOCCER STADIUM IN CANADA , BAR NONE". please send your envelopes full of poop to the Alberta minister of tourism, as it woz 'e that said it!

[Keegan]

Ricketts has made 17 straight appearances for Canada. SEVENTEEN. He should be dropped but its hard to see that happening before the Gold Cup even if Randy has popped up and taken his spot they'll still bring Tos.

[rob.notenboom]

REB - Like Ricketts in the past, he can get by guys, but then do nothing after that. A lot of people are very high on him after this game, but I think beating a few guys off the dribble and high work ethic are one thing, having skill to do something with the ball after the fact is another. Looked like a smaller version of Ricketts to me out there.

Thought most of your analysis was pretty good, but I have to disagree with this statement. REB did a lot more with the ball at his feet in this game than I've ever seen Ricketts do. Dribbled well in tight places, weighted the ball correctly when he was flying past guys ... pretty good performance from him. Agreed that once he got into the danger area he didn't do much with what he created but one glance to the side before being dispossessed on one of those situations and we have a tie game. He did everything but the last part (admittedly a crucial part of the equations).

I feel bad for slagging Ricketts as he obviously cares very much about suiting up for the national team, but I just don't think he does enough to earn the right to be out there. Speed - check, passion - check, skill - er ... To progress as a team we have to move on without him I believe.

[canadianfoot]

1st Half of the game is posted. Second Half will be done once I get home from work. Small file 350mb each Half

[madmonte]

Thought most of your analysis was pretty good, but I have to disagree with this statement. REB did a lot more with the ball at his feet in this game than I've ever seen Ricketts do. Dribbled well in tight places, weighted the ball correctly when he was flying past guys ... pretty good performance from him. Agreed that once he got into the danger area he didn't do much with what he created but one glance to the side before being dispossessed on one of those situations and we have a tie game. He did everything but the last part (admittedly a crucial part of the equations).

I feel bad for slagging Ricketts as he obviously cares very much about suiting up for the national team, but I just don't think he does enough to earn the right to be out there. Speed - check, passion - check, skill - er ... To progress as a team we have to move on without him I believe.

No I get what you are saying, and I agree that the ball was better at his feet than Ricketts. But without an end product he just ends up blazing the ball into a goal kick. I have to be honest, he's a guy I haven't seen that much in Germany, others could say more, but I'm suspicious that if he's getting turned down by D3 teams in Germany right now that it's not a new problem.

So really, I agree. Ricketts - Speed, check. Passion, check, and skill...er...sounds a lot like what I just described REB as lol...but on the ball, definitely better than Ricketts. As for passion, I do wonder if the sudden passion from REB is a bit of out of contract desperado? It's tough to say only seeing the one game.

But would I be more likely to give him a chance over Ricketts? Absolutely...I'm on the same boat with you on Ricketts and have been for a while.

[rob.notenboom]

No I get what you are saying, and I agree that the ball was better at his feet than Ricketts. But without an end product he just ends up blazing the ball into a goal kick. I have to be honest, he's a guy I haven't seen that much in Germany, others could say more, but I'm suspicious that if he's getting turned down by D3 teams in Germany right now that it's not a new problem.

So really, I agree. Ricketts - Speed, check. Passion, check, and skill...er...sounds a lot like what I just described REB as lol...but on the ball, definitely better than Ricketts. As for passion, I do wonder if the sudden passion from REB is a bit of out of contract desperado? It's tough to say only seeing the one game.

But would I be more likely to give him a chance over Ricketts? Absolutely...I'm on the same boat with you on Ricketts and have been for a while.

Very true ... all that pace has to materialize into actual goal scoring opportunities and if it doesn't it will always be a flash followed by a let down. REB is a young guy too, so hopefully he can still take a couple of big developmental steps and start providing that final ball (or shot ... one or the other would be fine ... getting dispossessed by the final defender = not so good).

[ThiKu]

So all in all this team didn't do badly. They played against an organized team which is obviously familiar with how they are expected to play. Canada had plenty of possession, loads of entries into the attacking third. And those attacking forays would have done better with more familiarly amongst the players. It's disappointing not to see a real scoring chance forcing the GK into a save, but yes, Mr. Miller is right that Canada could have scored 2-4 off Bekker's superb free kicks.

So who from this squad should be in the Gold Cup team? That's a tough call. I want a young team personally. But we also have a number of players unattached. Do we call guys who don't have a team? Do those unattached guys risk injury? If I am unattached I don't go to the Gold Cup. I get myself to as many trials as possible.

Gold Cup players FROM THIS SQUAD:

GK - Borjan (he is #1)

GK - Thomas (have read reports he is an MLS level GK or very very near it)

LB - Morgan (future of left back for us)

CB - Henry (future of centre back for us)

RB - Ledg (we need his depth)

DF - Straith (a good display could help his resume and help him get a better club)

CM - Bekker (keep playing him!)

CM - Osorio (wonderful prospect)

CM - Pacheco (this guy can play! so why doesn't he???)

CM - Piette (future of centre mid)

LW/AM - Issey (did a great job - put him on the wing and let him play)

The rest of the GC squad will be a, I hope, the youngest brightest prospects plus maybe Hutch, De Ro, Jakovic, and Will Johnson. These kids need some serious competition against CONCACAF opposition and need to play together.

I thought REB was very sharp. He is what he is.

Excluded Players for GC FROM THIS SQUAD:

GK - Shabaini (no club - Stillo and Santiago must be ahead of him on depth chart?)

DF - Hainault (let him find his next job - will be part of next cycle)

*MF - Cebara (I have never seen him play)

MF - JDG

FW - D. Haber (no club)

FW - Marcus Haber (we have other players who can bring more)

FW - Ricketts (give a younger kid a shot for this GC - will be part of next cycle)

W/FW - REB (no club)

0-1 sucks, but we lost on a PK. It happens.

[David C.]

Gold Cup players FROM THIS SQUAD:

GK - Borjan (he is #1)

GK - Thomas (have read reports he is an MLS level GK or very very near it).

Maybe I missed the discussion on this but what ever happened to Tomer Chenchinski? I figured that he was in line to back-up Milan Borjan at the Gold Cup (depending what they want to do Lars) and was surprised that he wasn't included in this match's roster or any discussion (that I can see).

[Lord Bob]

Attention Edmonton types: somebody else's Voyageurs flag ended up amongst the banners I took home. If it's yours, let me know and I'll mail it to you.

[The Ref]

I think I heard Forrest say that we have the players to beat Costa Rica. It is partly true if we push our ball skills to the limit. What we don't have is a team that plays together using basic soccer moves, displacement, shape and accuracy. Why can't we pass on the ground is something I have never understood nor why these coaches don't insist on it. If a team from South America or some good ones from Central America were to commit countless errors as we do, their public will lynch them all starting with the coach. If we are going to insist on all these high balls and on trying to score only with headers, it is imperative that we get to be uncanny perfect and accurate in our delivery and reception. Standing on the field waiting for the bus is just not going to cut it.

[Sport Shaman]

Attention Edmonton types: somebody else's Voyageurs flag ended up amongst the banners I took home. If it's yours, let me know and I'll mail it to you.

That V's flag would belong to Mapleblood (Steve). If you know anyone that is going to the June 2nd CWNT match, I would suggest that you send it with them as that is the next time that he would be needing it. If not, we have ordered some flags for pickup at Gossip so we are covered there. I will ask him what he wants to do with the flag if it is not coming to BMO.

BTW, good to meet up with you and Tarnado yesterday in Etown. It was a blast, especially the post game party at Sherlock Holmes with our unexpected guests.

[BearcatSA]

The David Usher band?

Nakajima-Farran looks pretty similar to him, no?

[rob.notenboom]

That V's flag would belong to Mapleblood (Steve). If you know anyone that is going to the June 2nd CWNT match, I would suggest that you send it with them as that is the next time that he would be needing it. If not, we have ordered some flags for pickup at Gossip so we are covered there. I will ask him what he wants to do with the flag if it is not coming to BMO.

BTW, good to meet up with you and Tarnado yesterday in Etown. It was a blast, especially the post game party at Sherlock Holmes with our unexpected guests.

Was that Mapleblood standing in the front row? If so, that is quite the new beard he's sporting

You guys did a very fine job with the chanting btw. Considering numbers, the sound carried pretty well and could be heard on TV multiple times during the match ... nice to have that atmoshpere.

[Sport Shaman]

Was that Mapleblood standing in the front row? If so, that is quite the new beard he's sporting

You guys did a very fine job with the chanting btw. Considering numbers, the sound carried pretty well and could be heard on TV multiple times during the match ... nice to have that atmoshpere.

Yes it was, in the black Canada Soccer jersey. Indeed, quite the bearded philosopher look for him.

With respect to the chants, we did what we could. While numbers were small we made up for it with enthusiasm. It will be up to you guys to represent the Vs in Seattle and Denver as neither Mapleblood or myself can make those games.