Norway vs Canada, November 28th

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

On 23/11/2017 at 3:20 AM, Kaz said:

I just found out about this game earlier this week, and Marbella is my hometown. I have a special connection with Vancouver after spending some time there, and even writing my first book there while CANWNT were making us all proud of their achievement at the London Games (which served as massive inspiration for my writing). I recently returned to Spain, so being to see the team play in my hometown would be something truly special. One of those dreams you had no idea could even happen but there it is... How and where do I get info to attend?

Best of luck getting access to the stadium tomorrow; post some pics if you can!

[Jith12]

Here is the exact link to the stream: https://www.canadasoccer.com/women-s-national-team-international-friendly-v-norway-p159335

[Joe MacCarthy]

Christmas carols emanating from the "broadcast booth"  Walking in a winter wonderland.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Just now, Jith12 said:

Here is the exact link to the stream: https://www.canadasoccer.com/women-s-national-team-international-friendly-v-norway-p159335

Direct Youtube URL here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMKGdivcKpQ

Enjoy all!

[CrossCheck]

Norway 1-0. Corner kick and headed in at back post.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Norway 1 Canada 0  Header off a corner (one of several Norway has had)

Canada starting to wake up a bit.

Check that, brutal giveaway to Norwegian

Norway 2 Canada 0 (37:00)

I'll say it, I think they can come back but they are playing like they're in a coma at some points

Even though they were sleepwalking through the first half, there are brief glimpses of coming back.  Herdman is good at rejigging at the half.  I think we'll see a different team in the second half, I have a feeling they'll come back even though there hasn't been a whole helluva lot of support for saying that.

 

[CrossCheck]

36' Norway 2-0. Blatant give away by Canadian defender to set that up. Norway playing like they have something to prove. Canada playing like it is friendly in Spain.

[Vic]

All good accounts.

Yeah we look like we just got off a plane. Pretty clunky.

They have no replay but the header on the corner looked like it was right in the goalkeepers sweet spot. Perhaps Labbe was blocked. It was nice header, the goalscorer got well up. Pretty good first cap for her.

Hopefully the second half is more enjoyable to watch.

[Vic]

That's what they get for starting their backup keeper.

[CrossCheck]

20 minutes into the second half, Canada goes ahead 3-2! Nice come back

[Vic]

Nice take by Beckie, Fiskerstrand looked a hot mess again.

And a third. A Tale of Two Halves. Looks like we got our wish.

Norway used to have a right back who could hit 40-50m cross field and plant it on your foot in a full sprint. We could sure use someone like that, our long range targeting from the back is pretty weak. The majority of the time it's to an opponent.

[NickH]

Fantastic 3-2 victory by the Canadian women.  It was a bit difficult to watch the first half, our players looked a bit slow and sloppy.  Credit to Norway for the constant pressure early on.  The 2nd half looked more like the Canada we know, and they responded with 3 goals in 20 minutes to go up 3-2.  With all of the friendlies and camps being played, it looks like the core group of players are playing better together.  Herdman was shouting instructions from the touchline the whole game, and huge credit to him for inspiring the comeback.  Great comeback to end the calendar year.

[Joe MacCarthy]

1 hour ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Even though they were sleepwalking through the first half, there are brief glimpses of coming back.  Herdman is good at rejigging at the half.  I think we'll see a different team in the second half, I have a feeling they'll come back even though there hasn't been a whole helluva lot of support for saying that.

Ahem!   And the three scorers are where you can expect most of the goals to come from in the next year or so.

[Vic]

Kind of odd how Norway started and how they could never get anywhere near that form again.

I kind of have a different take on the yelling from the sideline. The whining over calls, the barrage of instructions, it's like listening to rap. I feel sorry for the players and coaches we play against who have to endure that. If you have to constantly yell at players to get intensity, are they the right players? Are you coaching them right?

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Quick thoughts:

-It was really incredible how bad the team was in the first half compared to the 2nd. So many corners given up in the first few minutes. Credit to Herdman for his emphasis on fitness because we did look like we had way more energy in the 2nd half.

-Labbé still never looks comfortable in net. She isn't as bad as she was though.

-This team really needs Fleming. It's crazy how the midfield lacks a creative outlet without her. She has become a dominant force in the last two years.

[Jith12]

Great to see where the goals came from. Sony's still got her golden touch, Leon is still in form and Janine is scoring too. Do you think Christine will get the goalscoring record? She needs 15 more to beat that wombat's record. I mean Wambach, or maybe we should stick to wombat.

[NickH]

It looked like the team played way better when Ashley Lawrence was moved to right back around minute 58 (I believe Leon was put on to replace Agnew, who started at RB, which pushed Lawrence back to RB).  Before she moved to RB, Lawrence was the highest up the pitch when Norway had the ball, pressing the Norwegian back line.  I thought that she was way more effectively from deeper in the pitch, and when it was Beckie/Sinclair pressuring the back line.  I'd also like to see Quinn, Fleming, and Schmidt as the midfield 3 going into WCQ.  It was clear that Canada needed composure and a stable presence in the midfield which Fleming, as well as Quinn provides.  Quinn has been fantastic in the midfield for Duke this season, and it would be great to see her more often with Fleming in the midfield.

[BreadBoy]

A couple of questions:

-How many games will the Women's team play next year / how many goals a year does Sinclair average? 

- Who was doing the play by play for live feed, it sounded a lot like the guy who did some of the OUA play off games?

- is Herdman always that vocal? I've definitely noticed him before but maybe more so today just because it was an empty stadium 

[CNMNTPERUELIGIBLE]

Where can I see the game highlights??

[SpecialK]

37 minutes ago, CNMNTPERUELIGIBLE said:

Where can I see the game highlights??

 

[The Ref]

Perhaps the 2 goals from Norway this time were not exclusive fault of Labbé, our defenders were asleep at the wheel.  Balls into the goal area must be cleared by the defense including the keeper no two ways about it.  The team should not need 15 to 20 minutes to wake up.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Just now, BreadBoy said:

-How many games will the Women's team play next year / how many goals a year does Sinclair average? 

They will play at least 4 WCQ games in 2018, but it will likely be more. Likely 3 or 4 games in March at the Cyprus/Algarve tournament. At least 10 games is likely.

 

Just now, BreadBoy said:

- Who was doing the play by play for live feed, it sounded a lot like the guy who did some of the OUA play off games?

That would be Max Bell. http://twitter.com/MaxBell_FC

 

Just now, BreadBoy said:

- is Herdman always that vocal? I've definitely noticed him before but maybe more so today just because it was an empty stadium 

Yes he is always that vocal. This is why this twitter account is an ongoing joke: http://twitter.com/HerdmanYelling

[rkomar]

2 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Yes he is always that vocal. This is why this twitter account is an ongoing joke: http://twitter.com/HerdmanYelling

I've been watching some Women's NCAA games this year, and it seems like half of the coaches are yelling to every player who they should pass it to.  We can chuckle at Herdman's screaming out tactical advice, but at least he leaves the plays to the players.

[tc-in-bc]

[ 1 ]  Pleased that the CANWNT  end  the year with a win  ( a first  win ever  against Norway ! ). Pleased that Christine Sinclair scored another goal.

[ 2  ] Some may point out that Ada Hegerberg  was not there for Norway but  Canada was missing some good players as well : Jessie Fleming,  Deanne Rose , Rebecca Quinn.

[ 3 ]  Prior to the match, Sjogren said that Norway would experiment against Canada  and they opted to bring  two young relatively inexperienced keepers : Fiskerstrand  ,who is  21 y/o ,  with 15  matches  for Norway and  Bogstad , who is also 21 y/o, and has yet to start for Norway.  Additionally, Sjogren said that Norway wanted to go forward with better structure and shape: they wanted to go forward more often, which they had trouble doing  in their recent WWC qualifier  -- a loss to the Netherlands .  So a little credit to Sjogren ,  Norway began the match  pressing ( as planned )  and Canada were not ready to play.

[ 4 ]  A little wary having  short players defending in the area against taller opponents during corners. On Norway's  first goal, Gausdal elevated over the much smaller Ashley Lawrence  to the head the ball in.  Earlier in the year, against Sweden, I  recall Lotta Schelin  directing a header from a corner over Lawrence towards  goal , but missing.  Not picking on Lawrence,it's just that Canada has a lot short players and at some point during a match quite  a lot  of them are on the pitch.

[ 5 ]   Thought Desiree Scott was partially to blame on Norway's second goal.  Sophie Schmidt , under pressure, puts the ball into the middle, a little sloppy but still playable. Scott, who  is staring right at Schmidt was caught flat footed  and didn't move. So Zadorsky steps up to play the ball  and Scott moves in behind to cover for Zadorsky. Zadorsky's  pass  is intercepted by Graham Hansen who roars down the wing and drills the ball in , far post.  Neither Scott or Zadorsky  recover quick enough to get back  and block the shot.

[ 6 ]  Canada was on the backheel in the first half. They were not  going forward; they were not  pressing  and you didn't see much pace from Canada. But the second  half , Herdman   got  Canada to go forward in numbers and to pick up the tempo of their play.  And that was the difference here,  the quickness of Canada's high press  in the second half  really  made Norway uncomfortable  on  the ball  which led to bad giveaways  and goals for Canada.

 

[Vic]

Beating Norway on their form seems to be lauded as quite the accomplishment. I would expect that kind of reaction from #23 Belgium who are on their highest ranking and beat them a couple months ago with both Hegerberg and Ingrid Hjelmseth (the #1 keeper) on the field.

Fiskerstrand's ridiculous fumbling that got us back in the game was truly an embarrassmment. Hjelmseth is fantastic and consistency is probably the best part of her game. Had they played her we don't win. Period.

The first goal on Lawrence? Really? She wiped her mouth and spit after so I imagine she took an arm or something but it doesn't matter, she has to do much better than that, or don't stand there.  But that goal's not on her.  It was delivered right where a goalkeeper wants it. That's a gift in the game when a corner is accidentally played right to the keeper there. Labbe was a disaster. The striker was so close she actually jumped straight up and landed in the net. That's ok, every player on the field was a disaster at points in the game. She was no better or worse. And play keeper or striker and you live under a microscope, play in the middle and no one notices all your errors. The goal aside I thought both Lawrence and Labbe did ok.

Zadorsky is 100.00% responsible for that goal and one of the worst turnovers you'll ever see out of the back. And it wasn't intercepted by Hansen, it hit her right in the feet!  She wasn't even trying to intercept it. Zadorsky had plenty of options from playing to the 25m-open left back, dribbling right, shielding the ball, etc. She had a brain jam. Happens to the best of us. But it was absolute rubbish. And her downfield targeting was weak.

Most of the errors were mental, our players didn't seem like they had their heads in the game. Hard to play anyone after the USA a couple times. You invariably will let your guard down.