WCQ: Haiti vs Canada - In-Match Thread

[Gian-Luca]

Nice to see that we can win a big game without having to rely on Davies and David for the offense. I would like to see us win more duels in the return leg, but overall the team felt and looked fairly comfortable in difficult conditions 

[LeoH037]

6 hours ago, Kadenge said:

The only way to play better on a poor surface  is to play hoof ball. So perhaps JH has to incorporate that into his tactics...which kinda sucks

I was thinking about the same, that's the only thing this team seems to lack right now. Too many times they were trying to play free flowing football, but the pitch was just not allowing for it, whereas Haiti was happy sending in random balls into the box and hoping for the best (and got a few good looks because of it). Its unfortunate, but sometimes that is the kind of game you need to play to get a result in CONCACAF, specially with teams more interested in running and kicking than actually playing the game.

Edited June 13, 2021 by LeoH037

[Kadenge]

Several of our starters got a first taste of what it is to  play a decent team away under "Concacaf"  WCQ conditons and that includes the ref.  Johnston, Vitoria, Kennedy, Eustaquio, Kaye, Davies & David. Plus subs Adekugbe & Tajon...significant nd  invaluable baptism by fire

[Cheeta]

Don't know if I'd call it a baptism under fire but maybe a sampler of what to expect.  A wee taste.

Fully expect there will be full stadiums by the time the Octo kicks in, things will get real at that point.  The full Monty.

Still a very useful (and of course necessary) exercise.  Maybe one of the hidden benefits of this pandemic is the lads getting hit with it, the CONCACAF experience, only in portions.  Might be a little less shocking when it full on does happen.

[lenny]

Excellent result.

How quickly people forget how hard it is to win these games.  The US missed the last WC after losing in T&T and drawing in Panama and Honduras.   We couldn't win in Belize or El Salvador in the last cycle.

[The Beaver 2.0]

Yeah, learning how to grind out results is just a reality, in our region in particular.  Hell, this is the case in all sports, to be honest. But I agree with adding another dimension to our game when playing on these kinds of surfaces: sometimes the long ball over the top, with pacey forwards, is not a bad tactic to employ. 

[El Diego]

I haven't read the full thread, and I know some people have already pointed out the pitch, but it was in such terrible condition. Not only that, but it it really suited Haiti (or perhaps, they were more clever about playing on it). A number of times we lost the ball through the middle because the pass was simply not hard enough, while Haiti would routinely bypass the midfield. I usually don't like focusing on stuff like weather, pitch conditions, or refereeing which does not materially impact the story of the game, but in this case the pitch dictated how the game was played. Though to be fair, the weird pitch bounces actually helped Osorio's cross dink over Placide for the goal, so in that moment the awful pitch did help us.

Couple that with both Davies and David having off games yet the boys pulling out the dub, and I am definitely in an optimistic mood heading into Tuesday.

[sstackho]

The team appears to already be halfway back to Chicago. 

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWQ882/history/20210613/0200Z/MTPP/KORD

Pretty much only 24 hours spent in Haiti. 

[DavemTFC]

6 hours ago, gator said:

One of the player's father told me that shortly after that match, he said it was kept as quiet as possible!

I feel like this should be more widely known, but its the Canadian NT, so no surprise it's so under the radar.

On Eustaquio, agreed he was terrific. I think, provided they're healthy, Eustaquio-Kaye-Osorio should be our first choice midfield 3 actually - their skillsets balance each other out really well and they're adaptable to be ready for pretty much any game/scenario. It would also allow us to manage the minutes of aging Atiba or Arfield, and even be more selective about when to call them up if they need extra rest. Plus we'd also have Piette as an option for games or situations where we need more defensive solidity

[SpecialK]

I don’t understand how FIFA and Concacaf allow countries to have poor pitch conditions like that. There must be clear and better standard here. It’s the same with that piece of crap turf in Vancouver and Montreal

[lowlander]

4 hours ago, The Beaver 2.0 said:

Yeah, learning how to grind out results is just a reality, in our region in particular.  Hell, this is the case in all sports, to be honest. But I agree with adding another dimension to our game when playing on these kinds of surfaces: sometimes the long ball over the top, with pacey forwards, is not a bad tactic to employ. 

You would think we would be good at this style with Davies, David, Buchanan ... I do think Herdman needs to add this to the list of tactics for games such as this. 

[TGAA_Star]

You guys are telling me that 🇨🇦 Canada could only score 1 goal against 🇭🇹 Haiti really? 1 goal? Really? Y'all do realize that Haiti can come back in the 2nd leg to even win it...should have scored more goals to seal our passage to the Octagonal but now we just made it even harder on ourselves by only scoring 1 goal. Yeah a win is a win but really like we didn't do ourselves any favors at all whatsoever in this 1st leg.

[Alex]

3 hours ago, TGAA_Star said:

You guys are telling me that 🇨🇦 Canada could only score 1 goal against 🇭🇹 Haiti really? 1 goal? Really? Y'all do realize that Haiti can come back in the 2nd leg to even win it...should have scored more goals to seal our passage to the Octagonal but now we just made it even harder on ourselves by only scoring 1 goal. Yeah a win is a win but really like we didn't do ourselves any favors at all whatsoever in this 1st leg.

Go watch the game first then comment on the outcome.

[Metro]

9 hours ago, El Diego said:

I haven't read the full thread, and I know some people have already pointed out the pitch, but it was in such terrible condition. Not only that, but it it really suited Haiti (or perhaps, they were more clever about playing on it). A number of times we lost the ball through the middle because the pass was simply not hard enough, while Haiti would routinely bypass the midfield. I usually don't like focusing on stuff like weather, pitch conditions, or refereeing which does not materially impact the story of the game, but in this case the pitch dictated how the game was played. Though to be fair, the weird pitch bounces actually helped Osorio's cross dink over Placide for the goal, so in that moment the awful pitch did help us.

Couple that with both Davies and David having off games yet the boys pulling out the dub, and I am definitely in an optimistic mood heading into Tuesday.

I completely blame Davies' off game on the turf.  Attacking defenders with the ball is what he knows.

[CanadaFan123]

12 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Nice to see that we can win a big game without having to rely on Davies and David for the offense. I would like to see us win more duels in the return leg, but overall the team felt and looked fairly comfortable in difficult conditions 

This is just it. We won a WCQ away (against a respectable opponent) for the first time in 20+ years and neither wonder kid was at their best. They’ll learn.

But speaking of a first away game in CONCACAF ... Eustaquio wow. Hard to believe this was just his 5th cap what a player. 

[Corazon]

Good win, wish we could have scored another goal to take back "home"

Borjan - Another strong performance again.

Kennedy - Passing not quite as crisp (as expected on the pitch) but still another very strong performance.

Vitoria - Good performance.  Overall I thought his lack of speed did not show.

Johnston - Solid performance again.

Davies - Obviously not a great performance.  Struggled on this pitch and tried to do too much at times.

Laryea - Again, not as much going forward as we've become accustomed to but still a decent performance.

Eustaquio - Another exceptional performance.

Kaye - Overall good game as well.

Osorio - Proved to all of us doubters that he deserved to start.  Should have had 2 assists.

David - Very quiet performance and I am sure would love to have that breakaway back.

Larin - Took his opportunity early and justified his selection.  Probably wished he could get the ball a little out from under him on that 2nd great chance he missed.

Adekugbe - Again did well coming in to close out a game.

Buchanan - Looked dangerous on a couple plays.

Henry - Helped shut down Haiti for the end of the match.  Glad he was able to get a few more minutes back under his belt.

Piette - Short appearance but did what he normally does.

Cavallini - Short appearance as well but did well in all that he could.

[baulderdash77]

@Corazon  Good overall summary.

One comment I have is that Jonston also really struggled at time.  A major giveaway almost resulted in a goal; Haiti challenged him regularly.

On the balance I will never get too worried about it when there’s an away win.  Any win away is good.

[youllneverwalkalone]

Obviously we've seen more from AD, but thinking back to the world before him, we would have conceded for sure. He still had so much possession, took the ball out of trouble, put Haiti on the backfoot for much of the match. 

[BearcatSA]

2 minutes ago, youllneverwalkalone said:

Obviously we've seen more from AD, but thinking back to the world before him, we would have conceded for sure. He still had so much possession, took the ball out of trouble, put Haiti on the backfoot for much of the match. 

One huge thing he has always had, even from his Caps days, is recovery hustle/desire and the jets to overtake guys on the counter.  He has always been his defender's best friend.  

[Footscray]

Seems to me like the pitch was mainly detrimental for dribbling and passing.  Really forces an aerial type game.  And the team who doesn't know the surface is often just trying to guess what the bounce will be.

Canada did really well to get that result in conditions like that and I feel confident they are gonna torch haiti on a proper field.

Two thoughts:

- totally agree on fifa and concacaf being a joke and getting more involved on field standards, and also safety.

- man there are a ton of haiti trolls on the csa insta.  Then u go to haitis own insta and there are no followers or comments.  Hard to understand their fanbase.

Edited June 13, 2021 by Footscray

[mrstepp817]

I expect a 3-1, type win for Canada Tuesday on a proper pitch in Chicago..any away win in WCQ is like gold....

Edited June 13, 2021 by mrstepp817

[Kadenge]

1 hour ago, baulderdash77 said:

@Corazon  Good overall summary.

One comment I have is that Jonston also really struggled at time.  A major giveaway almost resulted in a goal; Haiti challenged him regularly.

On the balance I will never get too worried about it when there’s an away win.  Any win away is good.

When Nazon came on Haiti started attacking Johnston's side just like they did in the GC and we ended up with a physical mismatch for a while.  Good on the coaching staff to sub in Doneil to counter Nazon. Great save by Borjan on the bicycle strike but he has to drop the habit of bouncing the ball after he catches it especially on a rubber pitch....an awkward bounce and the ball is in our goal

[gator]

6 minutes ago, Footscray said:

Seems to me like the pitch was mainly detrimental for dribbling and passing.  Really forces an aerial type game.  And the team who doesn't know the surface is often just trying to guess what the bounce will be.

Canada did really well to get that result in conditions like that and I feel confident they are gonna torch haiti on a proper field.

Two thoughts:

- totally agree on fifa and concacaf being a joke and getting more involved on field standards, and also safety.

- man there are a ton of haiti trolls on the csa insta.  Then u go to haitis own insta and there are no followers or comments.  Hard to understand their fanbase.

The pitch was a major factor, when I posted this right at the start of the match a poster responded that it is the same for both teams which is true although as you say Haiti were obviously more used to it! You could see the struggles virtually all our subs had for the first few minutes when they entered the game and adjusted to it, I would say it cost us probably a goal or two with the ball being stuck in Larin and David's feet when clean through! I'm surprised Haiti didn't launch more long balls to bounce around our CB's and try to pounce on the awkwardness of dealing with these, maybe that was their plan and our MF prevented it? Overall a good result given the pitch and the civil unrest in a country I believe we had no business playing in, poor on FIFA!

[Footscray]

9 minutes ago, gator said:

The pitch was a major factor, when I posted this right at the start of the match a poster responded that it is the same for both teams which is true although as you say Haiti were obviously more used to it! You could see the struggles virtually all our subs had for the first few minutes when they entered the game and adjusted to it, I would say it cost us probably a goal or two with the ball being stuck in Larin and David's feet when clean through! I'm surprised Haiti didn't launch more long balls to bounce around our CB's and try to pounce on the awkwardness of dealing with these, maybe that was their plan and our MF prevented it? Overall a good result given the pitch and the civil unrest in a country I believe we had no business playing in, poor on FIFA!

Agreed, they are used to it, and the other thing is their game is more suited to it.  Canada has players like Davies, esta, Buchanon and the whole forward crew whose games are built around high end on ball skill.

Haiti plays team defence and hoofs it forward to a bunch of Garrett kuschs up front.

Hard to blame an unfortunate nation like Haiti, but I think if they aren't in a position  economically to provide an adequate playing surface or safe conditions, they should have to play home games somewhere else.  Tbh I think the Haitian fed would probably benefit more financially from an occasional home game in NY or Montreal anyway.

Moot point for canada now anyway, they hurdled it.

[Cheeta]

Have been thinking but was the surface any worse than anything in the past?  Probably better.  

To be sure their team along with every other team in the world is built to play in their world.  If that's the West Indies or Northern Europe or equatorial Africa it is what it is out of necessity.