GC: Canada vs The USA - Sunday, July 18th, 5pm Eastern / 2pm Pacific - Kansas City

[JohnnyFranchise]

1 minute ago, Chad_Impact said:

I was really hoping we could win or draw and avoid Mexico, but it is what it is. We'll have to beat these teams if we want to qualify for the world cup. 

Man is Concacaf embarrassing though. How do they expect football in this region to grow when you have sketchy decisions like those. One was undoubtedly a penalty, the other could be debated, yet neither went to VAR. It just makes absolutely 0 sense. Almost like they don't want their two money makers to meet outside of the final...

 

there is zero doubt in my mind fox told them they had to get the game in so it didn't interrrupt their network schedule. that would explain the non-use of VAR and the spare change injury time at the end of both halves.

[Chad_Impact]

Also would of liked to see how differently this game plays out if we don't concede early.

We dominated possession but had a real tough time getting behind their D line, I wonder if them pushing higher up the field allows us to get one or two.

[Corazon]

Overall quite pleased with our performance.  Let's remember these teams are going to look a lot different in the fall.  Definitely missed David & Davies up top, although we had a lot more shots not too many clear cut chances that Davies & David can generate.  Slow start but also a terrible missed pk call in the first half.  We deserved more in this game but it is what it is.  I was impressed with how they boys did in the final 60 minutes.  Let's also not forget that we were missing both Atiba & Arfield* in the middle.  Eustaquio out suspended.  That's probably our best 3 midfielders.  We also rested probably our 4th and 5th best midfielders to start in Osorio & Kaye.

Crepeau - I thought he was as good as can be expected.  Not a save to be made but did well in all other aspects of the game.

Vitoria - Was fantastic.  Completely different player today than last game and his lack of speed did not get exposed with USA speedy attackers.  Also loved seeing him really emotional speak in the huddle after the game.  He seems to have really taken a strong leadership role this tournament.

Miller - Looked very poor to start but I thought he did much better as the game progressed.  On the ball is still a concern.  I still expect Kennedy to be starting there come the fall.

Johnston - I thought it wasn't his best game but again became much better as the game progressed.  Lacks the attacking part of the game but enjoy him on the outside of a back 3 quite well.

Fraser - Absolutely terrible in the first half but looked good in the 2nd half.  I don't see him being involved too much in this program in the future with the depth of our midfield.

Piette - I thought he was okay to start and grew as the game went along.  He has something different about him that none of our other midfielders do and I like that a lot about him.

Junior - I thought he was our best player for most of the game.  He really struggles to ever get a full 90 minutes but pulling him today was a bit harsh.  A lot came through him in the middle today.

Tajon - Another fantastic performance.  Gonna have to find room for him in the starting lineup or else he is going to be absolutely unstoppable coming off the bench late in games.

Laryea - He was okay.  One of his better performances this season for club and country but still hasn't seemed to regain his form.  Definitely a pk on the one tackle but he needs to stop looking so much for the fouls in my opinion.

Larin - I thought he was very good again and its too bad he got injured at the time he did.  I would have liked to see him play when we really pushed in the final part of the game.  

Akinola - Looked fairly good before his injury.  Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Osorio - Completely changed the game when he came on.  Thought it was one of his better games this year.

Cavallini - Pretty good in his short appearance.  I will never bet on him getting a breakaway though.

Kaye - Very happy with his performance today as well.  He needed that after last game.

Pasher - I thought he was decent.  He can definitely keep his own with this group of players.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Corazon

[JamboAl]

11 minutes ago, The Beaver 2.0 said:

Not sure I disagree. Borjan seems to always have at least one brain-fart a game. Crepeau is a smarter keeper, I feel.

I think Crepeau is possibly steadier but Borjan brings an intangible and leadership to the group.  As long as he is not a severe liability (sometimes he could be but still in credit, IMO), Borjan has to start.

[Bison44]

Hard to be happy after a loss, but we controlled play for about the last 60min, the only goal was a brain fart before I even sat down on the couch, and we ended up losing 1-0 to the class of CONCACAF in their home building.  I cant say I am dissapointed in any of the guys.  A more generous call on a couple incidents in the box and we would have had our tie on the road. From the thrashing Piette and Fraser were getting in here, you would have thought we were down 4-0.  Our much maligned defense was not the problem (DIke did shit all game, thank you Mr Miller), our depleted midfield was ok (Busio did shit), they just sat back, absorbed pressure and we couldnt knock one in...because this wasnt Suriname or Turks and Caicos. 

Overall a very good showing, the wheels didnt fall off without Borjan, David, Davies, Arfield and Hutch.   Miller, Johnston, Pasher, Buchanon, Ayo (newbies to CMNT) will sock this away in the memory banks, this is a road game against the best in CONCAAF...so now you know what you are in for.   Learn from this and do a bit better in the fall, or when we play Mexico in a week or so.   

The fox guys were not happy about the way the game was going at all, and were slanted to the USA, but were professional and not excited so I guess thats what people like???   Homer commentary in a bored golf announcer voice??  

[Gian-Luca]

 

[JohnnyFranchise]

3 minutes ago, Corazon said:

Overall quite pleased with our performance.  Let's remember these teams are going to look a lot different in the fall.  Definitely missed David & Davies up top, although we had a lot more shots not too many clear cut chances that Davies & David can generate.  Slow start but also a terrible missed pk call in the first half.  We deserved more in this game but it is what it is.  I was impressed with how they boys did in the final 60 minutes.  Let's also not forget that we were missing both Atiba & Arfield* in the middle.  Eustaquio out suspended.  Thats probably our best 3 midfielders.  We also rested probably our 4th and 5th best midfielders to start in Osorio & Kaye.

Crepeau - I thought he was as good as can be expected.  Not a save to be made but did well in all other aspects of the game.

Vitoria - Was fantastic.  Completely different player today than last game and his lack of speed did not get expoised with USA speedy attackers.  Also loved seeing him really emotional speak in the huddle after the game.  He seems to have really taken a strong leadership role this tournament.

Miller - Looked very poor to start but I thought he did much better as the game progressed.  On the ball is still a concern.  I still expect Kennedy to be starting there come the fall.

Johnston - I thought it wasn't his best game but again became much better as the game progressed.  Lacks the attacking part of the game but enjoy him on the outside of a back 3 quite well.

Fraser - Absolutely terrible in the first half but looked good in the 2nd half.  I don't see him being involved too much in this program in the future with the depth of our midfield.

Piette - I thought he was okay to start and grew as the game went along.  He has something different about him that none of our other midfielders do and |I like that a lot about him.

Junior - I thought he was our best player for most of the game.  He really struiggles to ever get a full 90 minutes but pulling him today was a bit harsh.  A lot came through him in the middle today.

Tajon - Another fantastic performance.  Gonna have to find room for him in the starting lineup or else he is going to be absolutely unstoppable coming off the bench late in games.

Laryea - He was okay.  One of his better performances this season for club and country but still hasn't seemed to regain his form.  Definitely a pk on the one tackle but he needs to stop looking so much for the fouls in my opinion.

Larin - I thought he was very good again and its too bad he got injured at the time he did.  I would have liked to see him play when we really pushed in the final part of the game.  

Akinola - Looked fairly good before his injury.  Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Osorio - Completely changed the game when he came on.  Thought it was one of his better games this year.

Cavallini - Pretty good in his short appearance.  I will never bet on him getting a breakaway though.

Kaye - Very happy with his performance today as well.  He needed that after last game.

Pasher - I thought he was decent.  He can definitely keep his own with this group of players.

well said. i agree with every point you made there, and i'm looking for things to disagree with 😁

[Gian-Luca]

Unfortunately as good as Tajon was, it was he who was sleeping on the GWG. Game reminded me a bit of the Euro Cup final with the inferior team scoring first and then getting dominated after the first 20 minutes, only this time the good guys didn't win in the end (in large part because the officials wouldn't let us with that horse-manure refereeing). Thankfully we were already through since it would have been extremely annoying to have been eliminated in such a fashion.

 

[JamboAl]

Watched the second half on FOX.  Lalas thought the Laryea incident was a penalty.  They were rather complimentary to us.

[Chad_Impact]

1 minute ago, JamboAl said:

Watched the second half on FOX.  Lalas thought the Laryea incident was a penalty.  They were rather complimentary to us.

All the MLS guys thought it was a clear penalty too and yet, didn't even go to VAR 😂

Here I was thinking the ref being Mexican might help our cause

[apbsmith]

For all the hype Dike gets Miller really did get the better of him over 90 mins. 

Not sure Miller is the best option in a back 3 CB but maybe with Davies supporting him? Or the LCB in a back 4?

Regardless his game is not flawless by any means and he still needs some work. Looking at the positives at 24 this was huge experience game for him playing USA away... and I still think he has some really good upside especially as a depth guy come WCQ with the crazy schedule. 

[JohnnyFranchise]

1 minute ago, JamboAl said:

Watched the second half on FOX.  Lalas thought the Laryea incident was a penalty.  They were rather complimentary to us.

pre-game they weren't so complimentary, but as the game went on they realized we had them on their heels.

the only part of the entire broadcast that was complete 'homer-ism' was when their rules expert "dr" joe machnik was talking about the non-call on laryea as if zimmerman fell into laryea because laryea had fouled him.

[gator]

28 minutes ago, Club Linesman said:

Normally I am in full agreement with you Gator but I needed to remove my like when I saw the last part of the sentence.  This team will NOT take a beating in our next 15-17 matches!

Thanks for the removal of the like, upon reflection you might be right from the limited action I have seen in our next opponent(s) in the tournament and I would like to think we should be competetive in our next round of WCQ,  

[Dominic94]

I think we also forget that Miller has like 40 pro games to his belt at this age, it’s really not a lot. It’s fun to expect all our players to play and perform in big situations but the reality is we lack pro experience and international experience. 

[JohnnyFranchise]

2 minutes ago, apbsmith said:

For all the hype Dike gets Miller really did get the better of him over 90 mins. 

Not sure Miller is the best option in a back 3 CB but maybe with Davies supporting him? Or the LCB in a back 4?

Regardless his game is not flawless by any means and he still needs some work. Looking at the positives at 24 this was huge experience game for him playing USA away... and I still think he has some really good upside especially as a depth guy come WCQ with the crazy schedule. 

miller is the kind of player we need in there to neutralize a guy like dike. he's got the speed advantage and the strength to battle with him for 90. i thought he handled him incredibly well today.

[TOcanadafan]

The game would have played out differently had we gotten the penalty that we deserved and equalized - the US wouldn’t have sat back the entire game and might have asked more questions of our defence.

[Chad_Impact]

1 minute ago, JohnnyFranchise said:

miller is the kind of player we need in there to neutralize a guy like dike. he's got the speed advantage and the strength to battle with him for 90. i thought he handled him incredibly well today.

Watching Miller with Montreal and Canada now, I think the left-CB position has to be his. He's not a flashy player and sometimes it can be awkward but almost always makes the play he has to make. 

[CanadianSoccerFan]

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by CanadianSoccerFan

[ag futbol]

11 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

I think Crepeau is possibly steadier but Borjan brings an intangible and leadership to the group.  As long as he is not a severe liability (sometimes he could be but still in credit, IMO), Borjan has to start.

He’s a tall, talkative guy and a presence out there but in my books there have been a lot of unforced errors and the distribution is marginal.

There we’re more than a couple situations today where I couldn’t help but think Crepeau made things look easy that Borjan often makes a meal of.

Personally, I’m ready to shuffle him to backup but I think most would admit he’s only got one or two “oops” moments left before we do that anyway. 
 

 

[Obinna]

I know some are taking the positives from this, but it's high time we must expect better, so here goes:

We are putting stock on the fact we outshot them, out posessed them, and outplayed them, but we lost. We conceeded early (again). Credit to the team not crumbling like down in Orlando, I guess. We need to turn these loses to draws at least, if not wins. The talent is there but the results need to come. WCQ is around the corner and winning on the stat sheet won't get us to Qatar. This isn't boxing, as KJ said.

Comments on some players:

- Was not impressed with Pasher. Didn't seem on the same page and had a loose touch which turned over posession and released some pressure off them. I know it's just one play, but you're coming on to make a positive difference, not a negative one. 

- Was happy with the backline as a whole.

- Tajon lost his mark on the goal. Needs to be dialed in defensively, because that lack of concentration cost us the group today.

- Piette was good. Still behind Eustaquio but nice to see him step up. Was the best of the midfielders today.

- Crepeau is better with his feet than Borjan. 

[JohnnyFranchise]

2 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

https://twitter.com/SamAdekugbe/status/1416900154486050817?s=19

i scrolled down to the comments. tfc curtis is a beauty 😆

[Bison44]

Just now, JohnnyFranchise said:

pre-game they weren't so complimentary, but as the game went on they realized we had them on their heels.

the only part of the entire broadcast that was complete 'homer-ism' was when their rules expert "dr" joe machnik was talking about the non-call on laryea as if zimmerman fell into laryea because laryea had fouled him.

It was the more subtle homerism.  The Dan cole method, you remember... it would be deep into the 2nd period before you realized that the Habs werent playing the game by themselves.  Lafleur with an excellent rush, Belevieu is skating magnifcently, what a great block by Robinson, big save Dryden, Tremblay and Gainey are working so hard out there. Oh and the score is 2-0 for the black hawks.   

[JohnnyFranchise]

2 minutes ago, ag futbol said:

He’s a tall, talkative guy and a presence out there but in my books there have been a lot of unforced errors and the distribution is marginal.

There we’re more than a couple situations today where I couldn’t help but think Crepeau made things look easy that Borjan often makes a meal of.

Personally, I’m ready to shuffle him to backup but I think most would admit he’s only got one or two “oops” moments left before we do that anyway. 
 

 

crepeau taking that cross off of dike's forhead was huge and he made a couple other plays on crosses like that as well.

i'm not upset either way because they're all a huge improvement on what we've had in net in the past, but i'd lean towards crepeau as well.

[ag futbol]

13 minutes ago, Gian-Luca said:

Unfortunately as good as Tajon was, it was he who was sleeping on the GWG. Game reminded me a bit of the Euro Cup final with the inferior team scoring first and then getting dominated after the first 20 minutes, only this time the good guys didn't win in the end (in large part because the officials wouldn't let us with that horse-manure refereeing). Thankfully we were already through since it would have been extremely annoying to have been eliminated in such a fashion.

 

Nah, if you’re going to list who’s responsible for that it’s Fraser first for doing such a half assed job on his mark, Laryea second for pinching in and completely forgetting the wide player. 
 

With play shifting that fast and guys failing to make the play, defending that far post run was always going to be a challenge.

[Floortom]

1 minute ago, ag futbol said:

Nah, if you’re going to list who’s responsible for that it’s Fraser first for doing such a half assed job on his mark, Laryea second for pinching in and completely forgetting the wide player. 
 

With play shifting that fast and guys failing to make the play, defending that far post run was always going to be a challenge.

Just re-watching that goal now and wtf was Laryea going ?