Steven Sandor's Blog, page 111

It’s oh so quiet: Japan trounces Canada in front of disappointing crowd

A photo of the, ahem, announced crowd of 9,654.

I hate writing soccer-attendance stories. They remind me of the times I used to have to lobby and lobby editors to give a soccer story a little more space, or any space at all.

So, just the writing this column is making me owly and growly.

On Saturday, the Women’s World Cup champions from Japan came to Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium to play the Canadian women’s national team. The friendly was announced months ago — and, outside of the rivalry with the Americans, is probably about as “tier one” a matchup as the Canadian Soccer Association could arrange.

The Japanese and Canadian players came out to see a heck of a lot of yellow and green empty seats. In a city that is hosting more Women’s World Cup games in 2015 than any other, a visit from the reigning champions of the world was greeted with indifference. A stadium that holds a little less than 60,000 welcomed an announced crowd of 9,654 who watched the Japanese march to a convincing 3-0 win. But, to the naked eye, it looked like the actual number of bums in seats was much lower than the announced attendance. Half of the stadium was closed to fans. Only 10 sections had fans in them, and they were maybe two-thirds full. Each of those sections has 45 rows, with 16 seats per row. That’s 10 X 45 X 16 = 7,200. And those sections were two-thirds full — so maybe, at best, 5,000 fans in the stadium.

Goalkeeper Erin McLeod, who hails from the area, saw the glass as being half full.

“I heard (before the game) that we had 8,000 sold,” she said. “So at first I was like, ‘huh,’ but, you know, looking at the stadium today, it looked pretty full on the west side. Of course, we always want more but a part of it is us putting on a good game. There were lots of exciting parts to this match. So, hopefully, they were happy and they will come back for the World Cup.”



Tickets ranged between $25-$50; you can argue if that’s steep or not, but Edmonton is a city with a metro population of over 1.2 million, and boasts one of the highest per capita household income rates ($96,030, according to Statistics Canada) in the country. So, $50 puts much less of a dent in an Edmontonian’s wallet than it would to the pocketbook of a Torontonian or a Vancouverite. (As well, there were group and team discounts available.) In Edmonton, people have no problem filling Rexall Place for Oilers games, and a standing room ticket will cost you $65. You’re looking at nearly $400 for a lower-bowl prime seat.

Blame the weather? No. It was 5 C on Saturday afternoon. In this part of the world, sure it’s chilly, but it’s perfectly acceptable autumn weather. This is a city that can bring tens of thousands of out to watch CFL football when the mercury dips well below freezing.

Edmonton soccer supporters love to smugly look back at the 2002 U-19 Women’s World Championship, the precursor to what’s now the U-20 Women’s World Cup, and the final game between Canada and the United States which nearly filled Commonwealth.

Whenever the women’s team comes to Edmonton, it’s always brought up. “How great was 2002? What are your favourite memories?”

And the reason we need to talk about the memories? Because attendances like today’s show that Edmonton likes to live in the past, not the present. This game officially kills the 2002 nostalgia. Sure, we can point fingers at the CSA for not doing enough to promote the game, the local media for being so focused on the Oilers that there is little room for anything else, or the city’s sports fans for simply not caring enough. But, no matter who you think is to blame, the sight of stadium that’s 90 per cent empty isn’t good for this country as we head towards the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

In the summer, Edmonton hosted the Canada-Germany quarterfinal of the U-20 Women’s World Cup. The official attendance was 22,421, on a night where Edmonton Transit suffered a series of snafus that made it very difficult to get to the stadium. More than 10,000 showed up to watch the Germans play the Americans in the group stage of that tournament.

But when Canada’s senior women’s team plays Japan? Sigh.

What most of Edmonton’s soccer community missed was a Japanese team that was able to get out to an early lead and then manage the game, before putting it away in the second half.

Canadian coach John Herdman called in left back Alyssha Chapman, who had impressed with her Swedish club team. But Japan’s first goal came after she was caught up the field. The defensive line fell apart, and centre back Kadeisha Buchanan was left isolated in the penalty area. She decided to vacate her spot to try and challenge for the ball, leaving Japanese striker Yuki Ogimi alone to tap a clever pass into the goal.

The Canadians did well for the rest of the first half; and were able to carve out one golden chance. A cross from right back Rhian Wilkinson found Melissa Tancredi in the area, but her header went inches wide. Japanese coach Norio Sasaki said that, had the chance gone in, it may have been a different game.”

“I think we showed our potential for the World Cup. For 40 minutes, 30 minutes, in the first half, there was a real solid showing by Canada…” said Herdman. “When you play against that type of team, and you open yourself up to try and give yourself a better chance of winning, you do leave yourself exposed.”

So, in the second half, the Japanese turned up the pressure, able to outnumber the Canadians in midfield and create chance after chance. If not for some excellent work for McLeod, this would have been a lot worse than a three-goal loss. McLeod made a leaping save to rob Ogimi, and then tipped a Kozue Ando blast over the bar.

McLeod could do nothing to keep Yuri Kawamura’s header out of the goal. After a quick combination on a short corner, Aya Miyama’s cross found Kawamura at the back post.

Herdman took the blame for the goal, saying it was his decision to make some subs before the corner, and that it took the Canadian team out of its rhythm. He said it was a “schoolboy error” on his part.

“Once we’re chasing the game, the game is wide open at that point. You’re going get punished if you go for it. There was no way I was going to lock up the shop.”

McLeod then made another great diving save after Ogimi got in the box by herself, taking advantage of the fact that Canadian defenders Buchanan and Chapman got in each other’s way.

The Japanese added to the Canadian woes, with Nahomi Kawasumi finishing a nice low cross from Saori Ariyoshi.

Tickets for next year’s Women’s World Cup games in Edmonton are reportedly selling pretty well. And Edmontonians have a history of coming out when the games count for something. But, with Canada opening the WWC in Edmonton — and playing its first two games at Commonwealth — it’s fair to start asking some serious questions, and to stop lingering over what this city did back in 2002.

And, to add injury to the insult, Canadian veteran midfield veteran Diana Matheson was seen leaving Commonwealth Stadium on crutches.

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Desiree Scott is open to Notts County return after Women’s World Cup (PLASTIC PITCH preview)

Desiree Scott in Notts County colours

(Look for the full Q and A with the Destroyer, Desiree Scott, in the winter issue of Plastic Pitch. Issue 4 should be out in December. For info on how to get Plastic Pitch, go to the end of this post).

Canadian midfielder Desiree Scott won’t be returning to pro soccer until after next year’s Women’s World Cup.

She’s committed to Canada’s eight-month training camp ahead of the Women’s World Cup, and she’s devoting her time to the national-team cause. That includes Saturday’s friendly against Japan at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium and the Oct. 28 rematch against the World Cup champs at Vancouver’s BC Place.

But, once the tournament ends, Scott says she will give a Notts County return some serious consideration. In 2014, Scott, who was one of the Canadian players in NWSL who had her salary paid by the Canadoan Soccer Association, decided to leave the U.S.-based league for England. She started 20 games for Notts County in England’s WSL — and certainly caused some waves by making the decision to leave NWSL for an English league that mixes part- and full-time players.

Still, if Notts County wants her back after the Women’s World Cup, chances are that she’ll listen.

“I really enjoyed it,” she said Friday. “Right now, my focus is on the World Cup. I will be full-time with the national-team leading up to that. But, after the World Cup, the options are open. But I did really enjoy it in England and, yes, I would go back. Right now, the plan is to be with the national team, full-time. We are devoted to World Cup prep; and hopefully to raise that trophy on July 5th. I will decide what to do (professionally) after that.”



And how does the English WSL compare to NWSL?

“I think the difference over in England is the amount of… we have part-time and full-time players,” said Scott. “For example, when I was in Kansas City we were training every day with a full squad versus in England, the part-time players were only there twice a week. When you are playing with some of the best players in the world, day in and day out, that really helps add to the calibre of play in the league. But, for me, it definitely wasn’t a walk in the park. It was physical. I’m usually the one destroying people and I was the one getting big-time tackles in. I think it’s one of the most competitive leagues they have ever had over there. I think it’s on the rise, but there’s still improvements to be made for sure.”

The Canadians are playing a schedule of friendlies which sees them facing the heavyweights — the Americans, Germans and Japanese — at WWC venues. But, Canada hasn’t beaten any of the so-called “tier one” teams during this cycle. Scott said that the Japanese series represent more than two friendlies. Canada needs to get a W.

“Yeah, if you don’t beat these tier-one teams going into the tournament, you go into it with the ‘what if?’ factor. And we don’t want that. We want to go in there confident, that we can beat these teams, that we can compete with the best teams in the world. We need to do that in the build-up over the next eight months. So, Japan is a big test for us, and we’re not going out there to tie. We are going out there to win the game. Anytime you come to play Canada you are going to get a tough game. And I think our coach (John Herdman) has gone out of his way to plan and be strategic about the teams we are playing leading up to the World Cup. These are the teams we may need to face in order to get to the final.”

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Canada vs. Japan: Hard to dislike the World Cup champs

Erin McLeod PHOTO BOB FRID/CANADA SOCCER

Sure, when it comes to rivalries in women’s soccer, the Americans are at the top of the Canadian totem pole. They are the ones we, as Canadians, love to hate.

So, as the Canadians women’s national team gets set to face the World Cup champions from Japan twice in the coming week, you can’t expect there to be a war of words. Really, the series of friendlies sorta feels like we’re inviting a well-respected friend and the kids over for a playdate.

Canadian keeper Erin McLeod was at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Fieldhouse to help conduct a clinic for local minor soccer players and, after, she spoke of the challenge of playing the Japanese.

“They are so tactically disciplined, I think it will be a wonderful match for us,” said McLeod. “They are wonderful opponent, they are so well organized, we can’t afford any slip-ups for the entire 90.

“I think Japan reminds me of Germany. Germany is always so very organized and so is Japan. You saw in the World Cup, it was incredible what they did. It was after the tsunami and they really brought a nation together, so the spirit and the heart that team has, we won’t overlook it.”



The kind, respectful words may conceal a deeper truth; it wouldn’t be out of bounds to suggest that the Japanese and the Germans (and maybe even the French) would go into 2015 as a more fancied World Cup pick than the Americans. The days are slipping where the American athleticism, strength and endurance could overwhelm a tactically superior team. We saw it at the U-20s, where the Americans struggled against sides that were more disciplined.

So, you could argue that seeing Japan Saturday at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium and then on Oct. 28 at BC Place could do more to help Canada see where it really stands going into next year than those piss-and-vinegar “friendlies” against the Americans. McLeod sees the two games as part of an important building process for the Canadian team.

“It’s extremely important, every game we play now until the World Cup, we see everything as a preparation event, just part of the process to help us gear up for the big event at home,” said McLeod. “I love that we’re playing Tier 1 opponents at home, getting ready for what it will be like, and I think it will work to our advantage.”

Chances are, Canadians will be seeing a lot more of Japan in 2015, as it could go very deep into the Women’s World Cup.

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Laing: “Wouldn’t be a greater joy” than helping FCE beat the Strikers on Saturday

Lance Laing

A month and a half ago, the FC Edmonton staff discussed their plans for the final road trip of the regular season. If results continued to go in favour of the red-hot Eddies, there was a good chance that the Oct. 25 match at Fort Lauderdale could be huge.

So the decision was made then to change the team’s travel plans. Instead of leaving on a Friday, the common practice for a Saturday road game, the Eddies would leave on Thursday, giving them a chance to better acclimate to the Florida heat and humidity.

As it turns out, the Eddies were right about this Saturday’s game meaning something. The Eddies know that if they win their final two games of the season — away to the Strikers and then home to Atlanta — they will be in the NASL post-season, unless Carolina also wins both of their remaining games and makes up a massive goal-difference margin.

“We made this call five weeks ago, six weeks ago, anticipating we’d be in this position,” said assistant coach Jeff Paulus on Wednesday. “It’s paid off for us.”

But, if the Eddies lose to Fort Lauderdale, the Strikers will eliminate FCE, and solidify their own claim for the fourth and final NASL post-season spot.



And what will the Eddies spend the extra time working on? Limiting Fort Lauderdale’s explosiveness on the counterattack. Paulus said that the Strikers can turn defence into offence in quick fashion, and you need to be aware of how fast the Strikers can come at you.

“We don’t think we are bigger than we are,” said Paulus. “We know we have a lot of work to do. Fort Lauderdale will definitely be a tough venue to play in.”

While this weekend’s Fort Lauderdale/Eddies match is, for all intents and purposes, an elimination game, for midfielder Lance Laing, it will be extra special. Before coming to the Eddies, Laing was an NASL Best XI fullback for the Strikers. Since moving to the midfield, Laing has established himself as the best left-sided player in NASL, leading the Eddies in goals and assists.

“There’s not much nerves, to be honest,” said Laing. “I’ve been in this league, I know what it takes in situations like this, to get to the playoffs.

“There wouldn’t be a greater joy than to beat my former team and knock them out of a playoff spot and get myself into it. That’s what’s soccer is all about. Teams that win championships, to get to a championship game. On Saturday, this game is as big as a championship game for us. If we lose, we’re out. If we tie, you can say that we are out as well. We have to go there with the mentality that we have to get three points.”

The reason FCE is in this position — where the club controls its own destiny — is that it took care of business in Ottawa last week, while Fort Lauderdale and Carolina drew. It was the dream scenario come true. And, since the Eddies played in the afternoon, they could watch the RailHawks and Strikers draw from the comfort of their Ottawa hotel.

“We were celebrating in that hotel like it was a big Champions League game being played, like we were in Europe backing up Barcelona or Real Madrid or Chelsea to win a championship. It felt like that. We celebrated like crazy. I swear that hotel probably doesn’t want us back there.”

Laing could also celebrate the goal and the assist he had against Ottawa, including an Olimpico, a goal scored directly from a corner kick. (That performance earned him NASL Player of the Week honours). He didn’t celebrate the goal. Why? Because the goal took even him by surprise.

“I was aiming for the near post, to be honest, there was a crazy wind that came by and it just took the ball in. That’s why you saw me walk off like ‘hey, what just happened?’ I was pretty surprised at the wind. The wind cause that to be a goal.”

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Laing scores directly off corner, adds assist as Eddies beat Ottawa

Lance Laing is mobbed by his FCE teammates after scoring directly off a corner kick.

In the middle of the week, Lance Laing signed a contract extension that will keep him in Eddies blue and white into the 2015 season. And, on Saturday afternoon in the nation’s capital, he once again showed off why he’s become such a valuable part of the team.

In the first 21 minutes of a must-win match against the Ottawa Fury, Laing set up Chad Burt’s opening goal and then scored directly off a corner kick. An assist and a goal, and the Eddies defended the fort for the remainder of the game. The final — 2-0 to FC Edmonton, and it puts the Eddies just one point back of fourth spot in the NASL overall standings.

Carolina, now one point behind the Eddies, faces the Strikers, who are a point ahead of the Eddies in the race for the final playoff spot, later Saturday. The best scenario for FCE is that the Strikers and RailHawks play to a draw. Because of a massive goal-difference advantage, the Eddies will almost certainly take any tiebreakers with Fort Lauderdale or Carolina. If the two rivals draw, the Eddies will be in control of their playoff destiny; that’s because the Eddies face Fort Lauderdale in Florida next week and then host Atlanta on what will likely be a cold November afternoon at Clarke Stadium.

But, for now, the Eddies can be comfortable in the knowledge that they have done their job by putting all of the pressure on their rivals for the playoff spot.

“I am so very proud of the guys,” Miller said after the game. (It was hard to hear him over the phone because of the FCE players who were singing in the dressing room.) “I actually think we could have scored two or three more. We started off the game with a bit of a wobble but then we started to play. I don’t think we allowed them a shot until the 46th minute.



“Now that we’ve played early, hopefully we’ll be the cat amongst the pigeons and be able to put the pressure on the other teams that are playing later.”

And, like last weekend’s win over Carolina, the Eddies jumped all over the opposition early. Eight minutes in, Laing chased down a ball on the left wing, and laid a low cross across the box for Burt to direct into the goal. The Eddies had their dream start.

Just after the 20-minute mark, the Eddies got their second. Taking a corner from the right side, Laing swung it in with his left foot. The ball took a right turn in the strong wind, and went directly into the goal — a rare Olimpico for Laing. The goal was his seventh on the season, giving him the team lead.

While it’s special to score directly off of a corner, there was no doubt Laing had some help by some abysmal near-post defending by the Fury. And Fury goalkeeper Romuald Peiser had gone for a wander off his line, and was nowhere near the ball when it floated into the goal — the keeper has to wear the goat horns.

But, in truth, for much of the first half, the Fury didn’t offer much opposition to Edmonton going forward. And the home team’s effort infuriated the Fury’s coach, Marc Dos Santos.

“I think we were sleeping for the first 20 minutes,” he said during the halftime on-air interview “It was a disgrace for our fans. They deserve better.”

The Fury eventually moved to a three-man back line, and had a lot of the ball in the second half. But, despite a lot of the possession, they struggled to break down a very organized Eddies’ side. In the 65th, FCE keeper John Smits had to come off his line to block a shot from the Fury’s Omar Jarun, but it was as close as the Fury would come.

Centre back Albert Watson was a massive figure for the Eddies, and he was dazed and his nose bloodied in the 74th minute when Vini Dantas attempted an overhead kick and instead got all of the FCE captain’s face. But Watson refused to come off, and was a rock for the Eddies.

It’s the kind of grit the team needs if it is to get to the post-season. And Miller revealed after the game that both Watson and Ritchie Jones had issues that made them question marks to play in Ottawa.

“Albert pulled himself out of training on Thursday because of his back, we had to bring young Marko Aleksic on the trip as a defender in case Albert was not able to go. And Ritchie Jones was sick a couple of times this morning, and he goes out and plays so well box-to-box, he could have had the third goal for us.”

(UPDATE: Former Rangers star Nacho Novo scored a late equalizer as the RailHawks fought back to get a 1-1 draw with Fort Lauderdale. With that result, the Eddies now control their playoff destiny. Two wins in their two remaining games, and no one can catch them for a post-season spot.)

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Teenage goalkeeper Kaiswatum promoted from academy to FCE roster

Christian Kaiswatum

For the last several weeks, teenage goalkeeper Christian Kaiswatum had to keep a secret.

He knew that he was going to get promoted from the academy to the senior squad, but he just wasn’t quite sure when it would happen. And, he was surprised when the Eddies added him as a professional keeper right before the Oct. 6 NASL roster freeze. But, the deal wasn’t announced publicly, so Kaiswatum had to remain quiet.

Until Thursday, that is. The Eddies publicized the Kaiswatum deal; that the 1997-born keeper joins John Smits, Lance Parker and Tyson Farago in the rotation.

“I was a little surprised (about the deal),” said Kaiswatum. “They told me a couple of weeks in advance but I wasn’t expecting (to sign) so soon. I was expecting it later on.”



“Any time you see a young player with as much potential as he has, been involved in the national team program as well, there has to be something there,” said FCE coach Colin Miller. “Through Darren Woloshen, our goalkeeper coach, and what we’ve seen, that he’s able to jump up to this level of training. We hope, in a couple of years time, that he’ll be a goalkeeper that can be ready to play in the NASL. It’s another Canadian guy, another real success story from our academy, he’s worked very hard, his attitude is excellent. We have high hopes for him. We don’t sign him for the sake of signing him. We sign him with the view that we will give him an opportunity, and it’s now up to Christian to take this opportunity.”

Kaiswatum is the sixth academy prospect to be promoted to the Eddies’ current senior ranks in the history of the club. He was part of the Canadian side that went to the U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, a team that also featured FCE teammate Hanson Boakai in the midfield.

“Playing for Canada is always an honour,” said Kaiswatum. “Going out to every camp is a great experience, great exposure for me, it’s been great for my development.”

But he’s already noticed how much more intense the training sessions are with the senior squad.

“To get to the professional level, a lot of it is about consistency. That’s what I am trying to work on this year, to be more consistent every day. To come to training, and give out the same performance, day in and day out.”

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Turfgate: Canadian Soccer Association will argue Ontario tribunal has no right to rule on Women’s World Cup venues in other provinces

The Canadian Soccer Association and its lawyers are prepared to argue that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has no jurisdiction to hear a complaint that the use of turf surfaces at the 2015 Women’s World Cup is an example of gender inequality.

That’s because the HRTO is a provincial body, not a federal one. And, because five of the six venues for the Women’s World Cup are outside of the province of Ontario, the question is why the HRTO would hear the case in the first place. The final will be held at BC Place in Vancouver. More games will be held in Alberta — at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium — than any other host city. So why hear the case in Ontario?

Sean Hern, a lawyer with the Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP firm that’s representing the CSA, says it’s the legal question that his side will press at the tribunal. In a conference call held Wednesday, he said it is “unclear how tribunal would have jurisdiction over playing surfaces and stadiums in another province.”

In the minds of the CSA and its lawyers it’s “likely” that the HRTO does not have jurisdiction over what goes on in other provinces, and Hern says it’s a matter that will be argued.

A group of elite women’s players have applied to the HRTO to hear their pleas for the 2015 WWC to not be held on artificial turf. They claim it’s a second-class surface which causes more injuries than playing on grass. But the CSA claims that turf surfaces designated as FIFA two-star are first-class, and are allowed by the sport’s governing body.



And Canadian Soccer Association President Victor Montagliani said that turf is used in elite men’s competition — which would defeat the argument that the use of the surface at the 2015 WWC is discriminatory. While he allowed that it hasn’t been used in a men’s World Cup (“not yet”), he pointed to qualifiers for Euro 2016 that were played on turf this past week, or the 2015 Gold Cup games in Seattle.

He was asked flat-out if Canada’s bid for the 2026 men’s World Cup would feature turf fields. Montagliani said that the CSA is in the “very early days in that process.” He said the CSA, like all federations that would want to bid on 2026, would need to see the parameters for bidding that FIFA will send out. Once the CSA gets those parameters, “we would need to look at it internally.”

Montagliani was asked if the CSA had considered any of their legal opponents’ suggestions to install grass or temporary grass surfaces in the six host stadiums and practice facilities. He said it hasn’t been considered, as “the stadiums are at the highest level.” Remember that the practice facilities and stadiums must feature the same type of playing surface, as per FIFA rules for senior World Cups. Each of the six cities is expecting to have two first-class training facilities. So, if a switch to grass was made, 18 playing surfaces would need to be switched over.

Hern said that his firm had received seven consent forms from the players on the pro-grass side, but one has been withdrawn He said the original complaint featured the names of 18 players, but two of those have been withdrawn. He said his firm is still trying to figure out who is actually behind the complaint.

And he denied that players on the pro-grass side are being intimidated to drop their names from the case.

“We’re not satisfied with the answers. We want to know who are instructing the lawyers in this case.”

Montagliani said that the other stakeholders in the stadiums, whether it be the municipalities that own and maintain them or the Canadian Football League teams that need them immediately after the WWC shots down, have not been contacted about the case. He said that the other stakeholders — the cities and the CFL — were partners in the bidding process, but there is no need to bring those stakeholders into this legal matter.

The CFL preseason begins in June. The season usually kicks off around Canada Day (July 1). The CFL teams prefer turf as it is cheaper to maintain than grass, which is chewed up by football. Several CFL teams have made allowances in their 2015 schedules for the WWC; for example, the Edmonton Eskimos will be holding a large chunk of training camp and a preseason game in Fort McMurray, five hours from Edmonton by car or bus.

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Canada frustrates Colombia for 74 wonderful minutes

Ricketts: Should have earned a penalty kick in the early going

I get the feeling that a lot of Canadian soccer pundits’ work is going to come off like a lot of bad high-school-newspaper sports reports.

We have nothing to be ashamed of!

We lost, but we held world-ranked No. 3 Colombia off the scoresheet for 74 minutes! Seventy-four!

Losing 1-0 was a great learning experience for our boys!



I’m not trying to be mean. But, after Tuesday’s friendly between Canada and Colombia in New Jersey passed the one-hour mark still tied 0-0, I had hopes of writing the most flowery narrative to describe a nil-nil draw since the dawn of time. So, after James Rodriguez caught the Canadians napping on a quickly taken free-kick that ended up in the back of the net, I had to fall back on the high-school-paper cliches.



But, for today, it’s OK to do that. Because, really, let’s face it, we all went into this game fearing the worst. (OK, not the worst — losing 8-1 to Honduras was the worst) We were expecting the a game kinda like 2010, when Canada got whipped by Argentina in Buenos Aires. Canadian national-team coach was bringing a very young, experimental Canadian squad to New York to face a Colombian team that was starting its superstars. Falcao. Cuadrado. James Rodriguez.

And then, the Canadian team decided not to follow the script. In fact, the Canadians could have scored first, should have scored first. Tosaint Ricketts got the ball a step ahead of two Colombian defenders and was taken down in the box. But no call was made by referee Juan Guzman.

So, there was a sense of justice when what looked like a perfectly legitimate Colombian goal was flagged for offside. After a wonderful combination of passes on the right side, Radamel Falcao slotted the ball into the corner of the Canadian goal. But, the linesman’s flag went up, and the Canadian were thrown a lifeline.

But, as the game went on, and the pro-Colombian crowd in New York grew more frustrated, the “home” team had lots of possession, but struggled to create clear-cut chances. In fact, Canada had another scoring opportunity broken up by a hand ball from Carlos Carbonero, but the Colombian defender showed his guile by clutching his face right away, fooling Guzman into thinking that the shot had come off the noggin.

In the second half, the Canadians defended doggedly. Julian de Guzman, in the middle of the park, looked as if he’d turned back the clock 10 years. He continually broke up attacks and looked like a player in his early 20s. Andre Hainault selflessly laid out to block shots. Goalkeeper Milan Borjan made a wonderful diving stop on a Rodriguez free kick.

But, as Canada chased and defended, defended and chased, fatigue had to set in. And, we can blame tired legs — and tired minds — for the eventual Colombian winner. After a foul about five yards outside the Canadian penalty area, the Colombians decided to take it quickly, while the Canadians were expecting to take time to set up a wall. The ball came to Rodriguez, who fired it into the corner from 25 yards out. The Canadians fell asleep just long enough for Rodriguez to conjure something.

Floro made a flurry of late substitutions to bring on a cadre of young players — including Manny Aparicio, Jordan Hamilton and Cyle Larin. And Larin had a chance to snatch a late equalizer. He got the ball at the top of the box, and the Colombians backed off, giving the University of Connecticut striker a clear look at goal. But he didn’t get enough fizz on the shot get it past the Colombian keeper.

Coming on the heels of an impressive win over Jamaica, the Canadians will take the moral victory of holding the world’s No. 3 soccer nation to a 1-0 result. And, maybe, if Falcao and Rodriguez are too tired to really help Manchester United or Real Madrid this weekend because they had to play more hard minutes against Canada than they expected, well, that’s some kind of win, right?

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Eddies extend Laing, Ameobi; release Milton Blanco

Lance Laing PHOTO: FC EDMONTON/TONY LEWIS

If you had to pinpoint the turning point of FC Edmonton’s season, you should go back to the final game of the spring season. As an experiment, coach Colin Miller moved Lance Laing from left back to the left side of midfield.

Since then, Laing has no doubt been Edmonton’s most valuable player, and has entrenched himself as the best left-sided player in NASL. The Jamaican has six goals and five assists, and has tormented opposing fullbacks with his speed.

And Laing is guaranteed to return next season. The Eddies announced Tuesday that it had inked Laing and striker Tomi Ameobi — who both take up international slots on the roster — to contract extensions. Terms of the contracts were not released.

Ameobi scored his fifth goal of the season in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Carolina, which put the Eddies just four points back of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NASL with three games left to go — including what will be a do-or-die showdown two weeks from now in south Florida.



Each NASL team is allowed to bring in seven internationals. In the case of Edmonton and the Ottawa Fury, that means players who are not American or Canadian citizens, or landed immigrants who would qualify as domestics.

The Eddies also announced that the club has released midfielder Milton Blanco. The American midfielder has had his season derailed by a series of injuries, and didn’t get nearly the playing time that anyone had envisioned he’d get when he was signed as a free agent. Blanco spent last season with the Silverbacks, and helped make the case the FCE brass that his former Atlanta teammate, Beto Navarro, should be acquired. The Eddies purchased Navarro’s contract from the Silverbacks in between the spring and fall seasons.

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How Leiweke’s successor can deal with TFC’s culture of failure

“I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution

Take a bow for the new revolution

Smile and grin at the change all around

Pick up my guitar and play

Just like yesterday

Then I’ll get on my knees and pray

We don’t get fooled again”

— The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

It’s becoming part of the club’s not-so-wonderful lore; that when Toronto FC does have a reason for hope, the dreams will die in New Jersey.

Heck, TFC has been buried in Jersey so often, that Jimmy Hoffa FC might be an appropriate rebrand for the franchise.

In 2009, TFC went to Giants Stadium needing a win to get to the promised land — and gave up five goals to a hapless Red Bulls team. The Red Bulls are a much better team in 2014 than 2009; that still doesn’t mitigate how poor TFC was in the first half of the 3-1 loss to the Red Bulls on Saturday. Now, TFC’s playoff hopes hang by a thread and, psychologically, the fan base has given up on the team.

With Tim Leiweke set to leave his post as Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment’s head, it gives food for thought; what to do now with TFC? What would you do if you were president of the club?



With a major stadium expansion underway, the front office has a lot more tickets to sell, and those staffers will be making pitches for season-ticket renewals with the spectre of the Bloody Big Deal transforming into the Big Fizzle. Jermain Defoe has become a pariah; the discussions about him leaving the club over the past couple of months have made Dwayne De Rosario’s cheque-writing stunt look like a very, very minor part of TFC’s history.

The Defoe/Gilberto/Michael Bradley Designated-Player push was Toronto FC’s final chance to convince the season-ticket base that things had changed. So, no matter what TFC does this off-season, the theme song for fans will be the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

So, with that thankless task ahead, what should Leiweke’s replacement do? Or should TFC get its own specific president who doesn’t have his or her eyes on the Raptors, Leafs and Marlies (and maybe the Argos, down the road)?



Here are some things I’d do if I was TFC’s new boss.

• Retain General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko and Coach Greg Vanney: Not only that, but I would guarantee to the fans that neither will be removed from their jobs in 2015. What TFC needs is stability, and to stop the coaching/management carousel. When a new coach inherits a team from the previous guy who had the job, it takes a year to a year and a half before that new coach can really say that this is the team that’s 100 per cent his. A new coach inherits a team; he needs to be given time to shape it in step with his general manager. Vanney deserves that time.

• Develop a Club Identity: It’s a lot more than a team name. It’s a lot more than colours. When you look at teams around the world, you know what they are about, from Celtic to Barcelona to Orlando Pirates to Boca Juniors. Of course, TFC hasn’t enjoyed the benefit of a century’s worth of history. But, outside of a few Voyageurs’ Cups, TFC hasn’t created much over the last eight years to celebrate. So, a new president can come in with a blank slate. I think, at this point, establishing an identity for the team is far more important than any player it can sign. Without sounding too much like a Canadian version of Chivas, I think what I’d do is promise to try and get as many Canadians into the lineup as possible. You might not be able to announce a hard number due to labour laws, but I would tell the fan base that, if we are going to develop the club, we’ll develop it on our own terms. Instead of building the team’s hopes around DPs, I’d base it on the fact that we’ll be the team where Canadians will get the chance to play — not in the USL or in exhibition games, but in MLS — and, damn the results, that’s how we’ll grow.

• Develop a Style: Once Vanney institutes how he wants the team to play, that system filters through the academy. You sit Vanney down, and tell him he has freedom to remake the system as he chooses.

• Dedicate a Good Chunk of Scouting on NASL: Mark Bloom was acquired from the Atlanta Silverbacks. We’ve seen Miguel Ibarra (USA) and Hanson Boakai (Canada) recently called up to their national teams. As someone who covers NASL on a regular basis, I know that there are a few gems here who could really help an MLS side (think Luke Mulholland in Salt Lake City). You’d be more likely to find depth and players who can legitimately help you by sending scouts to Tampa and Edmonton and San Antonio than by making those ballyhooed trips to Europe and South America.

• Study Real Salt Lake and Copy as Much of What that Club Does as Possible: This is a team that plays in a much smaller market in Toronto, has built itself into a major part of its sporting community, and makes the playoffs like clockwork. RSL has showed you need to build a team with a backbone of very good players who aren’t DPs. Much like NHL teams would be served to look at how the Red Wings build despite having poor draft positions, RSL is a model for MLS on how to bring players through the system, and how to sign players you need, rather than the ones that might be sexy for the fans. RSL understands more than any other MLS club that winning is the No. 1 thing that helps build attendances and a club’s relevance.

• Don’t Be Afraid to Tell the Truth: Going into next season, the attitude of the team should be based on honesty, not bluster. Remember that, in the previous off-season, there was talk about how fans would be sorry if they didn’t renew, with so many big changes to come. Whoops. This time, no promises at — except to be a more stable, consistent franchise. No promises of future glories or big name players. Tell the supporters you are going to work your tail off to make the team better, but the understanding is that there is a long way to go. No one is going to have faith in fresh start No. 638,212 in this team’s history — so don’t go there unless you’re willing to go the whole way and rebrand the team. And when we polled fans on that in , that was a no-go. For the fans who decide not to renew their season tickets, apologize and pledge to them you’ll do your best to earn back their business.

READ PLASTIC PITCH TODAY. AUTUMN ISSUE FEATURES A LOOK AT KYLE PORTER’S UP-AND-DOWN SEASON BETWEEN DC UNITED AND RICHMOND OF THE USL



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