Steven Sandor's Blog, page 115

Leiweke’s departure: Toronto soccer supporters can’t be blamed for fearing for the future

No doubt, the next few days worth of stories in the Toronto media will feature a lot of he-sad, she-said.

There will be speculation over the magical straw that broke the camel’s back at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. What was the major reason (or reasons) that spurred the company and its high-profile head to announce their impending divorce?

Was it the failure to get an NFL team? Or the rumoured dislike the Leiweke clan holds for the Canadian winter? The fact there are no In ‘N’ Out Burger outlets to be found in the GTA? Conflicts between the outgoing CEO and the MLSE board?

In the end, it doesn’t matter. The optics of the situation are simple. MLSE announced Thursday that CEO Tim Leiweke will step down by the end of next June, or earlier if a suitable replacement is found. And that means one of the highest-profile venue builders and managers in all of North American sport will fall well short of fulfilling even half of his five-year mandate.

And the question will be, if Leiweke is chewed up by the Toronto sports cauldron, who could take the job without being a well-paid yes-man? Thanos, maybe?



There are two things that struck me about Leiweke’s reign. Of course, the first is his dedication to get Toronto FC to treat itself like a world-class club. There were the pilgrimages made to convince Jermain Defoe to take a Designated-Player contract with the club. There was the move to secure Michael Bradley on a DP deal. But, for the first time, fans felt that Toronto FC was treating itself seriously.

The second thing was the fact that Leiweke, in the way he spoke about and ran the sports empire, didn’t treat TFC and the Raptors like they were the Leafs’ poor, unwanted cousins. He focused time, effort and energy on the soccer and basketball teams. I’d often felt there was a strange kinship between Raptors and TFC fans, frustrated that their teams were so often well in the shadows while the hockey team hogged the media spotlight — and MLSE’s priority list. Before Leiweke, you could never shake the feeling that the Raptors and TFC were playing the roles of value-added options on the MLSE menu.

But under Leiweke, those teams developed their individual characters. And, in both the NBA and MLS standings, the results could be traced in the number of wins each team earned. TFC is on track for its best season ever; the Raptors got to the playoffs and finally showed the world that, no, their fans don’t only go to Raps games because they can’t afford/get Leafs tickets.

Yet, it will all end too soon. And, really, it’s already over. By announcing that Leiweke will have an expiry date, MLSE has already ensured the remaining time the CEO has will be as a lame-duck leader. Leiweke can’t really make long-term decisions for TFC, the Raps and the Leafs when we all know he won’t be in Canada’s largest city for much longer.

And, back to the optics. After a hopeful mini-renaissance under Leiweke’s watch — where MLSE looked to be focused on making its teams winners rather than talking about sales awards and condo building — we’ll all be left wondering if any visionary can truly excel in a system run by a board of executives. Has Leiweke’s flameout only entrenched the notion of “same old, same old” with MLSE? And, does this mean that, after a hopeful few months for TFC supporters, will the Reds slip backwards?

Toronto retains its reputation as a city that kills sports careers — or at least derails them.

If you’re a Toronto FC supporter, or a Toronto sports fan of any kind, you are likely fearing the worst. Based on MLSE’s track record, no one can blame you. Often, when an exec leaves, the people he’s hired soon follow. It’s rare that, after the boss leaves, everyone underneath continues to follow the master plan. When Leiweke goes, will more defections follow?

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Eddies get last-gasp win in Carolina, as post-season race gets so much tighter

FCE’s Neil Hlavaty, left, takes on Carolina’s Zack Schilawski. PHOTO: Rob Kinnan-Carolina Railhawks

Far too often in FC Edmonton’s history, we’ve seen a controversial call go against the Eddies and the team hasn’t been able to get off the deck. Controversial red cards, penalties, goal decisions.

But, on Saturday, the Eddies rewrote the script. After a controversial penalty call against Edson Edward allowed the RailHawks to tie the game 2-2 on a Zack Schilwaki spot kick, the Eddies didn’t accept that things weren’t simply going to go their way. Instead, they pressed the RailHawks late into the game and into stoppage time.

And, in the fourth minute of five added minutes, Eddies’ substitute Horace James earned a penalty kick after he was ruled to have been tripped as he cut across the top of the box. Neil Hlavaty took — and converted — the last-gasp penalty. Keeper Akira Fitzgerald got a hand to it, but Hlavaty’s penalty had too much power behind it.

The final: 3-2 Eddies. And, with that, the Eddies finish their toughest road trip of the season at 1-1-1, with a draw against the Cosmos, a 3-2 loss away to league powerhouse Minnesota United, and win in Carolina.

With the win, the Eddies now pull within six points of the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, who are tied for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NASL. The Eddies have both home and away games remaining against each of those teams. So, the Eddies can actually say they control their destiny; beat those teams and it’s a horse race for post-season spots.



“As we came into tonight’s game, we weren’t looking five games down the road,” said Eddies’ head coach Colin Miller. “We were thinking, let’s take this one game at a time. But tonight was a significant three points for us. At half-time (with the Eddies trailing 1-0) we said to ourselves, ‘we don’t deserve to be a goal down.’ But when we started getting close to our men, and started finding some space outside, we really took control of the game.”

The Eddies got off to a poor start, giving up a goal just 12 minutes in. Lance Parker, making his first start in goal of the season, had to pick the ball out of the net after Schilawski’s near-post header went off the underside of the bar and in.

Miller said some subtle tactical changes were made midway through the first half, to take away some of the gaps the RailHawks were exploting. The Eddies started in a 4-4-1-1, with Chad Burt, getting his first Eddies’ start, playing just behind Tomi Ameobi up top.

Ameobi had a great chance to equalize before halftime, but his shot was parried away by Fitzgerald. On the ensuing corner, the ball just eluded FCE’s Cristian Raudales at the far post.

But the Eddies kept creating chances in the second half; Lance Laing got the equalizer after the Carolina defence scrambled the ball away from Eddie Michael Nonni in the box. The ball came to Laing, who toe-poked the ball through Fitzgerald’s legs and into the goal.

The Eddies then took a 2-1 lead thanks to Ritchie Jones; in the box, he flicked the ball up, then volleyed the ball into the goal. His first Eddies’ goal was a gem.

But, in the 74th, Edward was ruled to have made contact with Schilawski in the area. The two players did touch, but the Eddies felt that Schilawski had gone down on his own. Schilawski beat Parker from the penalty spot, and it looked like the Eddies would once again have to settle for less than three points out of a decent night’s work.

But, then came the call in the 94th minute.

“At first, glance, I didn’t think either was a penalty,” said Miller. “But, I thought that we deserved to win the game.”

Without either penalty, you come up with a 2-1 scoreline rather than a 3-2. And whether or not the late-game decision was a make-up call or not, the Eddies will say they deserved the full three points based on merit.

And, with the playoff race getting so much tighter, it makes next week’s home game against Fort Lauderdale all the more interesting.

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U20WWC: Prince’s injury was a harbinger of bad things to come for Canada

Nichelle Prince

At the 15-minute mark, the Canadian team got bad news — and a bad omen. Striker Nichelle Prince had to leave Saturday’s U-20 Women’s World Cup quarter-final due to injury.

And, facing the tournament-favourite Germans in front of more than 22,000 fans at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, the Canadians lost their top central striking option.

Canada would go on to lose 2-0; but the home side did create plenty of chances that result in scuffed shots, tame efforts right at the keeper, or headers over the bar. In terms of possession and territorial play, the Canadians matched the Germans. But, where the Germans took advantage of their opportunities, Canadians scoring chances went begging.

And Prince had to sit on the bench to watch most of the game.



“We’ve all seen how big she was for us and how important she is, the energy she brings and the goal threat that she bring, ” said Canadian coach Andrew Olivieri. “It was difficult, but it was something we had to move on with and it was unfortunate. It’s a bit unlucky that three, four minutes into a game that one of your players can’t go anymore. She was clear that she couldn’t push through it. I couldn’t tell you if it was a quad or a hamstring.”

Prince went off just after teammate Emma Fletcher had her long-distance effort go off the bar.

Prince had to watch as Germany’s Pauline Bremer got behind the Canadian defence, was able to round keeper Kailen Sheridan, and then smash the ball into the goal despite central defender Kadeisha Buchanan’s furious effort to get onto the goal line and stop the effort.

“It was a little bit of miscommunication from our defenders,” said Olivieri. “My understanding was that it was actually offside, but I didn’t see it, so I couldn’t tell you. Unfortunate; I think there were a couple of little errors on that play. You have to be safe and clean and keep things tight at the back for 90 minutes. One little mistake, whether it was offside or not, we have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Canadian goalie Sheridan kept her team in the game just after halftime, stopping Bremer on a point-blank chance after a clever three-way passing play. But, as the game went on and the Canadians couldn’t turn their possession into a golden chance, the Germans were always going to be dangerous.

German coach Maren Meinert praised her team’s defending.

“I want to specifically praise my inner defence,” she said through a translator. “It was fast-paced game, and most of the chances Canada had came from the outside, so the defence did a very good job today.”

And, of course, Canada losing its main central striking threat played a role in that, as well.

As the game was stretched, the Germans were eventually going to get a chance at that second goal. And it finally came in the 82nd minute, with Rebecca Knaak winning a battle in the air for a corner and heading home.

Substitute Amandine Pierre-Louis had a golden chance to get Canada to within a goal right after Knaak had scored, but she pulled an effort just wide when she had German keeper Meike Kaemper at her mercy.

As the first half went on, the crowd kept building, as transit issues kept people from getting to the stadium in time. Even at halftime, there were still fans streaming into Commonwealth Stadium. Most of the lower bowl was full.

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Don’t mention the score: FCE doesn’t speak of six-goal outburst against Carolina

FCE’s Daryl Fordyce had a field day last time the Eddies met Carolina; but injury will prevent him from making the trip this weekend.

It was the final day of the NASL spring season, and FC Edmonton’s offence erupted on a Carolina RailHawks team that had more holes in it than Sharknado’s plot. The Eddies got a 6-1 win; it just might have been the most lopsided triumph in FCE franchise history.

So, when the two teams meet this weekend in North Carolina, are the Eddies looking back to the 6-1 win for inspiration? Absolutely not, says coach Colin Miller. He understands that a 6-1 result is a “freak result in professional football.”

And, on Saturday, the RailHawks will be at home, where they are usually a far different team than the one that travels. You can’t find a more Jekyll-and-Hyde team in NASL than the Carolina RailHawks, when it comes to home and road success. Five of their six wins (combined spring and fall) have come at home. When they are on the golf-green surface in Cary, N.C., there is no comparing them to the team that gets on the airplane.

“We don’t even bring it (the 6-1 game) up,” said Miller. “We have got to be prepared to face a Carolina team that is much better at home, even though recent results have shown they are not invincible at home.”



Carolina was beaten at home by Tampa Bay last week and the Indy Eleven earlier in the fall season.

“Knowing (Carolina coach) Colin Clarke like I do, I am sure there were some bad words said after that (6-1) game,” Miller said. “I know that I would have said some bad words if my team had given up six goals.”

The Eddies will fly to North Carolina tomorrow (via Minneapolis) without midfielder Milton Blanco, who hurt his MCL in last Wednesday’s draw against the New York Cosmos. He will also be without FCE’s leading scorer, Daryl Fordyce, who has tendinitis in the heel. Fordyce had been trying to play through the pain but the decision has been made to give the Northern Irish forward a rest.

FCE captain Albert Watson remembers the last time the teams met in North Carolina, when massive thunderstorms delayed the game.

“There were torrential floods, but we came out flat in that came and lost,” he says. “And, that 6-1 game, we could have won that 10-1, to be honest. We had that many chances. But, obviously, it will be a different game, as they are a different team when they play at home.”

The Eddies enter the weekend trailing fourth-place Fort Lauderdale by eight points in the NASL overall standings. Fort Lauderdale currently holds down the final playoff spot.

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U20WWC: Our one-on-one interview with Canadian striker Janine Beckie

At this time last year, Janine Beckie was looking forward to the U-20 Women’s World Cup, as a member of the U.S. national program. But, now, she’s a big part of Canada’s U-20 side, and scored the winning goal against North Korea that put her team into Saturday’s quarter-final match against Germany.

The sister of Ottawa Fury defender Drew Beckie, Janine was born in Saskatchewan but moved to Colorado with her family when she was very young. She has scored 26 goals in 45 NCAA matches for Texas Tech. Her brother played for Canada at the qualifying tournament for the 2012 Olympics — and most of their extended family is still in Saskatchewan.

After Beckie arrived in Edmonton with the U-20 team, we sat down for a one-on-one interview. Canada plays Germany this Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.

What went through your mind after you scored against North Korea?

It was obviously great to get the goal, but, in my mind, I was thinking ‘let’s keep the lead’ and ‘let’s go for another one to win this game.’ There were thousands of things running through my mind, but the biggest was let’s hold on and come out of this game with a win.



Looking forward to Saturday’s game in Edmonton, do you have a lot of family coming out from Saskatchewan?

I do, actually. Quite a bit of cousins and aunts and uncles. My mom is going to come up from the States. It’ll be good to have a big cheering section. Saskatoon, Kenaston, Regina, all of those places.

How quickly did you fit into the Canadian team after making the decision to join the program?

It was a great move. I just felt like I wanted to try this out and see what the better fit was for me. I felt like, up here, my role was a bit bigger. I just fit in better. I knew that within the first camp where I was here, talking to Andrew (coach Andrew Olivieri) about it all. Obviously, it’s a tough switch. The American program was great to me. I have nothing bad to say about the way that they run their programs. But I just fit in better here and I feel very happy with my decision.

How much input did Drew have in your decision to play for Canada?

He’s the brother that leaves me to make my own decisions. He was like, ‘I want to support whatever decision that you make. You’re good enough to play on both teams.’ But he really didn’t have too much input. He was very excited once I made my decision, but he kind of let me make the decision on my own.

The Germans can score goals in bunches (12 in three group-stage games, including a win over the Americans). You know there will be pressure on the forwards to score.

We have been able to look at them quite a bit, through the games that they have played already. They are a very impressive team, very organized, and it will take our defence to be organized to beat them. But, to us, it’s just another game, another team that we can beat, that we can compete with. To us, there’s no team too big, too small, to play against. We’re really excited to be out there and show what the Canadian team is all about.

It feels like you had two separate group stages. You lose to Ghana, don’t score in first half against Finland. Then you turn it on for three goals in the second half of the Finland game, and beat North Korea. Was it nerves that led to the slow start?

Against Ghana, that’s the first game, we have to get our nerves out of the way. We’re playing in front of a big crowd, in our home country, so I think everyone was very nervous. It showed, definitely in the first half of the Ghana game. But we pulled it together, we learned from it, but then we came out the same way against Finland. It took them to score two goals to get us going, which is something we can’t let happen against Germany. But, when we do turn it on, we are fantastic. And we can produce results.

You’re playing in a massive stadium. You’ve probably heard talk about what happened here in 2002 (when nearly 48,000 showed up at Commonwealth for the U-19 final between Canada and the U.S.).

We have had no idea what kind of numbers will show up at the stadiums. It was crazy how many people showed up in Toronto. Obviously, in Montreal, the Olympic Stadium is huge, but we still had 13,000 people at that game, which is unbelievable. This stadium has history with Canadian soccer so I am looking forward to a big crowd and another rowdy section of supporters.

When you know people are taking their vacation time to travel to watch you play, what does that mean?

It’s so special, it means the world to us that we have that support. It helps us believe that we will get the result and that we will go all the way. They could easily give up and say ‘no one thinks we can beat Germany.’ But no one does that. They have that idea in their mind that we can win and that’s what makes it so special to us. The fact they are giving up their time, when they are on vacation, to see us play, that’s incredible.

Next year, of course, Canada hosts the Women’s World Cup. Do you think you can be back here with the senior team?

That’s been my dream for as long as I can remember. To play in the Women’s World Cup. And the fact that it’s so close, that it’s in Canada. Right now, I’m just focused on finishing out this tournament strong. But the World Cup is always in the back of my mind. But I have to perform in these next couple of games, hopefully, to be able to make that impression. It’s a bright future, I am looking forward to what will happen after this tournament. But, I can’t look past Saturday.

Did you talk to Andrew Olivieri and (national-team coach) John Herdman about a plan for you once you made the move from the U.S. program to the Canadian program?

Not too much, actually. We were focused on that I was committed to this team for the U-20 age group and then we are going to see what happens. I can honestly say I have no idea what is going to happen. We haven’t talked about the future of me in this program, yet. Obviously, that’s a conversation that’s going to come up once this tournament is over, because it is a fast transition to the women’s program for next summer. There are five girls on this team right now who are also with the senior team, and that’s very impressive. What I really respect about this program is the fact they bring such young players in, so we get the chance to play with players like Karina LeBlanc and Christine Sinclair and Sophie Schmidt — some of the best players in the world. I hope and I dream to be there.

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Canadian teens Roserie and Arora crack Jacksonville Armada’s developmental roster

Chaim Roserie

The Jacksonville Armada begins play as an NASL expansion team in 2015. But, on Wednesday, the team announced its 25-man developmental roster as it looks ahead to next season — and two Canadian teens are on it.

Seventeen-year-old Uday Arora and 15-year-old Chaim Roserie are the two youngest players on the Armada developmental squad’s roster — and both are from the Toronto area. Most of the players on the Armada’s developmental roster are in their mid-20s, and one is as old as 28.

Roserie hails from Mississauga, and has played for the West Toronto Cobras and Mississauga Falcons. On the roster, the Armada has him listed as a U.S. national, though Roserie has played his entire youth career in Canada and attends St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga. Roserie already has his own official website, which you can access HERE.

Arora has played for the ANB Futbol Academy, based out of King City, Ont. He’s an attacking midfielder.



“It’s very important that we continue to evaluate these players over the coming weeks and months,” Armada general manager Dario Sala said in a release issued by the club. “They have shown their potential and have been selected from the tryouts. Now we will be able to evaluate them more closely with our high-performance training sessions and also begin to develop their skills and abilities to fit our specific system of play.”

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With Canada booked for Commonwealth U20WWC quarter-final, the comparisons to 2002 will begin

Kadeisha Buchanan and her Canadian teammates will be jetting off to Edmonton.

47,784.

It is a number that’s special in Canadian soccer history. And it’s a number that we all knew would, sooner or be later, be used as measuring stick for this year’s U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Now that Canada has booked itself a U20WWC quarter-final date with Germany at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, that number has become relevant. It represents a shining star in Canadian soccer history, and also puts so much pressure on the venue organizers.

It’s a long shot that 47,784 or more spectators will show up at Commonwealth on Saturday for the Canada-Germany quarter-final. But we know it will be the comparison that will be used by so many members of the Edmonton and the national media.

In 2002, when Canada first hosted a FIFA women’s youth tournament — it was then known as the U-19 Women’s World Championship — a city fell in love with a Canadian team that featured teenagers Christine Sinclair and Kara Lang. And, when the final pitted these loveable Canadians against the arch-enemy Americans, it was a perfect storm for ticket sales. The 47,784 supporters who showed up set a standard for international youth soccer — men or women — that hasn’t been matched since.



Now, Edmonton hasn’t had the chance to see this Canadian team in 2014. It was stationed in Toronto and Montreal for the group stage — so the Edmonton fans haven’t had the chance to be courted by the Canadian team as they were with the 2002 edition. And, while the Germans beat the Americans in the group stage and have showed that they can score goals in bunches, we simply can’t find it in ourselves to loathe the Germans as easily as we loathe the Americans. (Just a temporary thing, friends to the south! We love your southern states, your bourbon, your barbecue, beaches and In ’N Out Burgers!)

Still, organizers had to be jumping for joy Tuesday night after Janine Beckie scored in the open North Korean net in Montreal to give Canada a 1-0 lead (and, eventually, a 1-0 win). If Canada won by two or more it could have actually won Group A and then went off to BMO Field for a date with the Americans. Good, but not the ideal — in terms of potential ticket sales. BMO would have had great support, but there’s no way you can shoot for a gaudy attendance number unless you get to Commonwealth, in a stadium that looks like a concrete holdover from the Soviet occupation we never had. But, if Canada won by a single goal, it would finish second and guarantee a date in Edmonton — and offer the chance for a big crowd number. Canada obliged by not adding to Beckie’s tally.

Beckie’s goal came after two clever passes were made in the final third; the first coming in from Amandine Pierre-Louis on the right wing. The second came from Nichelle Prince, who found an unmarked Beckie at the far post.

Now, the Canadian team heads west. Edmonton had more than 10,000 (announced) for each of its first two group-stage double-bills, with another to come on Wednesday. We can assume that’s the base from which organizers will build for the quarter-final. While 47,784 may be a bit much to ask for, would 20,000 be too much to ask? 25K?

As Edmonton will host the opening ceremonies of the Women’s World Cup, Canada’s first two matches of the WWC and more games than any other host city in 2015, Saturday is a big message day for the Alberta capital’s soccer community.

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Did it go in or not? Minnesota/FCE game hinged on this call

The scene: Midway through the second half of Saturday night’s game between Minnesota United FC and FC Edmonton. The Loons have just taken a 2-1 lead over the Eddies on a goal from Daniel Mendes.

FCE right back Edson Edward goes up the wing, and tries a cross. Minnesota central defender Thiago Calvano tries to chest it down, but makes a mess of it. The ball skips off his chest and towards the Minnesota goal. He and keeper Mitch Hildebrandt scramble for the ball. Hildebrandt reaches out as Thiago gets onto the goal line and boots the ball away.

Minnesota then goes down the field and scores what would stand as the winning goal. Mendes smashes home a feed from Miguel Ibarra, and makes the score 3-1. The Eddies would score on a Neil Hlavaty 78th-minute penalty after Hildebrandt was sent off for taking down striker Frank Jonke in the box. But, despite a late effort from Chad Burt that goes off the crossbar, it’s as close as the Eddies will come. A 3-2 loss.

But, rewind to the match-altering moment. Was the Calvano near-own-goal actually an own goal that was missed by the linesmen? Still shots taken from the feed look to show the ball crossing the line. We can argue if it’s conclusive or not.



If the goal stands, it’s 2-2, the second Mendes goal never happens, and it’s a different game.

No, the NASL does not have goal-line technology. Two screen captures are published here four your perusal. The replay was shown just once on the Minnesota broadcast feed.



Now, understand that, because we’re not looking at a direct overhead angle (like we get in hockey), your eyes can play tricks on you. You may see all of the line, but remember that part of the ball’s sphere can still be hanging over the goal line. And, to be fair to the linesmen, this was a tough, tough call to make. But, if anything, it’s an argument for NASL to have some sort of way to review controversial goals/non-goals like this. If goal-line technology is too expensive, find a way to get a referee’s head under the hood. Really, how often do calls like these have to be made in games? Once a month, maybe? So we’re not looking at something that would slow down games.

And, in this age, there is no reason for an official not to get help.

FCE coach Colin Miller said that the Eddies’ subs, who were warming up behind the Minnesota goal, told the bench they didn’t think the ball went in. But he said he would love it if the NASL had a system that would allow officials to double-check a goal-line call.

“I think it’s something we saw in the World Cup and it worked well, it was good for the game. And we knew if the ball was in or not within seconds. I’m not a fan of going to replay for every single call in the game, but for goals I think it’s a good idea. You just don’t know how it would work in NASL stadiums. A lot of the teams don’t own their stadiums, they share them with other teams. How much would it cost? How could you install them?”

The closeness of the call doesn’t absolve the Eddies’ defenders of blame when it came to Mendes’s 3-1 goal. Even when a call goes against you, there is no way you can allow the opposition to break right down the field and make a few simple passes that puts the dagger through your heart.

The Eddies started off the game against the spring-season champions brightly. FCE, shut out in four of their five previous NASL fall season matches, put the home crowd on edge in just the fourth minute. A dreadful back pass from Juliano Vicentini was pounced on by Lance Laing, who finished smartly to give the visitors the lead.

But it felt a bit like the Eddies had just made Minnesota angry, and you wouldn’t like them when they are angry.

Minnesota pushed back in a hurry and, against a team struggling with what the coach things might have been food poisoning, and playing its third match in six days, it didn’t take long to get on level terms. Corner after corner was followed with Minnesota pressure.

Finally, the Loons got a penalty after Albert Watson, who nearly threw up on the field several times as he struggled with the mystery illness that had also affected Kareem Moses, was called for handling the ball in the box. NASL leading scorer Christian Ramirez got his 10th of the season.

“I though for 20 to 25 minutes we were in the game, but I think we had some players who were exhausted,” said Miller. “I had guys who were sick, we think we may have had a bad prematch meal, but I am still disappointed by the nature of the goals we gave up tonight. But I have to defend our players because I thought they were tired. It was warm, it was humid. And then we came back like we did in the last 20 minutes, I was very proud of the response.”

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Wild night at the U-20 WWC: Canada survives, Germany and China in 10-goal thriller

Player of the match (CHINA) Beiyan Zhu, right

It really is something to try and pay attention to two matches at the same time — one in front of you at the stadium, and the other on the screen.

They are both so enthralling, so wonderfully bizarre, that you feel absolutely torn in two.

That was the situation for me on Friday night. And it was a refreshing reminder of why I love this game so damn much. As I watched Germany and China contest one of the most incredible matches in the history of the U-20 Women’s World Cup at Commonwealth Stadium, I had the Canada-Finland feed up on my laptop, seeing if our national side could recover from its opening game loss.

As I got back upstairs from the coaches’ press conference in Edmonton after a stunning 5-5 draw, I was able to get to my laptop just in time to see Nichelle Prince tuck in a goalmouth rebound to give Canada a 3-2 lead over Finland. After some wonderful work down the right wing from sub Janine Beckie, who had scored earlier in the half to begin the Canuck rally from two goals down, the ball fell so wonderfully to Prince.

After an awful beginning to the game, which saw Finnish striker Juliette Kemppi punish a mistakes from Canadian keeper Kailen Sheridan and then pounce on a giveaway from Canadian defender Sura Yekka, the home side was able to rally. And the Canadians held on to that 3-2 score.

The Germans and Chinese had just wrapped their 10-goal marathon in a torrential rainstorm, as news spread that Canada had just scored to make it 2-1. No, wait, 2-2. Two of the subs brought on by coach Andrew Olivieri, Beckie and Valerie Sanderson, had scored within two minutes of each other.



Beckie, who at this time last year was being groomed in the U.S. U-20 program, looked to be the prize acquisition. Sure, in Canada we’ll decry the players who leave our program and play for another nation instead, but we’re totally OK with the fact that our program actively recruits from other countries, as well. By scoring the first and setting up the winner with a shot that Finnish keeper Vera Varis couldn’t handle, Beckie’s acquisition looks to be some shrewd business by our women’s program. And we owe some thanks to her older brother Drew, who has represented Canada in the past and plays for the Ottawa Fury, for helping convince his sister to make the move.

(The Beckies were born in Saskatchewan, but the family moved to Colorado when the kids were young).

Canada still isn’t safe. Heck, in a freaky world, it could actually beat North Korea by one in its final group-stage game, and still not go through — if Ghana beats Finland by enough goals. There’s still a lot of work to be done before Canada could clinch the second spot in its group and a quarter-final date in Edmonton. (First place in the group, with North Korea already having two wins and a much better goal difference than anyone else in the field, may be too much to ask.)

And, while, as a Canadian, I was elated to see our team rise from the ashes in Toronto, the subjective viewer would easily argue that Canada-Finland wasn’t nearly the freakiest match of the day.

No, that came in Edmonton. The Germans gave up one goal, total, in the previous U-20 World Cup. They shut out the Americans in the Group B opener, in a statement game in the Group of Death.

By the midway point of the second half of China vs. Germany, formations weren’t there to be seen. Clumps of players moved in one direction, clumps of players moved in the other. Basically, it resembled Sunday pick-up, with goals flying in as defenders panicked and left their positions and attackers attempted shots from all angles. A penalty kick on one end for hand ball was followed six minutes later by a penalty-kick goal at the other end for handball.

The German fullbacks refused to tuck in, allowing the Chinese to play diagonal balls to the forwards. The Chinese couldn’t win 50-50 battles in their own area.

And it was enthralling. Here are the key moments:

Pauline Bremer scores in the ninth, after she latches onto a long ball hit between the two Chinese central defenders and keeper, Feifei Lu. Lu is way too late coming off her line to get the ball; Bremer beats the two defender to the ball and rounds the keeper, who is now in no man’s land.

1-0 Germany.

But, in the 40th, the Chinese find the equalizer; German keeper Maike Kaemper tips Ruyin Tan’s shot onto the bar. But she can do nothing about Beiyan Zhu’s rebound attempt.

1-1.

Just before halftime, both Chinese central defenders move close to the left sideline to help the fullback, who really didn’t need help in the first place. The entire shift to one side of the field leaves Germany’s Sara Daebritz open in the middle of the park. The ball comes to her, she goes in alone.

2-1 Germany at halftime.

Three minutes into the second half and China equalize; two quick passes after a German turnover in the middle of the park and Jiali Tang has stuck the ball in the net.

2-2.

In the 50th minute, just two minutes after China equalizes, Germany’s Theresa Panfil attempts a cross that, instead of finding someone in the area, floats in over Lu, just inside the far post.

3-2 Germany.

One minute after Panfil gives the Germans the lead, the Chinese get a free kick from the right side of the German area, near the end line. Jiahui Lei takes it, Tang skips over it, and it goes right through Kaemper into the goal.

3-3.

The German errors keep coming. Another free kick from the right side, and Germany’s Rebecca Knaak, in the box, inexplicably sticks out her arm to knock it into touch. Zhu converts the penalty.

4-3 China.

But, six minutes later, Chinese defender Xiudong Zhong uses her arm to flick a headed attempt at goal from Panfil away. Clear penalty, Daebritz converts.

4-4.

In the 71st. Panfil latches onto the ball after Lu can’t handle a cross in the box.

5-4 Germany.

Finally, Tianlun Shi opens up the German defence with a diagonal pass down the right channel for Chen Zhang. She finishes. And once again the Germans are punished for not being compact enough, for not having their fullbacks tuck in.

5-5.

Whew.

“Yes of course the rain affected the ball today,” said player-of-the-match Zhu through a translator. “But I think it affected the Germans, they liked to play the long ball and it bounced differently. I think it was to our advantage.”

German coach Maren Mainert said the rain had no affect on the match.

“It definitely was an unusual game with an unusual result,” she said through a translator. “There were a lot of back-and-forth chances. The point distribution was fair. A tie is fair, it reflects the game.

“When you give up five goals you begin to doubt yourself as a coach, what you have been working towards. I know everyone in the stadium had a more enjoyable time.”

And the team that looked so good against the Americans now looks so very vulnerable.

And the U.S. pulled into second place in the Group of Death, one point behind the Germans, after beating the Brazilians 1-0 on Lindsey Horan’s 80th-minute goal. But, all four teams in the section are mathematically alive going into their final group-stage games.

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FCE survives penalty kick, red card: Earns draw with Cosmos

FC Edmonton’s Albert Watson, foreground, keeps the ball from New York’s Hans Denissen.

When he finally decided to hang up his cleats, Marcos Senna will look back on a career filled with international glory in a Spain shirt, La Liga greatness in his time with Villarreal, and an NASL championship with the New York Cosmos.

What he won’t want to remember is his botched penalty-kick attempt against FC Edmonton Wednesday night.

After FCE keeper John Smits was called for bringing down New York’s Jemal Johnson, Senna stepped to the penalty spot early in the second half and, after a stutter-step, blasted a penalty kick sky high into the Long Island night.

And, FCE would go on to survive some late Cosmos pressure and controversial officiating to get a 0-0 draw on the road, bringing the Eddies to five points in five games in the NASL fall season.



The penalty came after Smits came and failed to catch a throw-in; that’s the second time in two games that Smits has surrendered penalties after failing to collect balls in his area. Luckily, neither of his errors cost the Eddies any points.

But, after the Eddies went down to 10 men in the 73rd minute — after Tomi Ameobi was ruled to have come in with a two-legged challenge on New York’s Danny Szetela — Smits more than made up for his earlier error.

Smits made a diving stop off a drive from just outside the area from Carlos Mendes, but saved his best for a free kick from Ayoze that looked to be the match winner. Ayoze’s shot was labelled for the top corner, but Smits climbed the ladder and, with his back turned to the shooter, reached up to push the ball over the bar.

FCE coach Colin Miller said Smits “more than made up” for the catching error with the late saves — but the fumbles are a concern.

“It’s twice in two games that he’s come off his line, twice in two games that he’s come for it and hasn’t come up with it. Now, I spoke with John and he says that he was fouled on the play. I haven’t seen it on replay yet. I am all for a keeper being physical and wanting to be aggressive. But if handling the crosses is a problem, yes, it is a concern.”

The Eddies will feel that the draw was the least they deserved from the game, considering that, even on first look, the red card on Ameobi looked exceptionally harsh. Both legs weren’t extended, and the contact wasn’t severe. In fact, you could argue it was a borderline card — a borderline yellow card, that is.

If this was MLS, where red cards are reviewed, the Eddies would feel pretty confident that this card would be overturned and Ameobi would be eligible to play Saturday in Minnesota. Alas, in NASL, where supplementary discipline is a mystery, they’ll likely have to do without the forward.

But that doesn’t mean that Miller and FCE General Manager Rod Proudfoot won’t try. Miller confirmed that the team will send a protest letter to NASL on Thursday morning, asking for Ameobi’s red card to be rescinded.

“It’s the right thing to do,” said Miller. “It’s the right thing to have a second look at it, the referees are only human, and sometimes they make mistakes. Look, it won’t change the result of the game. But what they can say is ‘that tackle wasn’t that bad’ or, in other cases, ‘that tackle was horrible’ and then do the right thing.”

Despite being down to 10 men for a little more than 20 minutes — with time added on factored into the equation — the Eddies had one great chance to win the game. A Neil Hlavaty free kick caught Cosmos keeper Jimmy Maurer on the wrong side of goal, but struck the bar.

The Eddies created the best chance of the first half; after a Cosmos free-kick play was broken up, Horace James led a three-on-one break up the park. He slid the ball to Lance Laing on the left, whose shot was smothered by Maurer, who came well off his line. Had Laing passed back across the grain rather than shot, he would have taken the keeper out of the play, with two Eddies to pick out in the box.

Miller spoke to Laing about the decision, and the midfielder told him that, from his vantage point, he thought that teammate Ritchie Jones had drifted into an offside position, giving him no option but to shoot.

As well, Eddies midfielder Milton Blanco left the game in the 14th minute, clutching his knee.

Miller confirmed that Blanco will be out for a considerable amount of time, as he looks to have injured his MCL.

Despite the adversity, Miller praised the players.

“We played in 30 Celsius on Sunday and had to fly across the continent. The attitude of the players was simply fantastic.”

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