Steven Sandor's Blog, page 43

Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings: MLS Week 12/NASL Week 9/USL Week 9

The Vancouver Whitecaps called up Edmonton’s Gloire Amanda from their USL squad ahead of Wednesday’s Voyageurs Cup against Montreal. If Amanda and Alphonso Davies both play, you could argue that maybe it should be be the “Edmonton Whitecaps,” thanks to the two graduates of the Alberta capital’s St. Nicholas — the junior high that’s become a soccer factory.

But the feel-good Amanda-Davies combo story shouldn’t overshadow a somber truth; that, as of this week’s the Whitecaps average of minutes given to Canadian players dipped under 90 minutes per game. Those are the kind of numbers that’ll get the #WhitecapsHateCanada hashtag going again.

There were some other interesting Canadian storylines that developed over the weekend. In the loss to Vancouver, Canadian Tyler Pasher made his MLS debut, playing 45 minutes for Sporting Kansas City.

And Max Tissot, who began the season with D.C. United, was assigned to the USL’s Richmond Kickers, then left and signed a deal with the San Francisco Deltas, can say that he’s already played an MLS match, NASL match and USL match this season. It’s only May.

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Cyle Larin, Orlando, 1064 (12)
Will Johnson, Orlando, 971 (11)
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 754 (11)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal,  646 (10)
Raheem Edwards, TFC, 634 (10)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 574 (10)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 461 (11)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 425 (11)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 424 (9)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 374 (6)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 216 (7)
Jay Chapman, TFC, 167 (3)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 91 (2)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Maxim Tissot, D.C. United, 90 (1)
Tyler Pasher, Sporting KC, 45 (1)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 16 (2)
David Choiniere, Montreal, 5 (1)
Kwame Awuah, NYCFC, 1 (1)
Jordan Hamilton, TFC, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MLS MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

Orlando City, 2015/12 (167.9)

Montreal, 1634/11 (148.5)

Toronto FC, 1688/13 (129.8)

Vancouver, 977/11 (88.8)

FC Dallas, 574/10 (57.4)

D.C. United, 90/11 (8.2)

Sporting Kansas City, 45/13 (3.5)

New York City FC, 1/12 (0.1)

 

NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Nana Attakora, San Francisco, 720 (8)
Drew Beckie, Jacksonville, 720 (8)
Mason Trafford, Miami FC, 720 (8)
Kyle Bekker, San Francisco, 693 (8)
Adam Straith, FCE, 615 (7)
Karl Ouimette, San Francisco, 593 (7)
Dejan Jakovic, New York, 540 (6)
Nik Ledgerwood, FCE, 431 (6)
Allan Zebie, FCE, 375 (5)
Ben Fisk, FCE, 280 (6)
Mauro Eustaquio, FCE, 45 (1)
Maxim Tissot, San Francisco, 27 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, NASL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

San Francisco, 2033/8 (254.1)

FC Edmonton, 1746/7 (249.4)

Jacksonville, 720/8 (90)

Miami FC, 720/8 (90)

New York, 540/7 (77.1)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Mastanabal Kacher, Colorado Springs, 918 (11)
Mallan Roberts, Richmond, 810 (9)
Callum Irving, Ottawa, 720 (8)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, 630 (7)
Ben McKendry, WFC2, 630 (7)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 620 (8)
Richie Laryea, OCB, 582 (7)
Ryan James, Rochester, 540 (6)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 515 (8)
Terran Campbell, WFC2, 515 (7)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, 488 (9)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 481 (6)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 480 (6)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 472 (7)
Gloire Amanda, WFC2, 468 (9)
David Norman Jr., WFC2, 467 (6)
Daniel Haber, Real Monarchs, 465 (9)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, 451 (7)
Amer Didic, Swope Park, 450 (5)
Bradley Kamdem Fewo, Rochester, 411 (6)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 392 (5)
Jordan Dover, Rochester, 378 (5)
Tyler Pasher, Swope Park, 375 (6)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, OCB, 360 (4)
Maxim Tissot, Richmond, 340 (4)
Shaan Hundal, TFCII, 337 (5)
Jordan Schweitzer, OCB, 329 (5)
Sergio Camargo, TFCII, 318 (6)                               
Mackenzie Pridham, Reno, 313 (6)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 301 (6)
Kadin Chung, WFC2, 272 (4)
Sean Melvin, WFC2, 270 (3)
Michael Cox, OCB, 268 (4)
Anthony Osorio, TFCII, 257 (3)
Dominick Zator, WFC2, 248 (3)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Swope Park, 199 (3)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 190 (5)
Chris Nanco, Bethlehem Steel, 188 (4)
Chris Serban, WFC2, 183 (3)
A.J. Gray, Phoenix, 181 (4)
Jordan Hamilton, TFCII, 180 (2)
Mark-Anthony Kaye, Louisville, 172 (4)
Malik Johnson, TFCII, 164 (3)
Marco Bustos, WFC2, 123 (2)
Ashtone Morgan, TFCII, 106 (2)
Aron Mkungilwa, Ottawa, 91 (2)
Jay Chapman, TFCII, 90 (1)
Raheem Edwards, TFCII, 90 (1)
Kyle Porter, Tampa Bay, 66 (1)
Josh Heard, Bethlehem Steel, 65 (4)
Mele Temguia, FC Cincinnati, 62 (1)
Skylar Thomas, Charleston, 50 (5)
Aidan Daniels, TFCII, 33  (1)
Brian Wright, Tulsa, 30 (1)
Michael Baldisimo, WFC2, 13 (1)
Dante Campbell, TFCII, 8 (1)
Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, Ottawa, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, USL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

WFC2,4128/9 (458.7)

TFCII,3689/9 (409.9)

Ottawa, 1904/8 (238)

Rochester, 1329/6 (221.5)

Orlando City B, 1579/9 (175.4)

Swope Park Rangers, 1024/7 (146.3)

Richmond, 1150/9 (127.8)

Reno, 705/7 (100.7)

Colorado Springs, 918/11 (83.5)

Phoenix, 482/7 (68.9)

Real Monarchs SC, 465/9 (51.7)

Bethlehem Steel FC, 253/8 (31.6)

Tulsa, 220/8 (27.5)

Louisville City, 172/8 (21.5)

Tampa Bay, 66/10 (6.6)

FC Cincinnati, 62/10 (6.2)

Charleston, 50/9 (5.6)

 

Hey Canada, it’s MLS. Baby, please look at all the nice things I do for you. Please don’t leave me. I’ll change.

As a soccer supporter in Canada, I want to see the game succeed, and I’m not super-choosy about the avenues it needs to take to reach that success. Does a big metropolis need to be part of a greater North American league? So be it. Will a Canadian league build the grassroots and finally establish the game coast to coast? I’m behind that, too.

But, there are days, my word, there are days when you look at MLS like the most annoying girlfriend/boyfriend you’ve ever had. Being a Canadian fan of MLS is like watching your partner flirt with everyone at the bar, but the second you say you’re done, that person’s back with a gift and a promise that really, this time, (s)he’ll change.

You love it despite yourself. You love it because you love your club or you love the sport too much. So, whenever it says to you, “give me another chance,” you open the door and say “yeah, maybe we can work it out.”

On Tuesday, MLS commissioner Don Garber was in Montreal. And he promised that the league would open an office in Canada (this promise is not new, by the way). The timing of the announcement comes just days after the Canadian Soccer Association gave its blessing to the Canadian Premier League, and two CanPL clubs — in Hamilton and Winnipeg — were officially unveiled.

MLS has no plans to grow its footprint in Canada outside of the big three cities, and the Canadian men’s soccer program has seen little in terms of improvement since Toronto FC first kicked a ball a decade ago. We have seen NASL and USL grant full domestic status to Canadian players league wide, but MLS has created a complex rule that allows some Canadians to be domestics but the majority are still considered foreigners on the rosters of American teams.

So, ee’ve realized that, for Canadian soccer to grow, we might need to go our own way. To forge our own path. A Canadian Premier League is real. And, just a week after we’ve officially said, “dammit, we are gonna go our own way,” Garber was back on our front door, offering what he could as his version of a box of chocolates. All he needed to add was “Canada, sometimes I think you’re too good for me,” to the speech.

But, like any bad relationship, there’s a blame card to be played, too. “I wouldn’t look at all those other girls if only you’d pay more attention to me.” And Garber played it, stating that Montreal wasn’t doing quite enough to support MLS.

“I’m also very excited to be here a day before the 375th anniversary of the (city),” Garber said as he opened his press conference. “We had thought long and hard about perhaps doing an All-Star Game many years, when Joey (Impact owner Joey Saputo) just came into the league… We were thinking hard about doing a big event in and around it. We were meeting with Joey and his staff, over the last couple of years we realized we really have a lot more work to do here in the community, to get the kind of support, to get the kind of engagement, to get the right kind of partnership with the city and others throughout the community, to bring an event like our All-Star Game to Montreal.”

This was not an answer to any reporter’s question, it was part of Garber’s prepared preamble. He went into the conference wanting to make the point that Montreal, with its soccer-specific stadium, its top-10 attendance in the league, the fact that it drew over 1 million viewers in Canada for its playoff series against Toronto FC, well it just wasn’t quite enough.

Garber then went on to say that even he couldn’t have predicted the amount of interest and passionate crowds drawn by the Montreal-Toronto series. (But Montreal, you’re not doing enough).

“It really truly defied our expectations. And it showed us, in living colour, what this sport can be in this country,” said Garber. (But MLS has no plans to further expand into Canada, cough).

Garber then brought the box of chocolates out again, reminding us about the Generation Adidas Canada program, which subsidizes the contract of Canadian phenoms, and the coming MLS Canada office.

He then said that Joey Saputo is an “incomparable” owner (But Montreal, you’re not doing enough).

So, we open the door, let MLS back in. But this person needs to understand that we just might have decided to see other people. We’ve got #CanPL’s number.

 

Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings: MLS Week 11/NASL Week 8/USL Week 8

It was quite a week for Canadians in MLS. Anthony Jackson-Hamel scored again for the Montreal Impact (that’s now four goals in 126 minutes played this season, a return of a goal every 31.5 minutes!). Cyle Larin scored for Orlando.

But no one matched Tosaint Ricketts, who scored three times in two matches for Toronto FC. He scored two match-winning goals, as the Reds grew their winning streak to six games.

When it comes to the Canadians who are getting the most playing time in MLS, the Orlando City duo of Larin and Will Johnson are taking off from the rest of the pack. So far this season, 18 Canadians have appeared in at least one MLS match each.

Here are the rankings:

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Cyle Larin, Orlando, 884 (10)
Will Johnson, Orlando, 791 (9)
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 664 (10)
Raheem Edwards, TFC, 611 (9)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal,  556 (9)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 529 (9)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 425 (11)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 394 (8)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 374 (6)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 372 (10)
Jay Chapman, TFC, 167 (3)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 126 (6)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 91 (2)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Maxim Tissot, D.C. United, 90 (1)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 16 (2)
David Choiniere, Montreal, 5 (1)
Kwame Awuah, NYCFC, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MLS MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

Orlando City, 1655/10(165.5)

Montreal, 1364/10 (136.4)

Toronto FC, 1575/12 (131.3)

Vancouver, 949/10 (94.9)

FC Dallas, 529/9 (58.8)

D.C. United, 90/10 (9)

New York Cty FC, 1/10 (0.1)

 

NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Nana Attakora, San Francisco, 630 (7)
Drew Beckie, Jacksonville, 630 (7)
Mason Trafford, Miami FC, 630 (7)
Adam Straith, FCE, 615 (7)
Dejan Jakovic, New York, 540 (6)
Kyle Bekker, San Francisco, 603 (7)
Karl Ouimette, San Francisco, 524 (6)
Nik Ledgerwood, FCE, 431 (6)
Allan Zebie, FCE, 375 (5)
Ben Fisk, FCE, 280 (6)
Mauro Eustaquio, FCE, 45 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, NASL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

San Francisco, 1757/7 (251)

FC Edmonton, 1746/7 (249.4)

Jacksonville, 630/7 (90)

Miami FC, 630/7 (90)

New York, 540/7 (77.1)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Mastanabal Kacher, Colorado Springs, 828 (10)
Mallan Roberts, Richmond, 720 (8)
Callum Irving, Ottawa, 630 (7)
Ben McKendry, WFC2, 630 (7)
Richie Laryea, OCB, 582 (7)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, 540 (6)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 530 (7)
Terran Campbell, WFC2, 515 (7)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, 488 (9)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 486 (7)
Gloire Amanda, WFC2, 468 (9)
David Norman Jr., WFC2, 467 (6)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, 451 (7)
Amer Didic, Swope Park, 450 (5)
Ryan James, Rochester, 450 (5)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 391 (4)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 390 (5)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 382 (6)
Daniel Haber, Real Monarchs, 381 (8)
Tyler Pasher, Swope Park, 375 (6)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, OCB, 360 (4)
Bradley Kamdem Fewo, Rochester, 343 (5)
Maxim Tissot, Richmond, 340 (4)
Jordan Schweitzer, OCB, 329 (5)                               
Mackenzie Pridham, Reno, 313 (6)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 302 (4)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 301 (6)
Jordan Dover, Rochester, 288 (4)
Kadin Chung, WFC2, 272 (4)
Sean Melvin, WFC2, 270 (3)
Michael Cox, OCB, 268 (4)
Anthony Osorio, TFCII, 257 (3)
Dominick Zator, WFC2, 248 (3)
Shaan Hundal, TFCII, 247 (4)
Sergio Camargo, TFCII, 243 (5)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Swope Park, 199 (3)
Chris Serban, WFC2, 183 (3)
A.J. Gray, Phoenix, 181 (4)
Jordan Hamilton, TFCII, 180 (2)
Malik Johnson, TFCII, 164 (3)
Marco Bustos, WFC2, 123 (2)
Chris Nanco, Bethlehem Steel, 121 (3)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 111 (4)
Mark-Anthony Kaye, Louisville, 101 (3)
Jay Chapman, TFCII, 90 (1)
Raheem Edwards, TFCII, 90 (1)
Aron Mkungwila, Ottawa, 90 (1)
Kyle Porter, Tampa Bay, 66 (1)
Mele Temguia, FC Cincinnati, 62 (1)
Ashtone Morgan, TFCII, 45 (1)
Skylar Thomas, Charleston, 37 (4)
Josh Heard, Bethlehem Steel, 33 (3)
Aidan Daniels, TFCII, 33  (1)
Brian Wright, Tulsa, 30 (1)
Michael Baldisimo, WFC2, 13 (1)
Dante Campbell, TFCII, 8 (1)
Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, Ottawa, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, USL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

WFC2,4128/9 (458.7)

TFCII,3164 /8 (395.5)

Ottawa, 1633/7 (233.3)

Rochester, 1081/5 (216.2)

Orlando City B, 1579/9 (175.4)

Swope Park Rangers, 1024/7 (146.3)

Richmond, 1060/8 (132.5)

Reno, 615/6 (102.5)

Colorado Springs, 828/10 (82.8)

Phoenix, 482/6 (80.3)

Real Monarchs SC, 381/8 (47.6)

Bethlehem Steel FC, 154/7 (22)

Tulsa, 141/7 (20.1)

Louisville City, 101/7 (6)

Tampa Bay, 66/9 (7.3)

FC Cincinnati, 62/9 (6.9)

Charleston, 37/8 (4.6)

 

Deltas claim an, ahem, Canadian Derby win over FC Edmonton

The first edition the NASL’s unofficial Canadian derby went to San Francisco Deltas.

Sure, the Deltas might call California home, but the expansion team started three Canadians and have Canadian head coach Marc Dos Santos at the helm. When the Eddies and Deltas met Sunday afternoon at Clarke Field, there were 138 national-team caps between the players in both teams’ starting XIs. Counting the players on the benches, the number swelled to 153.

But, it was Delta Cristian Portilla who got the telling strike, a free kick that bounced in the Eddies penalty area and hooked inside the post, giving the Deltas a 1-0 decision in Edmonton. The Eddies, eliminated from the Canadian Championship on Wednesday, held a one-hour-plus team meeting Friday that included owner Tom Fath. But, the Eddies slid to 1-5-1 on the season after the loss to San Francisco.

Late in the game, Portilla got the free kick after Eddie Nik Ledgerwood brought down ex-TFC winger Jackson Goncalves. Portilla hooked the kick into the penalty area, and it looked like Delta Kenny Teijsse was going to get to it. So, keeper Chris Konopka had to play Teijsse and  not the ball. When the ball bounced in the area and Teijsse didn’t touch it, Konopka didn’t have time to react to the cold reality that the ball was going to skip into the corner of the goal.

“I think (Edmonton) is always a dangerous team, built in the right way” said Dos Santos. “That is a team that is just going through a bad spell. It happens to everybody and it could happen to us also, soccer is like that. But, I think overall, looking at the way we travelled, the mentality of the guys, the personality of our players, the character we have, we’ve conceded one goal in four games on the road. It shows a lot of maturity in our group. It’s not easy to do what we’re doing. We’re very proud of this run, we know that this a tough place to win in.”

FCE’s Tomi Ameobi and SF’s Romuald Peiser meet in the air. PHOTO: TONY LEWIS/FC EDMONTON

The Eddies only lost twice at Clarke Field in 2016. In 2017, they’ve already dropped two games in three NASL home games; and it’s three out of four home games dropped if you count the Canadian Championship.

Eddies coach Colin Miller cursed the way the Eddies gave up the goal — he was displeased that they lost possession so easily and then conceded what he thought was an awful foul, then made the error of allowing Portilla’s free kick to bounce so close to goal. But he’s also distraught about the number of clear-cut scoring chances that the Eddies have missed.

“You can’t miss the chances we have and expect to win the game,” he said.

Right after the second half kicked off, Eddies striker Jake Keegan found himself on a break, with keeper Romuald Peiser at his mercy. But, in a spot where he needed to score, he got too fine and rolled a near-post shot wide.

“I was trying to send the keeper the wrong way, which I did,” said Keegan. “I just put it wide. I guess, too precise. But, probably from where I was, it was probably a tight angle to go near post, looking back on it. But, obviously, hindsight’s 20-20.”

The Deltas began the game brightly, with Canadian Kyle Bekker lashing a shot on goal from the top of the box that forced Konopka into a diving stop. Then, Bekker smacked a free kick that Konopka had to punch away.

The Eddies had a good chance to take the lead midway through the first half, as Dustin Corea dove to try and connect with a cross from Nik Ledgerwood. The problem was that Corea hit the ball too well as he dove; he made good contact, so it went right towards Peiser in the centre of goal. Had the ball sliced or hooked off his foot, it likely would have went towards one of the posts and had a better chance of beating the keeper.

Konopka was forced to make a good save on Tyler Gibson after the midfielder skipped past the attempted tackle of FCE’s Dean Shiels.

“I’m just gutted for the players,” said Miller. “I didn’t think we even deserved to draw the game, never mind lose it.”

TISSOT SIGNED:

Maxim Tissot, newly acquired by the Deltas after he and D.C. United mutually agreed to terminate his contract, was in uniform Sunday but didn’t play. Dos Santos said that Tissot had just arrived with the club, and he also had to design his lineup for Sunday’s game against the Eddies with an eye towards the Deltas’ midweek U.S. Open Cup match.

Dos Santos said Tissot was on his database of left-sided players he wanted to target as he built the Deltas roster. He was monitoring the situation at D.C. United, and Tissot was still at the top of his want list.

And he said that the NASL’s move this season to allow Canadians to be treated as domestics on the rosters of either Canadian or American teams has allowed him to consider more players from north of the border.

“People know how I feel about Canadian soccer, and how I feel about the Canadian players. But when I look for and choose players to fill up my roster, I don’t think about if they’re Chinese, Portuguese, Italian or Canadian. I think about quality players that can help us win games and I’m not doing a favour to anyone, I’m just choosing the best players possible. And, now that Canadians are no longer considered foreigners in the NASL, I think it’s intelligent on our part to look at who are the best Canadian players and give them opportunities. But I think the thing that matters the most to us is the San Francisco Deltas and we want to make sure the team is always strong.”

 

Dos Santos on CanPL: It “cannot be an amateur league that we call professional”

San Francisco Deltas coach Marc Dos Santos said Sunday that he was excited that the still-under-construction Canadian Premier League has received the green-light from the Canadian Soccer Association.

But, Dos Santos, who has four Canadians signed with the Deltas and is one of the biggest boosters of the Canadian game, reiterated some of the warnings he’s made earlier about the Canadian Premier League. In the past, when he was coach of the Ottawa Fury, he said that he feared that a Canadian league would only be semi-pro, with players needing part-time jobs to supplement their playing careers. He worried that practices would need to be fitted around players’ day jobs.

On Sunday, he said if the league is done right, it will be a great benefit to the development of soccer Canada.

The “if it is done right” message came over loud and clear.

“I just pray and my message is that the owners around the teams take it seriously. Because, it’s nice to call it Canadian Premier League, but a premier league has to have good training sessions, good infrastructure, players put in the right conditions to succeed.”

He said that the Canadian Premier League “cannot be an amateur league that we call professional. We have to be hard and very demanding on that. If the ownership groups are serious about it, I think it will give opportunities to more and more Canadian players to play at the highest level possible and it can only help the game in Canada.”

Thank you everyone: Plastic Pitch has reached the 90th minute

In late 2013, The11.ca launched a Kickstarter campaign to launch a digital soccer magazine. Thanks to the support of our readers, we raised the $10,000 that helped fund the launch of our app and digital magazine.

The mag launched in 2014 and we put out 12 issues which I feel showed off some of the best in Canadian soccer journalism. We took on a lot of difficult topics and featured the work of some great writers, photographers and illustrators. I’d like to thank the writers, photographers and illustrators who contributed to what has been an exciting experiment in Canadian sports journalism. 

But, the mag has had  to deal with escalating costs, a drop in ad revenue and, maybe the biggest killer of all, the poor performance of the Canadian dollar (we have to pay our fees so we can be available on Apple and Google in American dollars). As well, we in the media industry are all dealing with a slide in interest when it comes to apps as a whole. These factors have all forced me to make a difficult decision. Unfortunately, issue 12, which came out in  Spring 2017, will be the final issue.

I am very proud of the work we’ve done through these 12 issues and, to our supporters, I’d like to thank you for reading, commenting and even telling us when you think we’re totally off base. 

I really want this journalism to live on; I am in the process of contacting the contributors to secure the rights to move the stories from back issues of Plastic Pitch to The11.ca. This will be done without a lot of fanfare. Just check the site and search through the archives.

If you’re a Plastic Pitch subscriber who still has issues owing, please contact me at teamworkpress@rogers.com to discuss refunds on outstanding balances.

FCE captain Ledgerwood apologizes for “disgrace” after Eddies surrender three to Ottawa

FC Edmonton captain Nik Ledgerwood didn’t sugar-coat his critique of his team’s play after the Eddies were eliminated at the first stage of the Canadian Championship for the second year in a row by the Ottawa Fury.

“It’s an absolute disgrace how we entered the game,” Ledgerwoood said Wednesday after the Fury beat the Eddies 3-2 at Clarke Field, winning the series 4-2 on aggregate. Ledgerwood then apologized to the fans in attendance, and then repeated “it’s a disgrace from us,” as if to emphasize the point.

Coming into the game trailing the Fury 1-0, the Eddies knew that they couldn’t afford to give up a road goal, knowing that they didn’t get one in Ottawa. They ended up picking the ball out of the back of their own net before 50 seconds had elapsed. Eddies midfielder Allan Zebie took a heavy touch, and Ottawa’s Sito Seoane pounced on the ball. Seoane streaked down the field and, untouched, slotted the ball past Eddies keeper Tyson Farago.

The Fury made it clear that its players were not going to be satisfied to come into Edmonton and try to sit on a lead. They pressed high with three attackers, giving the Eddies little in terms of time and space.

And, the shellshocked Eddies kept on yielding scoring chances. Seoane dashed down the middle of the field, cut past Zebie, blew past central defender Pape Diakite, and then smacked a shot off the bar. A free kick from Ryan Williams forced Farago into a good diving stop. Former FCE fullback Eddie Edward, back in his old Clarke Field stomping grounds, flashed a shot just wide.

“We created enough chances to win two games, in the first half,” said Fury coach Paul Dalglish.

Ottawa’s Jamar Dixon battles FCE’s Tomi Ameobi. PHOTO: UWE WELZ/FC EDMONTON

But, at the half-hour mark, the Eddies got a ray of hope on a bizarre sequence. First, Fury keeper Callum Irving out-jumped Eddies forward Jake Keegan to get to a cross. Keegan’s momentum took him behind the end line. Irving then lost track of where Keegan was, and the forward stopped and waited for the keeper to play the ball, like a cat waiting to pounce. The keeper obliged, throwing the ball out well in front of him so he could run up and take a big kick. Keegan dashed in from behind, took the ball, and stuck it in the open net.

The Eddies enjoyed a good spell for five minutes, but then it came crashing down as a cross struck defender Albert Watson’s outstretched arm, leading to a penalty-kick goal for the Fury’s Steevan Dos Santos.

“What chance have you got when you give away two goals like that?” said despondent Eddies coach Colin Miller.

“We can’t give away such ridiculous goals as we have tonight and advance to the next round.”

The Eddies, needing three goals to climb back into the tie, threw caution to the wind in the second half, going with just three at the back and loading up the front line. They got one back at the hour-mark, as Ledgerwood made a great pass to Sainey Nyassi before the Gambian smashed the ball past Irving.

But, the Eddies’ last hopes were snuffed out when Diakite got a red card for a professional foul on Jamar Dixon that scuttled a scoring chance. Referee David Barrie checked with the linesman before sending Diakite to the showers.

Dos Santos scored a late salt-in-the-wound goal.

Eddies look to rally against Fury, while the city’s eyes will be on the Oilers

If a soccer game happens during the height of the NHL playoffs, will anyone hear (or see it)?

Wednesday marks the umpteenth time a Canadian Championship game will be upstaged by hockey. Yet, season after season, the Canadian Soccer Association plows forward with a schedule that sees what’s supposed to the marquee soccer event in this country get drowned out during the sports media’s busiest time of the year. After all, the Canadian Championship, as it stands, is this country’s official soccer competition — not MLS Cup, not NASL or USL title games. Yet, the way it’s treated — it’s like the people at the top want to do their best to ensure that it never has a larger profile than as a niche event.

Tomorrow, FC Edmonton hosts the Ottawa Fury in the second leg of their opening-round series. The Fury hold a 1-0 lead. But, at the same time as the Fury and FCE throw down at Clarke Field, the Oilers will take to the ice in Anaheim to take on the Ducks in Game 7 of their Western Conference second-round match-up. It will be the most important game the Oilers have played since 2006, and so, it is the biggest sporting event for Edmonton since 2006 (and, yes, I’m including the Women’s World Cup in this). A full house of over 18,000 will be at Rogers Place to watch the hockey game on the big screen, gathering faithfully as if the Oilers were playing a home game. The bars will be packed, and not one will have an FC Edmonton game on their screens.

Yes, it’s tough on the Eddies that they’ll play such a key game during Oilerspalooza, but, come on, when the Canadian soccer domos schedule our marquee soccer tournament head-to-head against the playoffs, there’s always a chance that this kind of NHL-soccer conflict will happen in one or more of the host cities. It’s no wonder that the first leg’s YouTube feed struggled to get over 300 viewers. They gamble every year with this schedule. And, in 2017,  they’re getting burned, big time.

While the Senators don’t play Wednesday, they’re also in the teeth of a great playoff run.

If those who scheduled the Canadian Championship were let loose in America, they’d schedule U.S. Open Cup games on Super Bowl Sunday.

It’s too bad — because the Canadian sports public at large have missed some great Cup games in the past years, from Will Johnson’s broken-leg Cup winner to Eric Hassli’s wonder goal to FC Edmonton getting eliminated in the 97th minutes of second legs, two years running.

The Eddies hope they can turn over the Fury’s lead, and set the stage for another stirring game.

First off, while getting that goal back is a must, they also know they can’t concede a goal. A road goal for the Fury means the Eddies would need to score at least three. But, at the same time, the defending doesn’t matter one iota if the Eddies can’t score.

“We’ve got to think about getting that first one, and we cross the next bridge when we get to it,” said coach Colin Miller. “First of all, we have to get the equalizer, and we’ve got 90 minutes to do that provided that we keep a clean sheet. That’s our approach tomorrow night. Do the right things, make the correct decisions defensively, defend as well as we did for the most part on Saturday night (a 0-0 draw at Indy); that’s the standard we will accept, we worked on it this morning again, our approach to how we will defend and where we will defend. That will be important to give us the basis to move forward.”

The new rules for the Canadian Championship require each team to start a minimum of three Canadians — though there is no provision for three Canadians on the field at all times, which is what Miller said he would have liked to see. So, a coach can sub out his three Canadians and replace them with foreigners if he chooses. Last week, Canadian Tyson Farago got the start in goal. Neither Miller nor Farago would confirm if the second leg will see the same goalkeeping arrangement as the first.

“I really appreciated the chance (to start last week),” said Farago. “I’m looking forward to getting another chance soon.

“We’re definitely going to have to go out guns ablazing and definitely pull one back in the series,” said Farago. “I think the lads are going to take it one half at a time and try to get that all-important goal and tie it up.”

Nik Ledgerwood, who played just 45 minutes because of a groin strain, trained on Tuesday, as did defender Albert Watson, who didn’t play Saturday because he was banged up.

Valencia friendly offers a major CanPL test for Regina

A press conference has been scheduled for Tuesday morning in Regina, where it is expected that a friendly featuring Spanish side Valencia and a North American team (odds are on the New York Cosmos, as the July break in the NASL schedule offers a window for a team from that league to make the trip) will be announced.

The game will take place in July at Mosaic Stadium, and the rumours of this Valencia trip have been making the rounds in soccer circles across the prairies for the last couple of months.

Seeing Valencia playing in the heart of the Canadian prairies? Let’s see any other of the umpteen soccer friendlies that are going to be announced match this in terms of surrealism.

But, on a more serious note, this game is a major test for Regina (and greater Saskatchewan). This will act as a great measuring stick, to gauge the interest for pro soccer in the Saskatchewan capital. This is a Canadian Premier League test, people.

If Valencia can draw, if it can bring in fans from across the prairies (kinda like a Roughriders game does), then there is a case to be made that pro soccer can work here. But, if this goes south, this is gonna be the soccer version of the Fyre Festival.

Personally, I can’t wait to see this. Because of the setting, I have never looked forward to any European team coming to North America for a friendly more than this. I mean, would you rather watch the MLS All Stars play some Euro giant in a large U.S. city, or see a La Liga side make Regina its home base? I mean, it’s no contest, really. Spanish team in Saskatchewan, I mean, that sounds like a pilot for a CBC series, right? I see you, Paul Gross!

And if the Northern Pikes aren’t playing the national anthem, I’m gonna be ticked off.

Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings: MLS Week 10/NASL Week 7/USL Week 7

When the Montreal Impact shut down its USL affiliate, FC Montreal, after the 2016 season, a lot of young prospects were displaced.

Through what is best termed (for now, at least) a loose affiliation with the Ottawa Fury, a trickle of former FC Montreal players made their way to the nation’s capital; Aron Mkungwila played in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, but there haven’t been a lot of ex-FC Montreal-player sightings with the Fury.

A few of the FC Montreal diaspora have scattered through the USL; and, so far, the most successful of the bunch is Mastanabal Kacher, who got two goals for Colorado Springs this weekend, and now has four on the season.

Now, to the minutes played by Canadians!

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Cyle Larin, Orlando, 794 (9)
Will Johnson, Orlando, 701 (8)
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 619 (9)
Raheem Edwards, TFC, 509 (7)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal,  471 (8)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 441 (8)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 372 (10)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 364 (7)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 361 (5)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 232 (8)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 110 (5)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 91 (2)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Maxim Tissot, D.C. United, 90 (1)
Jay Chapman, TFC, 89 (2)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 16 (2)
Kwame Awuah, NYCFC, 1 (1)

TEAM RANKINGS, MLS MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

Orlando City, 1475/9 (163/9)

Montreal, 1213/9 (134.8)

Toronto FC, 1202/10 (120.2)

Vancouver, 906/9 (100.7)

FC Dallas, 441/8 (55.1)

D.C. United, 90/9 (10)

New York Cty FC, 1/9 (0.1)

NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Nana Attakora, San Francisco, 540 (6)
Drew Beckie, Jacksonville, 540 (6)
Mason Trafford, Miami FC, 540 (6)
Dejan Jakovic, New York, 450 (5)
Adam Straith, FCE, 525 (6)
Kyle Bekker, San Francisco, 524 (6)
Karl Ouimette, San Francisco, 434 (5)
Nik Ledgerwood, FCE, 341 (5)
Allan Zebie, FCE, 304 (4)
Ben Fisk, FCE, 248 (5)
Mauro Eustaquio, FCE, 45 (1)

TEAM RANKINGS, NASL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

San Francisco, 1498/6 (249.7)

FC Edmonton, 1463/6 (243.8)

Jacksonville, 540/5 (90)

Miami FC, 540/6 (90)

New York, 450/6 (75)

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Mastanabal Kacher, Colorado Springs, 651 (8)
Mallan Roberts, Richmond, 630 (7)
Callum Irving, Ottawa, 540 (6)
Ben McKendry, WFC2, 540 (6)
Terran Campbell, WFC2, 515 (7)
Richie Laryea, OCB, 492 (6)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 459 (6)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, 450 (5)
Ryan James, Rochester, 450 (5)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 441 (6)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, 393 (7)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 382 (6)
David Norman Jr., WFC2, 377 (5)
Amer Didic, Swope Park, 360 (4)
Bradley Kamdem Fewo, Rochester, 343 (5)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, 342 (5)
Maxim Tissot, Richmond, 340 (4)
Tyler Pasher, Swope Park, 330 (5)
Jordan Schweitzer, OCB, 329 (5)
Mackenzie Pridham, Reno, 313 (6)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 302 (4)
Gloire Amanda, WFC2, 301 (7)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 301 (4)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 300 (4)
Jordan Dover, Rochester, 288 (4)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 271 (5)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, OCB, 270 (3)
Michael Cox, OCB, 261 (3)
Anthony Osorio, TFCII, 257 (3)
Dominick Zator, WFC2, 248 (3)
Sergio Camargo, TFCII, 243 (5)
Shaan Hundal, TFCII, 216 (3)
Daniel Haber, Real Monarchs, 206 (6)
A.J. Gray, Phoenix, 181 (4)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Swope Park, 180 (2)
Jordan Hamilton, TFCII, 180 (2)
Sean Melvin, WFC2, 180 (2)
Malik Johnson, TFCII, 164 (3)
Kadin Chung, WFC2, 122 (2)
Jay Chapman, TFCII, 90 (1)
Raheem Edwards, TFCII, 90 (1)
Aron Mkungwila, Ottawa, 90 (1)
Kyle Porter, Tampa Bay, 66 (1)
Mele Temguia, FC Cincinnati, 62 (1)
Chris Nanco, Bethlehem Steel, 54 (2)
Marco Bustos, WFC2, 52 (1)
Mark-Anthony Kaye, Louisville, 36 (2)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 34 (2)
Skylar Thomas, Charleston, 33 (3)
Aidan Daniels, TFCII, 33  (1)
Brian Wright, Tulsa, 30 (1)
Josh Heard, Bethlehem Steel, 21 (2)
Dante Campbell, TFCII, 8 (1)
Chris Serban, WFC2, 8 (1)
Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, Ottawa, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, USL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

WFC2,3078/7 (439.7)

TFCII, 2773/7 (396.1)

Ottawa, 1472/6 (245.3)

Rochester, 1081/5 (216.2)

Orlando City B, 1392/8 (174)

Swope Park Rangers, 870/6 (145)

Richmond, 970/7 (138.6)

Reno, 615/6 (102.5)

Phoenix, 452/5 (90.4)

Colorado Springs, 651/8 (81.4)

Real Monarchs SC, 206/6 (34.3)

Tulsa, 64/5 (12.8)

Bethlehem Steel FC, 75/6 (12.5)

Tampa Bay, 66/8 (8.3)

FC Cincinnati, 62/8 (7.8)

Louisville City, 36/6 (6)

Charleston, 33/7 (4.7)