Steven Sandor's Blog, page 46

Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings: MLS Week 6/NASL Week 3/USL Week 3

At this time last year (the conclusion of week 6 of the MLS season), 16 Canadians had each seen at least of minute of action for their respective MLS clubs.

This year, the number is down slightly to 14.

So, we can look at this one of two ways; Canadian soccer supporters could simply shrug and say “same old, same old but, at least we’re not plummeting badly.” Or, we could wonder why the number doesn’t grow at all, even though MLS continues to grow the number of the teams in the league.

Here are this week’s rankings of minutes played by Canadians in MLS, USL and NASL.

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Will Johnson, Orlando, 360 (4)
Cyle Larin, Orlando, 344 (4)
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 328 (5)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 270 (3)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 257 (5)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal,  230 (4)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 225 (3)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 196 (4)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 158 (4)
Raheem Edwards, TFC, 105 (2)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 91 (2)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 16 (2)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

Orlando City, 704/4 (176)

Vancouver, 676/5 (135.2)

Montreal, 572/5 (114.4)

Toronto FC, 558/5 (111.6)

FC Dallas, 158/4 (39.5)

NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Mason Trafford, Miami FC, 270 (3)
Nana Attakora, San Francisco, 180 (2)
Drew Beckie, Jacksonville, 180 (2)
Dejan Jakovic, New York, 180 (2)
Nik Ledgerwood, FCE, 180 (2)
Karl Ouimette, San Francisco, 180 (2)
Kyle Bekker, San Francisco, 179 (2)
Adam Straith, FCE, 165 (2)
Ben Fisk, FCE, 94 (2)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

San Francisco, 539/2 (269.5)

FC Edmonton, 439/2 (219.5)

Miami FC, 270/3 (90)

Jacksonville, 180/2 (90)

New York, 180/3 (60)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 338 (4)
Ben McKendry, WFC2, 270 (3)
Mallan Roberts, Richmond, 270 (3)
Maxim Tissot, Richmond, 250 (3)
Richie Laryea, OCB, 235 (3)
Mastanabal Kacher, Colorado Springs, 228 (3)
Terran Campbell, WFC2, 180 (3)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, 180 (2)
Jordan Dover, Rochester, 180 (2)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 180 (2)
Callum Irving, Ottawa, 180 (2)
Ryan James, Rochester, 180 (2)
Bradley Kamdem Fewo, Rochester, 180 (2)
Michael Cox, OCB, 171 (2)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 162 (2)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, 159 (2)
Mackenzie Pridham, Reno, 153 (3)
David Norman Jr., WFC2, 151 (2)
Malik Johnson, TFCII, 135 (2)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 109 (3)
Gloire Amanda, WFC2, 106 (3)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, 103 (3)
A.J. Gray, Phoenix, 100 (2)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 96 (2)
Sergio Camargo, TFCII, 90 (3)
Jay Chapman, TFCII, 90 (1)
Kadin Chung, WFC2, 90 (1)
Raheem Edwards, TFCII, 90 (1)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, OCB, 90 (1)
Shaan Hundal, TFCII, 90 (1)
Anthony Osorio, TFCII, 90 (1)
Jordan Schweitzer, OCB, 90 (1)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 90 (1)
Dominick Zator, WFC2, 68 (1)
Tyler Pasher, Swope Park, 65 (1)
Mele Temguia, FC Cincinnati, 62 (1)
Daniel Haber, Real Monarchs, 40 (3)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 32 (1)
Brian Wright, Tulsa, 30 (1)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 16 (1)
Mark-Anthony Kaye, Louisville, 13 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

WFC2, 1127/3 (375.7)

TFCII, 1373/4 (343.3)

Rochester, 540/2 (270)

Ottawa, 438/2 (219)

Richmond, 520/3 (173.3)

Orlando City B, 586/4 (146.5)

Colorado Springs, 228/3 (76)

Phoenix, 209/3 (69.7)

Reno, 185/3 (61.7)

Swope Park Rangers, 65/2 (32.5)

FC Cincinnati, 62/3 (20.7)

Tulsa, 46/3 (15.3)

Real Monarchs SC, 40/3 (13.3)

Louisville City, 13/3 (4.3)

 

Goalkeeping errors doom CanWNT in Germany

Linda Dallman scored late to give Germany a 2-1 win over the Canadian women’s national team Sunday in Erfurt. But that’s not going to be the main talking point of this game between world no. 5-ranked Canada and the top-ranked Germans.

No, unfortunately that honour goes to Canadian keeper Kailen Sheridan, who gifted the hosts the opening goal. It was bad enough of a mistake that Canada Soccer didn’t include it in its official YouTube capsule package of the game — the highlights begin with Canada down 1-0. Now, it should be noted that there were WiFi problems at the stadium — so there could be some explanation for the way the highlights were edited.

But what you won’t see is Sheridan mishitting a backpass with her left foot, and ball rolling past her and into the net. For sure, it’s an embarrassing own goal — but keepers have to be the most mentally tough players on the pitch and, in some bizarre way, we can argue that giving up a goal like that in a friendly will actually be good for Sheridan down the road; that it will only force her to understand that you’ve got to forget the bad goals and remain in the moment.

Keeper Kailen Sheridan in action against Germany. PHOTO: MIRKO KAPPES/CANADA SOCCER

(As an aside, it should be mentioned that omitting an embarrassing own goal only cements the rather outdated notion that women’s sports should be covered differently than men’s sports.)

And, it needs to be said Sheridan wasn’t the only goalkeeping culprit on the day. Canada equalized thanks to Deanne Rose’s finish of a Janine Beckie cross. At halftime, Stephanie Labbe came in for Sheridan.

It was Labbe’s poor punch of a German corner kick that led to Dallman’s winner. She pushed it right out to the top of the penalty area, basically teeing up the ball for the German match-winner.

 

Eddies dominate on the stat sheet, but not on the scoreboard

FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller’s emotions about Saturday night’s home-opener loss can be summed up in one word.

Disbelief.

“I’m in disbelief that we lost that game,” he said after the Eddies’ 1-0 loss to Jacksonville. “We battered Jacksonville for 80 minutes. We’ll play worse and win.”

The Eddies held the advantage in shots, possession, territorial advantage. Pick a stat other than the scoreline, and the bar would have favoured the Eddies.

But FCE couldn’t recover from what Miller called an “atrocious” goal in the eighth minute. According to Jacksonville coach Mark Lowry, the Armada worked all week long on set pieces. The players and coaches discussed that, on the first corner of the game, they’d take it short.

And that’s what they did.

The ball went to Zach Steinberger, who, from a bad angle, decided to have a shot on goal. There were a couple of blue FC Edmonton shirts between Steinberger and the goal; what looked to be a harmless shot went in between the pair of defenders. But keeper Chris Konopka, who had the area covered, somehow allowed the ball to squeeze in between him and the near post.

“Santa Claus is coming to town,” Miller said of the goal.

After that, the Eddies took control, but couldn’t convert. Dustin Corea lashed a shot on goal that forced Armada keeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell into a good save. And, then, with time ticking down in the first half, Dean Shiels hit a low cross for Tomi Ameobi in the Armada penalty area. Ameobi went into a slide to try and poke the ball in the net, but he hit the turf just a half-second too early, and the ball went off his instep rather than off the sole of his boot. Instead of going into the net, the ball just kinda stuck to Amoebas leg and Patterson-Sewell was able to claim.

The second half saw the Eddies create more chances. Corea had another go at goal. Ameobi had a couple of chances go wide.

On the counter, late in the second half, Armada sub Derek Gebhard poked an effort off the post.

Then, in the 85th, the Eddies had their best chance of the game. Adam Straith, playing at centre back in place of the absent Pape Diakite, who Miller said was “unwell,” got his head into a Ben Fisk corner, and crashed his effort off the crossbar. Straith’s family was in attendance, and it could have been a storybook game for the Canadian national-teamer.

It would go down as the Eddies’ final good chance of the game.

Straith said that, despite the strong spells of possession and the scoring chances, that the goal conceded would eat away at the team.

“We shut off. We had a few players go to sleep. That can’t happen in the first few minutes of the game.”

CONCACAF TrumpTacoPoutine Superbid: What can Canada expect from a joint World Cup effort?

MEMO: On April 10, the heads of the Mexican, American and Canadian soccer bodies will gather in New York for a “special” announcement. We all know it’s going to be the official kickoff of the Joint CONCACAF Superbid (™) for the 2026 FIFA World Cup (™).

Three countries! Multiple time zones! Three CONCACAF spots booked for a 48-team World Cup, unless FIFA has a change of heart and changes it to a 96-team World Cup! Or a 256-team World Cup, with some countries allowed to enter more than one team!

I look forward to our CONCACAF TrumpTacoPoutine Superbid.

For one, well, FIFA rules state that, for senior tournaments, all games have to be played on the same type of surface. So, of COURSE that means Mexican and American venues are going to have to make sure they’ve got artificial turf to match the Canadian standard! Yes! I can’t wait to hear droning international-feed commentators moaning about how brutal the turf temperature is at Azteca Stadium during an afternoon game in July.

“Clive, I think the French goalkeeper just combusted. Blew up right in front of our eyes.”

“Oh my god, that turf is hot. It’s been at least 45 seconds since we’ve had our last turf-temp update. Let’s get another!”

Like, really, who puts grass in stadiums anymore? The kind of people who still know what a Sidecar is and smoke when they’re pregnant, that’s who. Want to put some grass down in your stadium? How about buying some eight-track tapes while you’re at it? Hey, I hear Beta is cool!

As anti-grass Canadian, I’ve been symbolically helping by trying to kill the grass on my lawn for a few years, now.

Next, with Mexico, the United States and Canada splitting the bid, we pretty well know right now which country is getting stuck with the third-place game. Yeah, we’ll be seeing the world in Edmonton for that one.

But, what about a three-country opening ceremony? Will Rush need to belt out “New World Man” in Spanish? Maybe Terry Jacks can perform his re-written version of “Seasons in the Sun” with a chorus of Tigres supporters backing him? Maybe Drake can do a poetic rendition of the NAFTA agreement?  I’d like to just put in my vote right now for LCD Soundsystem’s “North American Scum” as the theme song for the 2026 World Cup bid (and for the World Cup, if we get it).

As for those who travel to this continent for the World Cup, will they get a special pass to get them through the wall? Oh, yeah, the wall! Like that’s not going to be a giant elephant in the room during the bid kick-off press conference.

“So, um, you’re all bidding together, but America is looking at building a wall between itself and Mexico.”

That should be a little bit uncomfortable for Mexican Football Federation President Decio de Maria and United States Soccer Federation head Sunil Galati. I’m sure they’ve spent some serious time with their PR people going over exactly what to say when that question comes up. 

And, of course, there are those who will say “but Trump won’t be president in 2026.” That’s not the issue. The issue is who will be president when FIFA votes on who will get the 2026 World Cup. And Trump will likely be in the Oval Office when that vote is taken.



But, let’s just pretend that this World Cup bid is successful! My dream World Cup group would be one that sees teams travel from Cancun to Honolulu to St. John’s. That would be awesome — and would have almost as many travel miles as an average FC Edmonton road trip!

But the best part of this… is Canada qualifies for the World Cup! Yeah! I was 15 years old when Canada played in Mexico’ 86, I’ll be, whoa, get the calculator, 55 when Canada plays at World Cup 2026! Unless, of course, I die first. I mean, at what age does that become a worry?

Kidding aside, with the World Cup format expanding to 48 teams, and the costs to host the mundial only increasing, continental superbids will become more common. It’s simply too much to ask one nation to put aside the billions of dollars or Euros needed to host a 48-team tournament on its own.

 

Canada’s three-headed monster strikes against Sweden

The goal that gave the Canadian women’s national team a 1-o win in Sweden Thursday was a perfect example of the three-pronged attempt that coach John Herdman will have at his disposal over the next few years.

The Olympic bronze medallists got one over on the Olympic silver medallists thanks to some deft interplay between Deanne Rose, Christine Sinclair and Janine Beckie. Rose got the ball on the left side, and played a smart ball to the top of the Swedish penalty area to Sinclair. Then, Sinclair was able to send a bouncing ball through the centre of the Swedish defence, where Beckie dashed into the clear. Beckie’s clever finish inside the post was her third national-team goal of 2017, her 15th overall.

Sinclair is the No. 2 all-time leading goal-scorer in international women’s soccer, but with the young blood of Rose and Beckie surrounding her, she’s transitioned into a provider, working just behind the forward line to open up defensive lines as she did on Thursday. Beckie has already moved up to ninth on Canada’s all-time scoring list, and she shows real composure to carry the torch and become Canada’s next big finisher (if she isn’t, already). And Rose offers pace and the ability to take on defenders one-on-one, the kind of wild-card offensive talent who can either finish chances or begin attacks.

It’s a three headed monster — and it kinda reminds you of a hockey line, doesn’t it? Maybe Beckie, Sinclair and Rose need a snazzy collective nickname, like we give to the best lines in hockey.

“It was a real team performance tonight,” Herdman was quoted by Canada Soccer after the match.  “It was arguably some of the best possession play I’ve seen from our team.  We’ve been working on that as a team and have made it our intent to move forward in that space.  I’m proud of what they put out there tonight against a really physical Sweden team.”

Canada’s next jaunt on this European mini-tour is a battle against the FIFA No. 1-ranked Germans. And, while we’re a long way off from a Women’s World Cup or the next Olympics, Canada needs to use this time to see if it can cement itself as a real top-tier side, that is regularly mentioned in the same breath as the Swedes, Germans and Americans.

 

FCE’s Straith looks forward to his first league game on Canadian soil

For Adam Straith, Saturday’s FC Edmonton game is going to be very special.

As a member of the Canadian national side, he’s played on this country’s soil many times. But Saturday’s home opener against the Jacksonville Armada will mark the first time he’s been part of a professional club match played in his home and native land. His family is making the trip from Victoria to Edmonton to take in the game.

“I’ve been looking forward for a few weeks to get here and play in Canada,” Straith said after Thursday’s training session at Clarke Field. “It will be my first league game in Canada, it’s special for me. Looking forward to getting in front of our Canadian fans.”

Straith started in last weekend’s season-opening 1-0 loss in Jacksonville, alongside fellow Canadian national-team members Ben Fisk and Nik Ledgerwood. All three played in our national side’s 1-1 draw with Scotland in March.

Straith signed a spring-season deal with the Eddies in the offseason, and he got a real baptism of fire when it comes to what life is like in the NASL. Not only did the Eddies have to play an afternoon game in sweltering conditions, they had a nightmare of a travel (mis)adventure getting back to Edmonton. Severe weather in Atlanta — which is the major air hub for the American south — affected flights throughout Florida. So, the Eddies had to split up and find alternate routes home. Some were stuck in Atlanta, some went to Toronto and routed back to Edmonton from there. Another group, which included coach Colin Miller, were flown out to San Francisco (that’s right, they were flown all the way out to the Pacific Coast) and had to spend the night at the airport.

Ledgerwood said that, with all the delays, it amounted to a 35-hour travel day for his group.

“I was told that was probably our worst travel schedule,” said Straith.

“It’s a bit too early for me to give a full review of the league, but it was obviously not an easy game,” said Straith of his first match. “In the heat, down in Florida, it never makes it easy. I’ve played down there before, but it’s different when you’re in a climate like this (Edmonton) for most of the preseason and have to go down there. That was a challenge. I don’t think we played as a well as we can, or that we showed in the preseason.”

The weather is expected to be just above the freezing mark on Saturday night, so outside of Canadian Drew Beckie, there could be some temperature shocks for the Armada players.

“I think it becomes a six-pointer already, because we played them last week and we don’t want to have a gap to develop between ourselves Jacksonville,” Miller said. “With a win on Saturday we can move up to the middle of the table. We’re at home, we’ve played well at home, touch wood, consistently we’ve been good. It’s a difficult venue for teams to come and play against us. So, we want to be on the front foot. I want us to press the ball a little bit higher — we’ve worked on it again this morning. We know how Jacksonville will play, they haven’t changed very much, I don’t expect them to change very much for this coming weekend. There wasn’t much between the two teams last week, there was an error in the middle of the park and we got punished for that.”

 

OILERS FEVER

Miller ended his press availability with a message for the Edmonton Oilers and their coach, Todd McLellan. The Oilers have made the NHL playoffs for the first time since they appeared in the 2006 Stanley Cup final, where they lost in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I just wanted to compliment the Edmonton Oilers on qualifying for the playoffs,” Miller said. “I know how much the sport means to the city, and I know how much work has gone on to make them a playoff-bound team. Well done to Todd. I don’t know Todd, but I could see the work that he was doing and how the team was improving — not being a hockey guy. But the sense of excitement in the city for the Oilers, you can see that. But I hope we don’t forget about the Eddies.”

Whitecaps muff chance to draw CCL semifinal level, pay for it in the end

When you’re an underdog, facing a team that has a huge talent advantage, you know this. You are going to get outchanced. You aren’t going to have the lion’s share of the possession. What you need to do — to have any chance at all — is understand that if a clear scoring opportunity falls to your feet, you have to take advantage of it.  

At the end of the night, the “attempts at goal” stat might be 20-2 in your opponent’s favour, so you know that those two chances you’ll get both have to end up in the back of the net.

After the Whitecaps lost 2-1 Wednesday to Mexican powerhouse Tigres at BC Place Wednesday night — dropping their CONCACAF Champions League 4-1 on aggregate — you could very rightly say it could have been worse. If not for some poor finishing early on from Tigres, if not for a series of inspired second-half saves from Vancouver keeper David Ousted, it could have been 6-1 or 7-1.

But, there’s another view, as well. With the Whitecaps trailing 2-0 after the first leg, Brek Shea gave the home side a wonder start, pouncing on an abysmal clearing attempt from Tigres keeper Nahuel Guzman and smashing a half-volley into the net. That stood all the way to halftime.

So, the Caps came out of the break trailing just 2-1 on aggregate, and then began the second half with another chance. A ball was slipped into the box on a clever-back heel, and Cristian Techera had a chance to equalize right in front of the Tigres goal. But, the ball got caught in his feet, he couldn’t muster the deft touch needed to take advantage of the chance. Eventually the ball found its way to Whitecap Christian Bolanos, who had a decent shot on goal, but it came from such a poor angle that you’d expect any decent keeper to save the shot — and that’s what Guzman did.

Really, the chance died with Techera — and the Whitecaps let Tigres off the hook, knowing that it wasn’t going to be the kind of night where more chances were going to flow.

After Andre-Pierre Gignac’s fantastic strike from outside the box and Damian Alvarez’s insurance goal after about 10 straight minutes of intense Tigres pressure, this was all over.

But, really, the night was lost on Techera’s heavy-footed first touch.

Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings, MLS Week 5/NASL Week 2/USL Week 2

Former Canadian U-17 and U-20 player of the year Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla scored his first MLS goal on Saturday, giving the Montreal Impact a 2-1 lead that it would later relinquish and have to settle for a tie in Chicago. Tabla’s goal was likely the biggest in-game moment for any Canadian in MLS this past weekend, but, yeah, I know a lot of you reading this are still wondering just where his national-team loyalty lies. His refusal to join the Canadian U-20 team for the CONCACAF Championship created some waves in this country’s soccer community, and now we watch this young talent with a “will he or won’t he?” mentality. Of course, being a Canadian soccer supporter means that you’re totally used to this. So, just another day at the office, really.

In other news, despite the fact his team lost its USL debut 3-2 to Saint Louis, congratulations have to go out to the Ottawa’s Fury Eddie Edward on scoring his first goal for the team. Before joining the Fury midway through the 2016 season, Edward spent four and a half seasons with the Puerto Rico Islanders and FC Edmonton combined, and didn’t find the back of the net. (Though, I clearly remember several chances, and what went down as an own goal to the opposition that was created by Edward).

Here are the rankings of Canadian minutes in MLS, NASL and USL this week. This marks the first week where every team in all three leagues have played at least one game each, so we’re getting a better feel of which Canadians are going to see regular playing time.

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Will Johnson, Orlando, 270 (3)
Cyle Larin, Orlando, 254 (3)
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 251 (4)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 240 (4)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 225 (3)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 188 (3)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 180 (2)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal,  140 (3)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 131 (3)
Raheem Edwards, TFC, 105 (2)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 16 (2)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 1 (1)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

Orlando City, 524/3 (174.7)

Toronto FC, 533/4 (133.3)

Vancouver, 496/4 (124)

Montreal, 405/4 (101.3)

FC Dallas, 131/3 (43.7)

 

NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Mason Trafford, Miami FC, 180 (2)
Nana Attakora, San Francisco, 90 (1)
Drew Beckie, Jacksonville, 90 (1)
Kyle Bekker, San Francisco, 90 (1)
Dejan Jakovic, New York, 90 (1)
Nik Ledgerwood, FCE, 90 (1)
Karl Ouimette, San Francisco, 90 (1)
Ben Fisk, FCE, 75 (1)
Adam Straith, FCE, 75 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

San Francisco, 270/1 (270)

FC Edmonton, 240/1 (240)

Miami FC, 180/2 (90)

Jacksonville, 90/1 (90)

New York, 90/2 (45)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Ben McKendry, WFC2, 180 (2)
Mallan Roberts, Richmond, 180 (2)
Michael Cox, OCB, 171 (2)
Maxim Tissot, Richmond, 160 (2)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, 159 (2)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 158 (2)
Mastanabal Kacher, Colorado Springs, 155 (2)
Terran Campbell, WFC2, 135 (1)
A.J. Gray, Phoenix, 100 (2)
Mackenzie Pridham, Reno, 90 (2)
Jay Chapman, TFCII, 90 (1)
Kadin Chung, WFC2, 90 (1)
Jordan Dover, Rochester, 90 (1)
Raheem Edwards, TFCII, 90 (1)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 90 (1)
Callum Irving, Ottawa, 90 (1)
Ryan James, Rochester, 90 (1)
Bradley Kamdem Fewo, Rochester, 90 (1)
Anthony Osorio, TFCII, 90 (1)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 90 (1)
David Norman Jr., WFC2, 78 (1)
Richie Laryea, OCB, 74 (1)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 72 (1)
Tyler Pasher, Swope Park, 65 (1)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 34 (2)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 32 (1)
Daniel Haber, Real Monarchs, 31 (2)
Brian Wright, Tulsa, 30 (1)
Sergio Camargo, TFCII, 19 (1)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 18 (1)
Gloire Amanda, WFC2, 16 (2)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 16 (1)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, 13 (2)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

WFC2, 671/2 (335.5)

TFCII, 627/2 (313.5)

Rochester, 270/1 (270)

Ottawa, 180/1 (180)

Richmond, 340/2 (170)

Orlando City B, 245/2 (122.5)

Colorado Springs, 155/2 (77.5)

Phoenix, 134/2 (67)

Reno, 122/2 (61)

Swope Park Rangers, 65/2 (32.5)

Tulsa, 46/2 (23)

Real Monarchs SC, 31/2 (15.5)

 

Armada beats FCE on Banks’s goal

JC Banks pounced on an FC Edmonton giveaway in the middle of the park — and then made the visiting Eddies pay.

His 77th-minute goal gave the Jacksonville Armada a 1-0 victory Sunday at Hodges Stadium over the Eddies, as both teams opened their NASL campaigns.

Banks grabbed a loose Edmonton pass in midfield, then darted in and around a sea of FCE white jerseys, before finishing the chance with his left foot. FCE goalie Chris Konopka, making his NASL debut, got a hand to the shot, but not enough to keep it out.

But, the question: Should the Armada have had 11 players on the pitch? Go back to the 12th minutes, and referee Rubiel Vazquez made a major decision to make. Armada midfielder Jonathan Glenn was whistled for raking his studs on the midsection of FCE central defender Albert Watson. Glenn saw only yellow, and remained on the pitch.

“I wouldn’t call any of our players a cheat,” said FCE coach Colin Miller. “So if our player is down, there has to be a reason. I thought it was a red card, but I’d have to see it again. For me, at first glance, I thought that he (Glenn) was very lucky to stay on the pitch.”

Banks had the best first-half chance for the Armada, lashing a shot wide in the eighth minute.

The Eddies’ best chance came fairly early in the game, with left back Netan Sansara — making his NASL debut — launching a low cross into the Jacksonville penalty area aimed for striker Tomi Ameobi. That led to a collision between Armada defenders, Ameobi and keeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell, but the ball stayed out.

“Netan did very well getting forward in the first half,” said Miller. “Unfortunately, we didn’t play the ball as much to him in the second half. And we need that, we need both of our fullbacks going forward.”

Armada’s JC Banks skips past FCE’s Shawn Nicklaw. PHOTO: NASL

At halftime, Miller said he told his team that “there was nothing between the sides” and that he felt that it would take a major error by the Eddies for Jacksonville to win the game. The misplay in midfield, though, is what ended up allowing Banks to begin his second-half goal-scoring run.

Glenn had a weak shot on goal in the 69th minute that was easily saved by Eddies goalie Chris Konopka, who made his NASL bow. The fact that Glenn’s half-chance (at best) even made the match report is an indication of how close-to-the-vest this game was played.

Canadian Drew Beckie started at fullback for the Armada, while Canadians Adam Straith, Ben Fisk and Nik Ledgerwood — who all played for Canada in last week’s draw in Scotland — all started for the Eddies.

For the Armada, a team that is now run by the league, searching for a new owner and is using a minimal 20-man roster to help cut costs, the win was a relief after an off-season of uncertainty.

“This is not the end, this is just the beginning,” Armada coach Mark Lowry told the Jacksonville broadcast crew at the end of the match.

Miller said he’s disappointed to lose, but this was simply the first of a 32-game schedule. He said that many of his players on the day weren’t at the their best in possession, and that’s something that needs to be rectified when the Armada visits the Eddies for next Saturday’s Clarke Field opener.

“No need to panic — we have 31 games to go, and we have the chance to set it right next week in our home opener.”

TFCII and WFC2’s early Can-con shortage not an issue for the CSA

On the opening weekend of the USL season, neither WFC2 or TFCII came close to meeting their Canadian-content requirements.

Both teams bubbled just under the 270-minute mark when it comes to time played by Canadians. Under Canadian Soccer Association requirements, the reserve teams of the MLS sides have to give playing time to Canadians equivalent to six players out of their starting XI. Or, to put it in straight math, 540 minutes per game.

The CSA confirmed Friday that those requirements haven’t changed with USL’s move from Division-3 to Division-2 status. But it did state that these are “reserve roster” rules, as in, applying to reserve teams. So, when it comes to the Ottawa Fury, which is an independent affiliate of the Montreal Impact, well, that’s a different kind of animal.

In a response to questions posed by The 11, Canada Soccer had this to say about the opening weekend’s low Canadian-content numbers.

“The reserve roster CANCON rules are in place to help ensure meaningful minutes for Canadians. 

 “In 2016, the clubs met the standard and purpose as outlined by the rule:
FC Montreal — approximately 90 per cent of available minutes to Canadians

Toronto FC II — approximately 60 per cent
WFC2 — approximately 56 per cent




 
“After one game, Canadians played less than 25 per cent for Vancouver and TFC. The ultimate goal, as above, is minutes for Canadians over the course of a season. The rules were designed to provide a minimum to the teams so that they could achieve this target. Circumstances will often dictate that some flexibility will be needed — injuries, first-team call ups, international absences, etc.  The international break and youth events over the weekend, Canada’s U23 camp and Senior match in Scotland, injuries, and the MLS weekend off for both TFC and VWFC due to the break were all contributing factors we find acceptable.”