Steven Sandor's Blog, page 47
March 29, 2017
Eddies still recall pain of the 2015 Jacksonville opener
It still bothers FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller.
Two years ago, the Eddies opened the spring season at Jacksonville. The Armada’s Jemal Johnson scored just 12 seconds after the kickoff, setting a new league record for fastest marker from the start of an NASL match.
The Eddies open their 2017 NASL season Sunday in Jacksonville, and Miller still thinks about that Johnson goal, and the 3-1 loss the Eddies took on the night.
“We now owe them one,” said Miller after Wednesday’s training session at Clarke Field. “It still eats away at me that we set the NASL record of the quickest goal against in Jacksonville. We’ll try to rectify that result. We’ve done well over the last few times we’ve played down in Jacksonville. They’ve got one or two changes on their team, but we have to go down there with the mindset that we’ll get three points.”
One of those Jacksonville changes is the addition of Canadian Drew Beckie, formerly of the then-named Carolina RailHawks.
Miller said one of the challenges will be adjusting to the Florida heat. The Eddies were training outside in what an Albertan would consider delightful spring weather, around 10 C. But, with the humidity, it could be almost 20 degrees C warmer than that when the two teams face each other in Florida this weekend.
“We’re leaving Edmonton… and at last check it was 88 degrees (F) in Jacksonville with the humidity,” said Miller. “You have to take all these factors; from our point of view, we don’t get that same sort of weather here. So the fitness levels and the attitude of the players cannot be a soft mentality.
Nik Ledgerwood vs. Armada, from 2016.“We’re excited about the squad that’s traveling down to Jacksonville, we’ll take an extra couple of players because we’ll train down there,” said Miller. “It’s a difficult fixture, it’s very nice of the NASL, rather than playing us in San Francisco, they decide to fly us down to Florida for the first game. But that’s OK, we’ve done it before.”
FCE captain Nik Ledgerwood says the team needs to “pick things up where we left off last season.” The team enjoyed its best-ever NASL campaign in 2016, and got to the semifinals.
“The mentality hasn’t changed,” said Ledgerwood. “We’re still going to be tough to score on. But I think we’ve brought in some offensive flair as well. I think we want to make more an offensive game, especially at home, we want to push for more games where we’re not just waiting for the last 10 minutes to grab that 1-0 goal.”
A lot will fall on new signing Dean Shiels, the Arsenal youth product and Northern Irish international is the “game-changing” signing that Miller had promised.
Defender Karsten Smith was on the sidelines doing fitness drills, but isn’t healthy enough to travel. Midfielders Dustin Corea and Sainey Nyassi, who were doubts earlier in the week, are both now fit to travel.
It’s an odd situation for the Eddies (and the Armada). They were both off last week, when the rest of the NASL got going. So, Miller used the time to take in action from around the league.
“It once again reinforces that this league is one of the best,” he said. “It’s so competitive from top to bottom. There are no gimmes in this league, which is fantastic. I watched two out of the three games this weekend, and I was very impressed.”
Oilers: CanPL “not on our radar”
Unfortunately, for the yet-to-be-announced Canadian Premier League, information (or misinformation, depending on your perspective) continues to trickle out and surface on blogs and social media and message boards and in soccer discussions amongst friends. The latest flashpoint came earlier this week, when the since-Christened “Halifax Documents” got onto message boards and social media.
These PDFs appeared to come from Sports and Entertainment Atlantic, as part of their pitch for a ground in Halifax — so a new pro team would be set to join the CanPL. The document showed a map of Canada, indicating Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Ottawa and Halifax as the group’s Original Six.
Of course, with FC Edmonton already in place in the NASL, and the club maintaining its public stance that its loyal to that league, there was talk about where the Edmonton bid was coming from. And then the Edmonton Oilers were brought into play, with the rumour mill churning out that Daryl Katz, the owner of that NHL team, was behind a CanPL bid for the once-officially-named-but-now-unofficially-named City of Champions.
So, today, I asked the Oilers Entertainment Group point-blank about their involvement with the Canadian Premier League. And the statement:
“We are not in discussions and it’s not on our radar.”
So, that’s it. A full-on denial from OEG. Some of you will no doubt read it as a smokescreen. Some of you won’t. The truth is, a lot of the Canadian soccer community are (scarily) a lot like Trump supporters — we’ve already made our minds up what we want to believe.
I present what I have on the record. And that’s a flat-out denial from the Oilers.
March 27, 2017
Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings, MLS Week 4/NASL Week 1/USL Week 1
Major League Soccer’s skeleton weekend schedule didn’t feature any Canadian players, so the big stories of the weekend were the launches of the NASL and USL seasons — both leagues now sharing the Division-2 designation.
And the key storyline out of the second division is that the San Francisco Deltas of the NASL outpaced the USL’s TFCII and WFC2 when it came to playing Canadians. TFCII and WFC2 each gave less than San Francisco’s 270 total minutes to Canadian players.
And, congratulations need to go out to Kyle Bekker for scoring the first goal in the history of the expansion Deltas; he got the home team’s marker in a 1-1 draw with the Indy Eleven. (UPDATE: Bekker has been named the NASL’s Player of the Week).
Since USL received its sanction through the United States Soccer Federation to move up from Division-3 to Division-2 , the Canadian Soccer Association has not directly addressed media inquiries about the 2017 roster requirements (we’ve asked several times).
Under CSA rules in 2016, the Canadian USL teams — then at Division-3 level in North America — has to give an average 540 minutes of playing time per game for Canadian players over the course of the season.
But, on the USL’s 2017 season-opening weekend, neither TFCII or WFC2 got to even half that number.
Over the off-season, the Ottawa Fury’s move from NASL to USL was confirmed, and the USL moved from Division-3 to Division-2. So, the USL is a much different animal than it was in 2016. It is now, officially, an equal to the NASL.,
Ottawa begins USL play next weekend, and FC Edmonton had a bye week to start the NASL campaign. The Eddies open in Jacksonville next weekend.
MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 223 (3)
Will Johnson, Orlando, 180 (2)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 180 (2)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 164 (3)
Cyle Larin, Orlando, 164 (2)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 135 (2)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 131 (3)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 126 (2)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal, 50 (2)
Raheem Edwards, TFC, 15 (1)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 9 (1)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 1 (1)
TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017
Orlando City, 344/2 (172)
Vancouver, 405/3 (135)
Toronto FC, 305/3 (101.7)
Montreal, 280/3 (93.3)
FC Dallas, 131/3 (43.7)
NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS
Nana Attakora, San Francisco, 90 (1)
Kyle Bekker, San Francisco, 90 (1)
Karl Ouimette, San Francisco, 90 (1)
Mason Trafford, Miami FC, 90 (1)
TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017
San Francisco, 270/1 (270)
Miami FC, 90/1 (90)
USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS
Terran Campbell, WFC2, 90 (1)
Jay Chapman, TFCII, 90 (1)
Michael Cox, OCB, 90 (1)
Raheem Edwards, TFCII, 90 (1)
Ben McKendry, WFC2, 90 (1)
Mallan Roberts, Richmond, 90 (1)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 87 (1)
Richie Laryea, OCB, 74 (1)
Maxim Tissot, Richmond, 70 (1)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, 69 (1)
Mastanabal Kacher, Colorado Springs, 65 (1)
Mackenzie Pridham, Reno, 56 (1)
Daniel Haber, Real Monarchs, 27 (1)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 22 (1)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 16 (1)
Gloire Amanda, WFC2, 11 (1)
A.J. Gray, Phoenix, 10 (1)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, 1 (1)
USL TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017
TFCII, 267/1 (267)
WFC2, 261/1 (261)
Orlando City B, 164/1 (164)
Richmond, 160/1 (160)
Colorado Springs, 65/1 (65)
Reno, 56/1 (56)
Phoenix, 32/1 (32)
Real Monarchs SC, 27/1 (27)
Tulsa, 16/1 (16)
March 22, 2017
The Aird up there: Canadian shines in draw with Scotland
So, well, Fraser Aird sure looked like he was pretty pumped to play for Canada in Scotland, didn’t he?
Canada drew Scotland 1-1; Aird was named man of the match — and this wasn’t a hard selection. He was on a different plane than any of the other players wearing Canadian red or Scottish blue at Edinburgh’s Easter Road Wednesday night.
Playing in front of a sparse crowd (what? Like Canada isn’t a draw for the Scots?) of 9,158, Aird brought Canada to life in just the 11th minute, capitalizing on a dreadful error from Scottish defender Lee Wallace, who had a chance to clear but took an awful first touch that left the ball in the area for Aird. The Canadian didn’t flub his lines, putting the ball into the corner of the net. Aird, the former Rangers player who played for Scotland as a youth before switching to Canada, now plays his club football for Falkirk after spending last season on loan from Rangers to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Aird and Simeon Jackson had chances to increase Canada’s lead, but had their chances miss the target. Meanwhile, Scotland’s Robert Snodgrass had an effort go off the post.
Steven Naismith got Scotland level in the 35th, after a scrappy series in the box and Tom Cairney’s initial shot was blocked.
At halftime, goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler earned his second Canadian cap, coming on for starter Simon Thomas.
Leutwiler did well to get down low to stop a drive from Barry Bannan.
In the 67th, La’Vere Corbin-Ong made his Canadian debut, and we quickly learned one thing about him — his Rory Delap-like ability on long throw-ins will make him a weapon for Canada in the future. He’s got that ability to turn a throw-in deep in the opponent’s half into what amounts to a set-piece situation.
Ben Fisk came on in the 73rd minute; with Adam Straith and captain Nik Ledgerwood on the field, it gave FC Edmonton three men playing for the Canadian men’s national team at one time — a first for the club.
Aird wasn’t done. He took a drop pass from Ledgerwood and hit a vicious shot towards the Scottish goal that keeper Allan McGregor had to leap to get his fingertips to.
Jordan Rhodes had a chance to win it for Scotland in time added on; he made a good run into the box and was unmarked when a low cross found him. But, inexplicably, instead of shaping his body so he could angle the ball towards goal, he closed his legs and ended up blocking the ball like a hockey goalie closing the pads. The ball bounced away harmlessly. There is probably a metaphor for Scottish football there, but a lot of talk at last week’s Alberta Magazines Conference was about how the era of the thinkpiece has come to an end. So I won’t bore you with an unnecessary thinkpiece about the state of Scottish soccer.
Broadcast news: Majority of NASL games will be available to Canadian viewers via NASL.com
The North American Soccer League has just announced its American national broadcast schedule for the spring season. Whenever a soccer league that has teams in both the United States and Canada announces its broadcast plans for south of the border, those north of it are often left confused.
So, let’s break this down. The majority of games are going to be put on ESPN’s web platform, ESPN3. Canadians can’t access ESPN3. So, as in previous seasons, all games on ESPN3 will be broadcast on NASL.com, but accessible only to Canadian viewers. If you’re on a computer, and you’re in Canada, go to the NASL’s website, go to “video” and click on the tab for Canadian viewers. You can access the ESPN3 games there.
A selection of games will also be broadcast via beIN Sport, which we can access in Canada. FC Edmonton has two games on beIN in the spring season; June 3 in Puerto Rico and Canada Day (July 1) at the Jacksonville Armada.
As well, the San Francisco Deltas home games, including the June 17 game against FC Edmonton, will be broadcast via Twitter. With the Deltas having so much Can-con, from coach Marc Dos Santos to players like Kyle Bekker, Nana Attakora and Karl Ouimette, the fact that their games will be available via social media is a plus for Canadians who are curious to see just what is going on in the Bay Area.
The Twitter and beIN broadcasts won’t be available to Canadians viewers on NASL.com.
So, if the American broadcast deal announcements have you panicked, no need to be. For Canadians, it’s pretty much status quo from last season.
NASL.com game schedule for Canada
DATE TIME (ET) MATCHUP
Saturday, March 25 7:30 North Carolina vs. Miami
Saturday, April 1 3:00 Indy vs. Puerto Rico
Sunday, April 2 4:00 Jacksonville vs. Edmonton
Saturday, April 8 7:30 Miami vs. New York
Saturday, April 8 9:00 Edmonton vs. Jacksonville
Saturday, April 15 7:30 North Carolina vs. Edmonton
Saturday, April 22 3:00 Indy vs. San Francisco
Saturday, April 22 7:30 Miami vs. North Carolina
Saturday, April 22 9:00 Edmonton vs. Puerto Rico
Saturday, April 29 7:30 Puerto Rico vs. North Carolina
Saturday, April 29 7:30 Miami vs. Edmonton
Saturday, May 6 7:00 Jacksonville vs. New York
Saturday, May 6 7:30 Puerto Rico vs. Miami
Saturday, May 6 7:30 Indy vs. Edmonton
Saturday, May 13 7:00 New York vs. Puerto Rico
Saturday, May 13 7:30 Miami vs. Indy
Sunday, May 14 4:00 Edmonton vs. San Francisco
Saturday, May 20 7:30 Puerto Rico vs. North Carolina
Sunday, May 21 5:00 New York vs. Edmonton
Saturday, May 27 7:30 Miami vs. Puerto Rico
Saturday, May 27 9:00 Edmonton vs. Indy
Sunday, May 28 4:00 Jacksonville vs. North Carolina
Saturday, June 3 7:00 Jacksonville vs. Miami
Sunday, June 4 4:00 North Carolina vs. New York
Friday, June 9 7:30 New York vs. North Carolina
Saturday, June 10 7:30 Indy vs. Jacksonville
Saturday, June 10 9:00 Edmonton vs. Miami
Friday, June 16 7:30 New York vs. Puerto Rico
Saturday, June 17 7:30 Miami vs. Jacksonville
Saturday, June 24 7:30 North Carolina vs. Indy
Saturday, June 24 9:00 Edmonton vs. San Francisco
Sunday, June 25 6:00 Jacksonville vs. Puerto Rico
Tuesday, July 4 7:30 North Carolina vs. Miami
Friday, July 7 9:00 Edmonton vs. North Carolina
Saturday, July 8 7:30 Puerto Rico vs. Jacksonville
Saturday, July 8 7:30 Indy vs. New York
Saturday, July 15 7:30 Indy vs. Jacksonville
Saturday, July 15 9:00 Edmonton vs. New York
March 20, 2017
Manchester camp: Eddies enjoying more “freedom” in their attack
FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller spent some of Monday talking to the Scottish press about the importance of his club to the Canadian national side.
After all, three of his players — Nik Ledgerwood, Adam Straith and Ben Fisk — left the Eddies camp in Manchester, England on the weekend to join the Canadian national team in Scotland, as it prepares for a March 22 friendly there. And, defender Marko Aleksic has been summoned to join the Canadian U-23 team.
Meanwhile, the Eddies are set for the fourth match of their exhibition-game series in Manchester, England. The Eddies beat Wigan Athletic’s reserves 2-0, lost 2-1 to a Burnley side that featured a liberal dose of first-team players, then thrashed Newcastle United’s youth side, 5-1. The Eddies face Stoke City’s U-23 team on Tuesday.
With Ledgerwood off to play for Canada, coach Colin Miller said that fullback Netan Sansara will get the captain’s armband for the Stoke City match. Dustin Corea, who scored and set up a goal against Newcastle, will be out with a groin strain. And goalkeeper Nathan Ingham is nursing a strain in his kicking leg.
Miller said he’s been very pleased at how the squad has gelled.
“It’s been terrific,” he said. “The improvement in the squad from day one of camp to now, it’s been fantastic.”
Miller said he feels he has an “excellent, attack-minded group.” He’s used Straith — usually thought of as a back-line player or a holding midfielder — in a more attacking midfield role, with good results. He said the players all know that playing for the team with the best defensive record in NASL carries responsibilities, but he’s seeing a lot more inventiveness in attack so far this preseason, which is needed for a team that scored just 25 times in 32 league games last season.
“Every player here knows they have to buy into the defensive mindset, especially when we don’t have the ball,” said Miller. “But there’s a greater sense of freedom on the ball when we have it in attack.”
Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings, MLS Week 3
It’s a given that Canadians love to head to Florida — OK, maybe a little less so since Donald Trump was elected president of the United States — and that has become evident in our weekly ranking of minutes played by Canadians in the North American pro soccer leagues.
Orlando City leads the way, giving an average of 172 minutes per game to Canadians. It’s early in the season, but Cyle Larin is banging in goals at a great pace — already. He scored twice on Saturday as Orlando City beat Philadelphia by a 2-1 count. Will Johnson is starting. And, if Richie Laryea can get into the lineup, well, that would only add to the average.
So, Orlando City, so far at least, is Canada’s team. Well, Florida is kinda like the unofficial 11th province already, right?
MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 223 (3)
Will Johnson, Orlando, 180 (2)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 180 (2)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 164 (3)
Cyle Larin, Orlando, 164 (2)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 135 (2)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 131 (3)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 126 (2)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal, 50 (2)
Raheem Edwards, TFC, 15 (1)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 9 (1)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 1 (1)
TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017
Orlando City, 344/2 (172)
Vancouver, 405/3 (135)
Toronto FC, 305/3 (101.7)
Montreal, 280/3 (93.3)
FC Dallas, 131/3 (43.7)
March 17, 2017
A letter to new Canadian men’s team coach Octavio Zambrano
Attention: Octavia Zambrano, new men’s national-team head coach
Welcome to Canada, Mr. Zambrano! Congrats on being named on the head coach of the men’s national team. Your résumé is certainly impressive; the second highest winning percentage of any coach in MLS history; a well-documented coaching and technical-director history in your native Ecuador; and, maybe, most importantly, a year with Tatabánya in the Hungarian league. (I guess you learned that sour cream goes well with everything — you’ll find that the paprika you’ll find in the average Canadian grocery store is pretty substandard.)
I hope you’re settling into life in Canada. Have you bought a pickup truck yet? Yes, it really is the preferred Canadian way of getting around.
Now, this is the part where I can tell you what you’ve gotten yourself into. Think of me as the guy at the water cooler on your first day who pulls you aside and tells you how things really work around here.
First off? Get used to traveling to Edmonton. Like, half of your national team plays for the Eddies right now. (OK, not quite half — but, trust me, it’s where you’re going to find a lot of your current crop of players). You’ll know you’ve settled into the job when you’re sitting at Clarke Field in May scouting an NASL game.
This is, well, because, and I don’t know how familiar you are with the idea that our so-called Canadian first division, Major League Soccer (where you used to coach)… well, it doesn’t give a lot of playing time to Canadians. So far, only 11 Canadians have seen the field in MLS action this season. You may also find that some of the players who have long histories with the national side are with something we in Canada refer to as “Unattached FC.” Which, basically means, out of contract.
As well, you may find the guys you are picking from MLS are not seeing a lot of time with their clubs. You may be giving more minutes to your national-side players than their clubs will. This is, of course, natural, for Canadians.
We are talking quite a bit about starting our own national league. There is promise, but the longest-standing Canadian MLS club, Toronto FC, is pretty set against anyone competing against it for fans. Toronto FC didn’t start any Canadians last week, by the way. So, I guess they want to protect their right not to play domestic players.
So, you might find yourself combining the lower-division leagues, USL and NASL, for players. Then, lower divisions in Scandinavia. Look around for guys not getting paid in Eastern Europe.
You said today that Canadian players need to feel pride in their jersey: “Once you put it on, you need to feel something different.”
Well, if you want to expand on that, it should be “they should feel different because, well, they didn’t even know they were Canadian.” Players who are secretly Canadians will be your greatest asset. Your predecessor, Benito Floro, did a good job convincing players that they were Canadian. Scott Arfield comes to mind. Fraser Aird. Junior Hoilett. You have to keep that going. Scour rosters around the world and look for guys who might have any kind of affiliation to Canada. Did their parents honeymoon on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls? Can a player point to Fort McMurray on a map? He’s CANADIAN! Get on that.
Another quote from you: “The way the senior team plays football is going to have to be something that’s emulated by the younger players.” I see that you’ve been given the responsibility to remake all programming from the U-14 level to the senior men’s team. Basically, the program is yours. Now, the Canadian Soccer Association’s somewhat sudden decision two weeks to jettison Tony Fonseca as the director of the high-performance program makes sense. The decks were cleared for you to remake our program.
Heck, our program has been remade so many times over, it should be a reality show.
You’ve really got yourself into a pickle. Ask your predecessor, Benito Floro, about what he got himself into. Clubs not releasing players to the national team. Trying to steer a Canadian program towards the Hex, despite the fact that our program is so far behind so many others in CONCACAF when it comes to bringing national-team and youth-national-team players together to train, and to have technical ambitions that go from youth levels right to the senior teams.
I’m looking forward to meeting you. I can help you pick out just the right Calvin-peeing-on-a-Ford logo for the rear cab window of your Dodge Ram (or vice versa). And we can talk about saving Canadian soccer. And the Gold Cup. And how your vision will be realized, when so many have failed before.
Welcome to one of the most thankless soccer jobs in the world.
It starts on March 22, when you’ll watch Canada face Scotland. Then, you take the reins for the Qatar U-23 tournament, where Canada faces Uzbekistan and Qatar March 25, 28.
March 14, 2017
Goodbye papa, please pray for me: Tigres fans honour Terry Jacks, as their team beats the Whitecaps
There are songs that are simply destined to become stadium anthems. When the White Stripes came up with the bass line to “Seven Nation Army,” they must have envisioned it being played and sung in stadiums around the world. Men Without Hats’ playful “Pop Goes the World” has been lifted a few times.
“Seasons in the Sun” is not one of those songs. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be. Vancouver songwriter Terry Jacks penned the smash hit in the early ‘70s, a mournful song about a man looking back on his life as he awaits his end.
But, for most of the second half, the loud-as-hell trumpeter (or was it a trumpet section) in Monterrey’s famous “Volcano” stadium belted out “Seasons in the Sun.” Over and over. Maybe it was because Tigres were playing the Vancouver Whitecaps Tuesday night in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal — and well, Terry Jacks is from Vancouver.
Maybe Tigres fans have a weird sense of occasion. Maybe they celebrate a championship with a trumpet rendition of Depeche Mode’s “Blasphemous Rumours” or the Smiths’ “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.”
Or maybe they’ve got a thing where they play songs from the cities of the teams they’re playing. Or a fetish for Canadian pop hits. Maybe they regale Cruz Azul with the Spoons’ “Romantic Traffic” or throw Chivas off their game with Martha and the Muffins’ “Echo Beach.”
But “Seasons in the Sun” kinda tied up the game nicely. The Whitecaps went to Mexico with one mission — survive. Instead, after a 2-0 loss, they might be thinking, “what a nice CL campaign we had. Goodbye to you our trusted friends.”
For 66 minutes, the Whitecaps held on and held on and held on. French national teamer Andre-Pierre Gignac had a great chance to put Tigres in the lead in the first half, but his shot took a slight deflection off Whitecaps defender Tim Parker and went wide. Luis Quinones had a chance to head Tigres into the lead, but, from about two feet out, somehow headed the ball over the bar.
Tigres had a number of great chances, but Whitecaps David Ousted was the equal to them. So, of course, the first goal would come after a series of self-inflicted wounds. First, Whitecaps centre back Kendall Waston mishit a clearing attempt. Eduardo Vargas got the ball at the top of the box, sprayed it wide to Gignac, whose low cross went off Waston and in for the own goal.
(Maybe the Grapes of Wrath’s “All the Things I Wasn’t” would be a good own-goal song.)
Whitecaps keeper David Ousted held the score at 1-0 for a good 20 minutes, making a series of saves, including a sensational diving stop on Quinones. Meanwhile, the Whitecaps had a couple of decent chances to steal a road goal, but Brek Shea didn’t con anyone with his entry into the worst-dive-of-the-year sweepstakes, and Nicolas Mezquida didn’t convert when he should have hit the net.
(Saga’s “Wind Him Up” might be a decent he-missed-the-net song)
Finally, Vargas slammed in a point-blank shot late in the game, giving Tigres the edge they deserved.
And, unless the Whitecaps can enjoy a massive turnaround in the second leg at BC Place… goodbye papa it’s hard to die.
March 13, 2017
Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings, MLS Week 2
Toronto FC created a bit of a stir this past weekend, when the Reds started no Canadians for Saturday’s road date in Philadelphia.
Of course, it’s more than a little ironic that Toronto FC starts no Canadians, considering how vocal team president Bill Manning has been regarding the Canadian Premier League. A Canadian league has yet to be formally announced, but Manning has taken to the mic to warn any potential CanPL investor of the dangers that come with trying to compete with Toronto FC for fans in Canada’s largest market.
(Of course, a city of Toronto’s size in Europe or South America would have many pro teams within its limits.)
Yes, the soccer market is different in North America; leagues cede territorial rights to investors in order to protect attendances and, more importantly, broadcast rights. Of course, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has been solidly against a second NHL team for Toronto, so Manning not wanting TFC to have to give up any of its potential market share to a CanPL side is at least a consistent stance.
What doesn’t help Manning’s case is when Toronto FC, which has more MLS years in its history than the Vancouver Whitecaps or Montreal Impact, starts an all-foreign lineup. It doesn’t really allow for TFC to have any sort of moral authority when it talks about the CanPL.
But, because of an injury to Sebastian Giovinco, Canadian Tosaint Ricketts got into the game as a sub before halftime, and Jonathan Osorio came in late in the match.
Here is the list of minutes played in MLS so far this season:
MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 133 (2)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 101 (2)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Will Johnson, Orlando, 90 (1)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Cyle Larin, Orlando, 74 (1)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 74 (2)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal, 50 (2)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 45 (1)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 9 (1)
TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017
Orlando City, 164/1 (164)
Vancouver, 270/2 (135)
Montreal, 189/2 (94.5)
Toronto FC, 119/2 (59.5)
FC Dallas, 101/2 (50.5)
