Steven Sandor's Blog, page 56

Canada’s U20WWC comes to a not-so-merciful end

Before the first half of Sunday’s group-stage match between Canada and Japan at the U-20 Women’s World Cup was over, the FIFA international feed commentator had already resorted to coming up with consolatory terms for the team in red.

He talked about Canada’s willingness to keep fighting. He talked about Canada’s “team spirit,” “resolve” and “character.” These are the kind of things a broadcaster falls back on when he or she can’t find anything good to say about the quality of soccer the team is playing.

It was that bad. In the end, Canada lost 5-0 to a Japanese team that showed a quality of mercy in the final 15 minutes, slowing down the pace when, really, it could have gone for more goals. There were goals off set pieces. Goals off clever passing pays that cut through the Canadians. There was a clever back-heel flick goal. There were long spells of Japanese possession and off-the-ball runs that destroyed any semblance of the Canadian team’s shape.

Canada did get two good chances to score (while Japan had at least a dozen, according to FIFA, final goal attempts were 23-3 for the Japanese). Sarah Stratigakis had a wide-open headed chance in front of the Japanese goal which she put too close to the keeper, and Victoria Pickett slipped and sprayed a shot wayward after she was put through on goal thanks to a clever ball from Vital Kats.

But, maybe if Canada would have scored, it might have inspired the Japanese to score 10.

Canada’s U20WWC is over. Three group stage matches, outscored 13-1 over those games. Even has this team had UCLA star Jessie Fleming on the team — which makes for an easy excuse —things wouldn’t have been a lot better. There was such a wide gulf in class between Canada and its opponents at this level, it would have been impossible for the addition of any single player to make it better.

What we saw was a systemic failure. Teams like Spain and Japan were comfortable on the ball against Canada, while the Canadians played panicked football. There was a lot of hoof-and-hope in the Canadian game. Sure, one could blame the heat in Papua New Guinea, but that was something that affected all the teams. Fact is, best way to beat the heat is to have a lot of the ball; chasing it takes a lot out of you. And, boy, did the Canadians chase.

After the finale, senior national team coach John Herdman said this in a release provided by Canada Soccer. “Canada Soccer’s Excel philosophy is not geared towards only winning tournaments, but rather towards developing individual players to meet the future needs of Canada’s women’s national team. The program has proven successful in developing many of our current bronze medalists, and we see great things coming from the next group. It’s an approach that develops players by design to meet future positional openings as the team senior team evolves.”

So, it was nice way of saying that player development trumps results at this level. But, even with that philosophy in mind, it’s hard to find those positives other than thinking, well, this team was thrown in at the deep end.

Time for Canadian soccer supporters to be… optimistic?

It feels like we are in a weirdly optimistic time for Canadian soccer.

Next week, the Montreal Impact will likely fill Olympic Stadium for the first leg of its MLS Eastern Conference final against Toronto FC.

Former Toronto FC and Brighton and Hove Albion exec Paul Beirne (and my former neighbour) is currently moving around the country drumming up support for the planned-for-2018 Canadian Premier League.

And, the Canadian Soccer Association confirmed to me yesterday that everything is on schedule when it comes to finding a “solution” to the Canadians-as-domestics issue in MLS. In September, Canadian Soccer Association and CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani said that his “confidence was high” that the issue of how Canadians are treated in MLS would be resolved by the time MLS Cup came around. That decision would also spill over into NASL.

In both MLS and NASL, Canadians and Americans do not take up international roster spots on the Canadian-based clubs. But it’s not reciprocated on the American teams; on the U.S. based rosters, Canadians are considered imports, while Americans, of course, are domestics. This has created a system where very few Canadians get chances to play on American MLS or NASL teams, while Americans are welcome at our doors. What has consistently infuriated the Canadian Soccer Association is that the USL has always allowed Canadians to be domestics.

As well, through subsidies granted by the CSA, the NWSL has guaranteed a minimum of 16 spots for Canadian players — and that league is entirely U.S. based. Canada has not always taken advantage of all of the rosters spots, and has chosen to subsidize fewer positions over the last few seasons — but the point is, an agreement was made to benefit all sides.

So, a Canadian League, a Canadian team guaranteed to play in MLS Cup and a possible end to discrimination against Canadian players by American teams?

The cynic in me — and if you’ve been around Canadian soccer for longer than five minutes, how can you not be a cynic — can’t believe all of these things are going forward.

Will this Eastern final be the lightning rod to make Canadian MLS teams a decent TV property going forward? Will the Canadian League find owners willing to lose a lot of money over several years for the greater good, sponsors willing to get in from the ground floor and a way to get games to a national fan base via stream or TV? Will there be a last-second wrench thrown into a roster deal?

Time will tell. But maybe it’s time to be hopeful. Maybe the building blocks will be there for World Cups in 2022 and 2026 (the 2026 one, which, possibly, wink wink, might not need Canada to bother with qualification).

Right now, it feels like after years of screaming into the void, finally someone has answered back. Feeling optimistic, like those insurance commercials narrated by Michael J. Fox. 

TFC, Impact look forward to record-setting 401 Derby

After scoring seven times over two legs against NYCFC in their Eastern Conference semifinal, Toronto FC has established itself as the offensive juggernaut of the four teams remaining in the MLS playoffs.

So, maybe it’s not a surprise that TFC leading scorer and 2015 league MVP Sebastian Giovinco expects the Montreal Impact to park the bus when the two teams meet Nov. 22 in the first leg of their Eastern Conference final.

“We expect a very defensive game on their part, and we’ll get ready for that,” Giovinco said through an interpreter as part of an MLS conference call previewing the conference final.

There’s a possibility that upwards of 60,000 fans will be at Olympic Stadium for next week’s first leg. Of course, moving the game indoors to the Big O means that the game will be played on the nefarious artificial surface. But Giovinco said that the pressure will be on Montreal.

Giovinco said it was the Impact that made the decision to move the game to earn “maximum support” from the Montreal fan base. “The pressure of that choice is one them, not on us.”

But, the Italian star said that it will be fantastic to play in front of such a big crowd.

“Soccer is the most beautiful, most popular sport in the world. It deserves huge attendance.”

There is no denying the romance that this game provides to Canadian soccer fans. Really, so much of the focus will be on the two sold-out stadiums over the two legs, that, for many, the Xs and Os will be secondary.

Patrice Bernier, the native Montrealer who has been with the Impact since the club made the move to MLS, said that the hope is always that the Canadian national team’s performances would be the thing to “ignite interest” nationally in the game, the thing that would inspire more young players to look at soccer as a career choice. But, he understands having two MLS clubs face off in the Eastern finals changes that focus; with Canada already out of World Cup qualifying, it could be high-profile club matches that fires the interest of young players in this country.

Bernier said a Montreal-Toronto Eastern final is “the type of game you want to play.” He said it will inspire youths in those cities to “dream to play a game like that on Canadian soil.”

Of course, playing in front of a full house at Olympic Stadium isn’t new to the Impact. The team played the 2015 CONCACAF Champions League final’s second leg against Club America at the Big O. The Impact, of course, lost that that match, but coach Mauro Biello believes that the team “has been able to learn from it.”

Biello said the team has learned from that CCL final “how to manage emotions, and to stay concentrated for 90 minutes.”

Piatti Problem

TFC coach Greg Vanney said it will be important for TFC to limit Montreal’s Ignacio Piatti, who was superb in the Impact’s triumph over the Red Bulls in the semis.

“We don’t underestimate him. We know his value to his team, and his ability to create and to finish.”

Vanney said the Reds will have to be aware where Piatti is on the field “all of the time.”

Vanney said where Piatti presents a real problem is his running off the ball, that he anticipates turnovers so well, that when the Impact do take possession of the ball, the Argentine has already created space for himself.

And, Vanney also sees the two-legged series as being big for Canadian soccer. He thinks it could break an attendance record in MLS for a two-legged series,

“No question some growth will come out of it,” Vanney said, even though it might take years for us to fully realize what a 401 Derby Eastern Final has meant for Canadian soccer as a whole.

Canada’s misery continues at U20WWC

Canada was overrun by Spain in their tournament opener. On Wednesday, critical errors undid the Canadian side as it went down 3-1 to Nigeria at the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea.

Two games in, and Canada has two losses and a goal differential of -7.

Canada actually took the lead in this one, with Gabrielle Carle putting the ball home after a great run down the left side and pull-back from Deanne Rose. But, just before the stroke of halftime, the game turned on its ear when central defender Bianca St. Georges was ruled to have blocked a cross with her arm in the box. A penalty was awarded, and Nigeria’s Chinaza Uchendu equalized from the spot.

St. Georges got a yellow card on the play and the Canadian team didn’t put up much of an argument; but the ball looked like it caught her up in the shoulder area. Yes, she did leap into the path of the ball, but you could argue that the call was harsh.

Canada’s Emma Regan in action against Nigeria PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

But, 40 seconds into the second half, and St. Georges was at the centre of Nigeria’s go-ahead goal. Her panicked clearance attempt went off a Nigerian attacker and right to Joy Bokiri, who made no mistake.

The game was sealed midway through the second half, when Canadian keeper Rylee Foster passed the ball directly to Nigeria’s Chinwendu Ihezuo, who responded to the gift by pushing the ball into the corner of the Canadian goal.

While it will be the mistakes that make the highlight reels, it needs to be noted that Canada launched six shots at the Nigerian goal, while the Nigerians unleashed 18 shots at the Canadian net.

Canada finished the game with only two shots on target. In the previous 5-0 loss to Spain, Canada had one shot on net. This is not inspiring stuff from a program that has pledged to find “more Sinclairs, more often.”

Spain thrashes Canada to open U20WWC

Spain had five goals. Canada had one shot on goal.

We haven’t had a good navel-gazing worry over the state of our women’s soccer program in the last few months. But, for those who stayed up to watch Canada’s U-20 Women’s World Cup opener against Spain in Papua New Guinea, it was obvious early on that Canada wasn’t going to come close to getting anything out of the game.

Two minutes in, and a simple route-one ball up the gut sent Maria Caldentey in alone to score the opener. It was the beginning of what was going to be a very rough afternoon for the central defensive pairing of Mika Richards and Biana St. Georges.

After Lucia Garcia beat Richards to a cross to score Spain’s second, we began to realize that constants of Canadian soccer — being decent in the air, able to be more physical than the opposition — weren’t there either.

But, where did this talent gap come from? Look, it was 32 C with high humidity, not great conditions for Canadian soccer players. And it goes without saying that Canada misses Jessie Fleming, our 1998-born midfield star who has commitments with UCLA at the moment.

Still, Spain is what we might consider a rising power in women’s soccer, not an established one. The fact that their youth team passed Canada into the ground — enjoying almost three-quarters of the ball in the first half — was, ahem, mildly concerning.

Having to chase the game from so early on, in the South Pacific heat, the Canadians had little left in the tank for the second half. Goalkeeper Rylee Foster was the most active of the bunch, kicking her ball out of the net after Aitani Bonmati, Patricia Guijarro and Garcia (her second) scored their goals.

Bonmati scored on a header, and Garcia’s came late as she got behind an exhausted and flat-footed Canadian back four.

Women’s U-20 coach Danny Worthington echoed national women’s team coach John Herdman’s credo that the Canadian program needs to produce “more Sinclairs, more often.” After that opener, we might be happy with another Buchanan. ‘

But, if Canada can’t deal with the hot, humid conditions, Worthington is going to have to find a way to protect those two centre backs.

At the same time, he has two games to figure out how to finish top-two in the group stage with a -5 goal differential on his plate. Japan beat Nigeria 6-0 in their opener. Canada has Nigeria next. If Canada doesn’t lay a thrashing on the Nigerians, it looks like there will be little hope of passing Japan or Spain.

Catching up: CanMNT, NASL Best XI…

As some who follow the Facebook and Twitter accounts might know, I’ve been fighting through a bout of some pretty poor health over the last couple of weeks. I was discharged from the hospital today, but still need to stay off my feet for a good part of the next month or so.

Because of that, updates to the site will be, well, sporadic in nature. And the next issue of Plastic Pitch will likely be launched in January, rather than December.

So, with that disclaimer out there, I wanted to simply address a couple of items that went by while I was in the wonderful dreamy world of painkillers.

First off, Canada losing to South Korea this morning by a 2-0 count. A rough first 25 minutes did in the Canadian side in their friendly — as the home side got goals from Kim Bo-Kyung and Lee Jeong-Hyeop in that opening phase to seal the game. Bo-Kyung played at Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic before returning to the South Korean league; Jong-Hyep scored his fifth goal in his 15th appearance for his national side. For the Canadians, Marcel de Jong had a nice free-kick effort stopped, and Marcus Haber had an effort tick the crossbar — but really this was about seeing what some of the young players could offer the program, as many of the vets weren’t on this roster.

So, it was nice to see newly patriated keeper Jayson Leutwiler get through the second half without giving up a goal, and Ottawa Fury forward Carl Haworth get his first national-team cap. I’ve seen Haworth improve year after year playing in the NASL — and he deserves a round of applause for getting that first taste of what it’s like to be a senior national-teamer.

And, because friendlies well, don’t count for much other than world rankings, interim coach Michael Findlay tried to put a positive spin on the loss, that it was actually good for the program for the players to go down early, on hostile soil.

“We have to judge how they dealt with the stresses and dilemmas after going down early,” Findlayt said in the post-match notes issued by Canada Soccer.. “I thought they dealt very well by keeping their shape and not losing sight of the tactical plan. We stuck to the program, reassessed at half time, and when we came out I thought our application was very good.”

See? Losing can be  good thing.

Watson and MVO

As well, I wanted to offer a late round of applause to FC Edmonton captain Albert Watson and goalkeeper Matt VanOekel, both named to the NASL’s Best XI. Really, this was no surprise, as both were shortlisted for the league MVP award (guess who got my vote?).

I’ve watched Watson work so hard through the years; amazed at how natural it was for him to become a leader for FC Edmonton, a club located far away from his Northern Irish home. I’ve also seen how he’s embraced this country — he wants to be a Canadian citizen, how his family has flourished here. He has been nothing but an ambassador and a role model as an FCE player since he came to the club. No way coach Colin Miller could have asked for more from Watson. It’s fine to see class people get recognized for their work, and it’s been an honour to watch Watson from the broadcast booth over the years.

Matt VanOekel PHOTO: TONY LEWIS/FC EDMONTON

As for VanOekel, what can we say? His goals against average was 0.55. His save percentage was .856. He set a record with 16 clean sheets in an NASL season, out of 29 games that he started. Think about it, when MVO started, chances were better than 50-50 that he was going to shut your team out. To me, he’s the MVP of NASL. I get that voters like to put their support behind the flashier players, the guys who score. But, to me, the award goes to the player who is most valuable to his team. And you have to ask, did any player mean more to his NASL club than MVO meant to the Eddies?

Now, I’ve got to stop for a bit and rest. Catch you again soon.

FCE’s MVO takes NASL Golden Glove

The award goes to the keeper with the lowest goals-against average in NASL, so the announcement of Matt VanOekel as the winner of the league’s Golden Glove award was merely a formality.

But the league announced VanOekel’s award win on Monday. The FC Edmonton keeper enjoyed a record-breaking season, recording a league-record 16 clean sheets and a goals-against average of, whelp, 0.55.

MVO allowed just 16 goals in 29 games.

“It’s a nice personal accolade that I’ll get to have on the shelf for many years to come, and I’ll be able to show my kids and grandkids,” VanOekel said in a release issued by the league.

He is the second FCE keeper to win the Golden Glove award. Canadian keeper John Smits won it in 2014. Smits spent the 2016 season with the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL; that team is downgrading and moving to PDL next season, leaving Smits as a free agent.

The real question is whether or not MVO will take the league’s MVP award. He’s one of the finalists in the voting.

Giovinco and Piatti show us why they’re the best players in the Eastern Conference

The voters placed these three New York-based players as the finalists for the 2016 MLS MVP award; NYCFC’s David Villa (23 goals), and Sacha Kljestan (six goals, 20 assists) and Bradley Wright-Phillips (24 goals) — both of the New York Red Bulls.

All three of those players will be watching the Eastern Conference finals — which will be an all-Canadian-team affair between the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC.

And, when the chips are down in a big-game situation, Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco and Montreal’s Ignacio Piatti showed us why you would rather have them on your team than any of the three MVP candidates. Piatti and Giovinco proved Sunday that they are the premier gamebreakers in the Eastern Conference — and we in Canada should be looking forward to the two Designated Players going toe-to-toe in the Eastern Final that no American MLS fan wanted.

Entering the second leg of its Eastern Conference semifinal against the New York Red Bulls with a 1-0 lead, the Impact got two road goals from Piatti. The dagger came off his left foot in the 50th minute, a wonderful left-footed drive that Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles got maybe a piece of his fingertip on, but couldn’t keep from going in under the bar. Piatti’s insurance goal, which finished a nice three-way passing play between Dominic Oduro, Didier Drogba and himself, was the icing on the cake. Montreal won the second leg 2-1, the tie 3-1 on aggregate.

Compare that to the performances of Kljestan and Wright-Phillips. Kljestan had a golden chance to bring the semifinal level with a first-half penalty-kick opportunity. Montreal keeper Evan Bush guessed correctly and pawed away Kljestan’s effort, but it needs to be stated that the Red Bulls’ midfielder hit the ball hip-high, which is ideal for the keeper. When you take a penalty, you either go down low or upstairs. Hitting it middle of the net, height-wise, makes it easier for the keeper to get to the ball in his dive, no matter the speed at which it is dispatched.

Wright-Phillips got what amounted to a consolation goal, but for most of the two legs, you could find him in the back pockets of Impact centre backs Laurent Ciman and Hassoun Camara. BWP simply didn’t ask enough questions of the centre backs, and his off-the-ball runs didn’t buy him any space.

Piatti’s regular-season totals weren’t as gaudy as the two Red Bulls’ MVP candidates (17 goals, six assists), but we’ve seen this script before from the Argentine. When it matters most, he plays out of his skin.

At Yankee Stadium, the reigning MLS MVP showed everyone in the league why leaving him off the ballot in 2016 was a farcical snub. Despite missing six games, Giovinco scored 17 times and assisted 15 others.

The Reds led 2-0 on aggregate going into the second leg against NYCFC. Within 18 minutes, it was a 4-0 aggregate score. Giovinco twisted and turned and then fired a shot into the corner of the goal to stun the Yankee Stadium crowd, then drew a penalty – which he converted — after leaving NYCFC defender Frederic Brilliant little choice but to stick his leg out.

Giovinco finished the hat trick — and a 5-0 TFC win on the day — with a late goal. Jozy Altidore and Jonathan Osorio also got goals in the rout.

Meanwhile, David Villa reminded us of another special Spanish Designated Player of days past — Mista. We can still argue that he shouldn’t have even played in the second leg after he lashed out at TFC’s Armando Cooper in game one. But it was to TFC’s advantage that Villa did play. He dove. He gave up on balls. His body language showed off a special kind of misery. He was everything a franchise player — and an MVP candidate — shouldn’t be.

Soccer fans should savour the fact that the best two players in the Eastern Conference will still be playing. It’s just that neither of them play in New York.

Sinisa’s strike brings FC Edmonton’s season to a close

A perfectly placed shot from Sinisa Ubiparipovic brought FC Edmonton’s season to a close.

Ubiparipovic’s 63rd-minute shot from the top of the box found the top corner of the Eddies’ goal, giving the Indy Eleven a 1-0 home win in the first of two NASL Championship seminfinals played in Saturday.

“Of course, we are absolutely devastated,” said FCE coach Colin Miller. “As a competitor, I am spitting bullets. There wasn’t a lot of difference between the two teams — just that one strike. There weren’t a lot of scoring chances between the two teams, but that one was the difference.”

Miller thought that the Eddies did a good job eliminating the Eleven’s top two scoring threats — forwards Eamon Zayed and Justin Braun — from the game. But it stung that a member of Indy’s supporting cast was able to step and deliver the vital strike.

The Eddies had a great chance to equalize with three minutes left in the game, but Indy keeper Jon Busch sprawled to knock away Tomi Ameobi’s headed effort.

But, really, you can argue that the game was lost in the first 15 minutes of the match. Instead of starting the game off in a defensive shell — as many would have predicted — the Eddies came out looking to catch the Indy Eleven with an early sucker punch. The Eddies attacked. They brought numbers forward. And, they created two very good scoring chances.

In the eighth minute, Sainey Nyassi streaked forward to get on the end of a cross from Shawn Nicklaw. But Nyassi’s headed effort bounded off the crossbar. That came just a couple of minutes after Dustin Corea got a shot towards goal.

“Maybe, another day, those chances would have gone in,” said Miller. “But, we no embarrassment. It wasn’t our best game of the season, it wasn’t our worst game of the season. This was never going to be game for the faint-of-heart. There was no fluffiness to this game.”

FCE’s Dustin Corea tries to keep the ball away from Indy’s Don Smart. PHOTO: INDY ELEVEN/MATT SCHLOTZHAUER

The game settled down after the Eddies’ early surge, and Indy created some good chances as the half wound down. The best came in the 37th minute; after the ball pinged around in the penalty area, Marco Franco got a foot to the ball and it bounded towards the corner of the Eddies’ goal. But keeper Matt VanOekel dove to swat it away, smashing his head into the goalpost in the process.

The Eddies won the toss and chose sides, hoping that the setting sun in the second half would distract Busch. But it was Indy that created the best chance early, with former Toronto FC striker Justin Braun nudging a header just wide.

And, just as the game had settled into a lull, Ubiparipovic, the former Montreal Impact and Ottawa Fury man, pounced. Indy’s Dylan Mares had collected the ball at the top of the box and Ubiparipovic brought his foot through the ball, sending an oh-so-well-placed shot just inside the corner where the far post met the crossbar.

Miller brought in attackers Ben Fisk and Jake Keegan to shore up the attack, but the Eddies were only able to generate the one big Ameobi chance. In injury time, Eddie Adam Eckersley was brought down by Franco just outside Indy’s penalty area, and referee Sorin Stoica told the Eddies’ fullback to get up and get on with it. Eckersley, incensed by the non-call, chased Stoica down the field and got a yellow card for his protestations. That would be the enduring final image of the Eddies’ season.

Miller said he spoke to the team for 10-15 minutes after the final whistle.

“I thanked them for 10 to 11 months of commitment. I thanked them for their effort. I thanked them on behalf of (owners) Tom and Dave Fath. We have set a new benchmark this season in terms of where we want to be at as a club. We can’t lose sight of that.”

And, looking to next year, Miller said he’ll want to bring more proven match-winners and experience into the club.

Fury rebuilding its roster in preparation for USL move

The Ottawa Fury’s roster is now up to four players.

The team announced the signings of three Canadians on Thursday; fullback Eddie Edward, midfielder Jamar Dixon and goalkeeper Andrew MacRae. They join forward and reigning team player of the year Carl Haworth, whose new deal was announced earlier this week.

The Fury is in the process of moving from NASL to USL. The Canadian Soccer Association’s board will vote Dec. 4 on the team’s application to make the move. It would be a major surprise if the Fury wasn’t allowed to move, but there will be some questions out there, including what the roster rules the team will have to work with, in terms of the number of Canadians the CSA will require the team to field.

Now, remember that in NASL, all contracts are registered with the league. Any contracts that the Fury had forged with its players in NASL don’t carry over into the USL. So, the team is rebuilding its roster ahead of its pending move to its new league.

“I’m thrilled to continue living the dream of playing for my home city,” Edward said in a release issued by the club. “This club is going in a positive direction and I’m extremely honored to be here and be a part of the continued growth of Ottawa Fury FC.”

Like Edward, Dixon is an Ottawa native. He will be part of the Canadian national team that will face South Korea on Nov. 11.

“I’m very happy to be back in Ottawa next year. Having the opportunity to play for my hometown club again, I couldn’t ask for more, especially with the way we are treated here,” said Dixon. “I think the new league is a step in the right direction and as players we want to stay focused and contribute on the pitch to make this club successful.”