Steven Sandor's Blog, page 71

Keegan’s two-goal effort propels Eddies past Fort Lauderdale

FC Edmonton’s Jake Keegan, just before he puts the ball through Fort Lauderdale keeper Diego Restrepo’s legs. PHOTO: FC EDMONTON/UWE WELZ

FC Edmonton finished the NASL spring season just one, measly agonizing point out of top spot.

Jake Keegan scored twice Sunday to give the Eddies a 2-1 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Clarke Field.

Had the Eddies not slipped up two weeks ago at last-place Miami, they would have taken the spring-season crown. But, remember that two of the NASL’s playoff spots are awarded to the teams with the best overall records — spring and fall — who aren’t spring or fall champs. And, being just one point out of first puts the Eddies right in the mix.

“If you would have told me in the preseason that we would have finished third in the spring, I would have taken it, considering the quality of teams in this league,” said FCE coach Colin Miller.

“If we wouldn’t have slipped up in Miami two weeks ago, we’d be having a party right now,” said Keegan, who opened the scoring with his foot and scored the second with the back of his head.



He gave the Eddies a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute; a great ball from Daryl Fordyce slashed through the Strikers’ flat back four. Keegan sprinted on to the ball and went alone into the penalty area. But Strikers keeper Diego Restrepo came charging off his line to take away the shooting angle. Keegan paused. Restrepo paused. The waiting game was on… and Restrepo bit first, opening his legs. Keegan slotted the ball through them and into the goal.

Keegan got his second later in the first half, when somehow Eddie Edward’s looping cross hit him in the back of the head and then sprung into the goal. Gale Agbossoumonde was marking Keegan, but didn’t get ball side or goal side. Restrepo came out for the cross, but flapped at it. In the end, poor goalkeeping and slack marking allowed Keegan, who was in between, to make contact.

“Between the centre back and the keeper, I don’t know how I got my head on it,” said Keegan.

While Fort Lauderdale was poor in the first half, the Strikers were energized and played with purpose in the second half. And it didn’t take them long to halve the lead; PC sruck a penalty kick right up the middle after Eddies centre back Pape Diakite was penalized for putting his hand on the shoulder of Striker Ramon Nunez in the area.

With the Strikers pushing forward, Keegan got a wonderful counterattacking opportunity to complete the hat trick. A ball from Dustin Corea put Keegan in alone, but this time around Restrepo kept his legs closed, and made the save. Corea also had a glorious chance to get the Eddies their third, but it was blocked.

Whitecaps storm back, but Tornaghi’s save on MDJ was the turning point

Paolo Tornaghi

For Vancouver Whitecaps supporters, it would be easy to look at Wednesday’s 3-0 triumph over the Ottawa Fury and point to a series of positives.

The Whitecaps, down 2-0 after the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal, drew level at 20 minutes thanks to a Pedro Morales penalty and a Nicolas Mezquida header. Whitecaps’ 15-year-old winger Alphonso Davies put Fury fullback Lance Rozeboom in his pocket. Davies made us ooh and ahh when he razzle-dazzled a couple of Fury defenders and struck a shot off the post. And, of course, Octavio Rivero’s well-placed second-half shot was the margin of victory.

But, the biggest moment of that second leg at BC Place, the moment which sent the Whitecaps on a path towards the Voyageurs Cup final against Toronto FC, came with about seven minutes left in the first half. Ottawa’s Marcel de Jong got behind the Vancouver defenders and got a clear sight of goal. ‘Caps keeper Paolo Tornaghi scrambled off his line and stopped de Jong’s attempt, point blank.



That was the defining moment. It was 2-0 at the time. Had de Jong scored a road goal, he would have effectively erased the two goals the Whitecaps had put on the board. Had the Fury got that goal, the Whitecaps would have needed to score two more to win.

Who knows how the game would have developed had de Jong had scored? Had the ball gone in, it would have been 2-1, and Ottawa would have had the momentum. Would the Whitecaps found yet even another gear and scored a bunch? Or would they have still only got one more, which wouldn’t have been enough to go through?

One thing is for sure, had de Jong put the ball past Tornaghi, the game would have changed. The tie would have taken on a completely different complexion.

And that was the turning point. And if anyone deserves a match ball, it’s Paolo Tornaghi.

Eddies put in extra time working to improve their attack

FCE’s Jake Keegan in action against the Ottawa Fury. PHOTO: FC EDMONTON/TONY LEWIS

If FC Edmonton beats the red-hot Fort Lauderdale Strikers on Sunday, the Eddies will finish one point back of the team that wins the spring-season title (which team that will be is still up for debate, though it will take massive goal differential swing to topple the New York Cosmos from the top).

The Eddies will play their 10th game of the season on Sunday. So far, they’ve only scored seven goals. But, because they’ve only surrendered six, the team has a winning record and is closer to the top of the standings than the bottom. But, everyone with the club understands that more goals need to be scored; and, through the last two weeks, the club has been working on its attack.

“The guys are aware of it; it’s not like we’re focused solely on defence in training,” said FCE coach Colin Miller after Wednesday’s training session at Clarke Field. “We balance the week, so maybe the first couple of sessions maybe on the defensive shape of the team, and what the individuals’ roles are. The rest of the week is on attack. But, all of last week, because we had a bye weekend, everything was geared towards going to goal. Same thing this week. We’ve kept that mindset and that focus on attacking principles. And it’s been very good.”

This year, striker Jake Keegan has two goals; forward Daryl Fordyce has one. Striker Tomi Ameobi has yet to score. Jason Plumhoff, off the wing, has a goal this season. The other three goals the Eddies have scored in NASL play have come from defenders. Heck, with two goals, centre back Pape Diakite is tied for the team scoring lead.



“Any time you’re not scoring, at least over a goal per game, it’s frustrating,” said Keegan. “For the most part, apart from the first three games, we’ve been scoring just enough to win games. Obviously in Miami (the loss that eliminated the Eddies from the spring-season title race) we didn’t get it done.”

Keegan said that the Eddies need to improve their odds of scoring; and that means creating more chances. You’re never going to up the field and score with every good look you get at the opponent’s goal. The way to ensure that you do score is by creating pressure and multiple chances.

“We need to create more chances,” said Keegan. “Yeah, we’ve missed a few — but you’re not going to score on every chance you get. The bottom line is we need to create more chances, we need to provide better service for whoever is playing up front, the wingers, whoever it is. When you get into a rhythm as a striker, that’s when you start scoring. It’s not when you get one chance in a game, and three games later you get another chance.”

While Edmonton is known as a counter team, Keegan said certain teams in the league drop so deep defensively that they don’t offer the opposing teams the chance to turn on them. Keegan said that Carolina and Ottawa are perfect examples of teams that don’t take risks, so they aren’t very susceptible to being counterattacked. So, in his mind, the Eddies have to do more when it comes to breaking down the opposition; they will need to work against a set defensive shape.

The Eddies were without midfielders Nik Ledgerwood and Dustin Corea, who are on the way back to Edmonton from national-team duties with Canada and El Salvador, respectively. Both will be back in the mix for Sunday’s match.

And the Strikers will be a handful. They are undefeated in their last five NASL outings, winning four of them.

“They’ve looked very dangerous,” said Miller. “I’ve watched them against the Cosmos, I watched them against Ottawa (both were Strikers’ wins). They get bodies back behind the ball, and anytime Maicon Santos is on any team, he has the qualities that made him a star at one point in MLS. So, we know we’ll have to be on our toes. They have a different dynamic to them. They have a bit of Brazilian flair, they also have a bit of aggression — and the two games I’ve watched them, they have a street-wiseness about them. By that, I mean they can ruffle a few feathers, there are certain aspects of their play that I wouldn’t promote, for sure. But we will have to be at our best on Sunday.”

Coach Dino Perri to assemble Canadian men’s team for Maccabiah Games

LOGO_MACCABIAH2017_ALL

Dino Perri is the coach of McMaster University’s men’s soccer program. But he’s taken on a very different kind of job, and he admits he’s flying blind.

Perri will coach the Canadian open men’s soccer team at the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Israel. The Maccabiah Games bring together elite Jewish athletes from around the world for competition and cultural exchange. But while the athletes have to be Jewish, the support staff and coaches do not — and Perri is happy to be able to steer the team towards the 2017 competition.

“I spoke to a few of the people whi have gone in the past, and they speak very highly of it,” said Perri. “They call it a life-changing experience.”

Under the guidance of Alan Koch, now the coach of VWFC2 of the USL, the Canadian open men’s team won bronze at the 2013 Maccabiah Games.

Perri said two players from the 2013 medal-winning team have already committed; former Toronto FC and University of Toronto defender Kilian Elkinson, who represents Bermuda in FIFA competitions; and forward Brad Rose, a former standout at Yale University.

While Perri will coach the open men’s team, there will be a variety of teams sent to Israel by Maccabi Canada. In the past, national-team keeper Tomer Chencinski, Duke University’s Oliver Spring and VWFC2’s Daniel Haber have represented Canada in the Maccabiah Games.



As a teenager, Haber played for the U-18 team. Haber would later professionally in Israel after leaving Cornell University a year early. He’s also got a national-team cap.

“You obviously want to win, but you also spend a lot of time learning about different Jewish communities from around the world,” said Haber. “They see that the things they might read or see on TV about Israel are not that accurate, and they can see what day-to-day life is like there.”

Haber said it was interesting to interact with Jews from around the world, and be able to compare how different their sporting cultures are.

“I think, for me, what was real interesting is how different Jewish communites around the world treat their athletes.”

Perri will be looking at players at national selection camps coming in July. More selection camps for various age groups will take place in the fall. For more information, go to http://www.maccabicanada.com/the-games/maccabiah-games/2017-maccabiah/

“I am really looking forward to the cultural experience,” says Perri.

For information on tryouts: http://www.maccabicanada.com/the-games/maccabiah-games/2017-maccabiah/tryout-information/

Beckie’s last-gasp chip gives Canada a 1-0 win over Brazil

Janine Beckie

The Canadian women’s national team that faced Brazil on Saturday in Toronto was disjointed and deserved to lose. The Canadian women’s team that faced Brazil Tuesday in Ottawa was nothing like that.

Janine Beckie’s 94th-minute chip-shot goal gave Canada a 1-0 win, but the truth is, the Canadians deserved to win by more. Just like how Brazil deserved better than a 2-0 scoreline on the weekend, on Tuesday the Canadians didn’t deserve to have to wait till the end to get the result.

In fact, Beckie’s chip shot over Luciana, the Brazilian keeper who had just come in for the injured Barbara, made up for an earlier chance that was squandered. Just minutes before she scored the winner, Beckie was sent thanks to a wonderful pass from Sophie Schmidt. But, with the net right there in front of her, Beckie scuffed a shot right towards Barbara.

But it was good to see a striker who misses a clear chance pick herself up, get on with it, and then score on what was actually a more difficult opportunity to convert than than the one she’d slipped up on in the first place.



Really, though, Canada should have had the lead early on and been able to build on it. In the first half, Schmidt had a wonderful opportunity in the box, her effort hit teammate Kadeisha Buchanan in the Brazilian penalty area and the ball flashed over the bar.

Then, Deanne Rose broke in, and had her shot saved by Barbara. The rebound fell right to Diana Matheson, who looked to have an open goal at her mercy. But Bruna Benites slid in and blocked the shot off the line.

Matheson had another glorious chance when she was sent in thanks to a lovely ball from Christine Sinclair. But Barbara charged off her line and bodychecked Matheson outside the penalty area — but the contact was made well after the Canadian’s chipped effort was sent on its path away from goal. So Barbara only saw yellow, and was in goal to make a diving stop on the ensuing free kick from Sinclair.

Coach John Herdman decided to use Beckie as a super sub, and added veteran fullback Rhian Wilkinson and teenage midfielder Jessie Fleming to the starting XI. Brazil left Marta on the bench for most of the bench, allowing the visitors the built-in excuse of not starting their “A” lineup.

Still, as much as Saturday’s loss was disheartening, Tuesday’s win will leave us all feeling a heck of a lot better about the women’s team. But, there will come a time at the 2016 Olympics when this team will need to score more than once to get a result — and the forwards need to be more clinical in front of goal.

Awesome Uzbek own goal gives Canadian men a victory

Junior Hoilett in action against Uzbekistan. PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

We have all seen some fantastic own goals, but Akramjon Komilov’s effort deserves some applause.

The Uzbek defender launched a thundering header into his own net to give the Canadian men’s national team a 2-1 win Tuesday in a friendly in Austria. Late in the second half, Canadian winger Junior Hoilett took a pass from midfielder Samuel Piette and steamed down the left sideline, then delivered a cross that overshot the target man.

But. Komilov, not sensing there wasn’t a Canadian near him, decided to lunge at the ball in a very risky attempt to clear the cross. The result was a powerful header that found the corner of the goal. It was majestic. It was beautiful. And you can’t watch it enough times to actually solve the question of “what was he thinking?”

Hoilett, though he didn’t get a goal himself, had a major influence on Canada’s opener. He drew the foul that led to Scott Arfield’s free kick. Arfield’s effort floated into the box, where David Edgar cleanly finished the chance with his head. Best part? On the stream, you can clearly hear a member of the Canadian contingent cry out “goal” before Edgar actually finishes the chance. That person knew from Edgar’s position that he was going to win the ball — and finish it off.



Eldor Shomurodov tied the game after a sequence of troubling defending by the Canadians, who allowed the Uzbeks to win the first and second ball before the chance went into the goal. Dejan Jakovic and Steven Vitoria — Canada’s two centre backs at that time in the game — needed to do better to clear the danger.

Vitoria had come on in early in the first half for Manjrekar James, who left with injury.

Overwhelmingly Canadian Power Rankings MLS Week 14/NASL Week 10/USL Week 11

John Smits: Leads Canadian USL players in minutes.

As long as The 11 has been tracking the minutes played by Canadians in North American pro soccer leagues, we have had a constant: That soccer games are 90 minutes long. We base our averages on the fact that a regulation soccer match is 90 minutes long.

But, thanks to Mother Nature, we have an anomaly. Over the weekend, in USL action, severe weather forced the game between TFCII and the Charlotte Independence to be stopped at the 72-minute mark. So, players who played a “full” match will only be credited with 72 minutes of playing time, not the full 90. Argh! This is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but to stat wonks this is the kind of thing that creates a series of questions. Do you pro-rate the minutes to account for the missed time? Do you create a disclaimer?

In this case, we simply credited the appropriate players with the appropriate minutes and shrugged our shoulders. It’s eighteen minutes of missed time — and the way that severe weather seems to impacting more and more games in North America, this likely won’t be the only time we’ll have to account for an abbreviated game.

With this being an international weekend, and the Copa America kicking off, there wasn’t a lot of movement on the MLS/NASL chart.

HERE ARE THE RANKINGS:





MLS AND NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

1. Will Johnson, Toronto FC, MLS, 1169 (13)

2. Fraser Aird, Vancouver, MLS, 1014 (12)

3. Cyle Larin, Orlando City, MLS, 893 (12)

4. Nik Ledgerwood, FC Edmonton, NASL, 789 (9)

5. Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC, MLS, 759 (10)

6. Tesho Akindele, FC Dallas, MLS, 748 (14)

7. Mason Trafford, Miami FC, NASL, 720 (8)

8. Eddie Edward, FC Edmonton, NASL, 719 (8)

9. Kyle Bekker, Montreal, MLS, 650 (10)

10. Nana Attakora, Fort Lauderdale, NASL, 585 (7)

11. Karl Ouimette, NYRB, MLS 582 (7)

12. Carl Haworth, Ottawa, NASL, 545 (7)

13. Drew Beckie, Carolina, NASL, 527 (7)

14. Maxim Tissot, Montreal, MLS, 517 (7)

15. Marcel De Jong, Ottawa, NASL, 495 (6)

16. Kyle Porter, Ottawa, NASL, 461 (7)

17. Mo Babouli, Toronto FC, MLS 428 (9)

18. Patrice Bernier, Montreal, MLS, 415 (7)

19. Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, MLS, 405 (5)

20. Russell Teibert, Vancouver, MLS, 332 (5)

21. Shamit Shome, FC Edmonton, NASL, 323 (6)

22. Julian de Guzman, Ottawa, NASL, 278 (4)

23. Allan Zebie, FC Edmonton, NASL, 193 (5)

24. Jay Chapman, Toronto FC, 186 (7)

25. Mauro Eustaquio, Ottawa, NASL, 167 (5)

26. Mallan Roberts, FC Edmonton/Ottawa, NASL, 146 (3)

27. Kianz Froese, Vancouver, MLS, 141 (4)

28. Sam Adekugbe, Vancouver, MLS, 111 (2)

29. Ashtone Morgan, Toronto FC, MLS, 96 (5)

30. Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, MLS, 68 (4)

31. Mozzi Gyorio, Ottawa, NASL, 65 (2)

32. Marco Bustos, Vancouver, MLS, 45 (1)

33. Jordan Hamilton, Toronto FC, MLS, 31 (1)

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2016, RANKED BY AVERAGE MINUTES PER GAME:

FC Edmonton, NASL, 2166/9 (240.7)

Ottawa, NASL, 2015/9 (223.9)

Toronto FC, MLS, 2669/13 (205.3)

Montreal, MLS, 2035/13 (156.5)

Vancouver, MLS, 1643/15 (109.5)

Miami FC, NASL, 720/9 (80)

Orlando City, MLS, 893/13 (68.7)

Fort Lauderdale, NASL, 585/9 (65)

Carolina, NASL, 527/9 (58.6)

FC Dallas, MLS, 748/16 (46.75)

New York Red Bulls, MLS, 582/14 (41.6)

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

1. John Smits, Wilmington, USL, 990 (11)

2. Brett Levis, WFC2, USL, 911 (11)

3. Janouk Charbonneau, FC Montreal, USL, 886 (10)

4. Dominic Samuel, Rochester, USL, 826 (10)

5. Daniel Haber, WFC2, USL, 793 (11)

6. Richie Laryea, Orlando City B, USL, 757 (11)

7. Louis Beland-Goyette, FC Montreal, USL, 749 (9)

8. Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, FC Montreal, USL, 720 (8)

9. Skylar Thomas, TFC II, USL, 709 (9)

10. Mark Anthony Kaye, Louisville City FC, 698 (8)

11. Anthony Osorio, TFC II, USL, 695 (8)

12. Tyler Pasher, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 692 (8)

13. Marco Dominguez, FC Montreal, USL, 683 (9)

14. Ballou Jean Yves Tabla, FC Montreal, USL, 655 (8)

15. David Choiniere, FC Montreal, USL, 651 (9)

16. Shaan Hundal, TFC II, USL, 649 (11)

17. Malik Johnson, TFC II, USL, 635 (11)

18. Kadin Chung, WFC2, USL, 630 (8)

19. Raheem Edwards, TFC II, USL, 630 (7)

20. Chris Mannella, TFC II, USL, 622 (9)

21. Jordan Murrell, Pittsburgh, USL, 593 (7)

22. Michael Cox, Orlando City B, USL, 577 (10)

23. Aron Mkungilwa, FC Montreal, USL, 545 (7)

24. Aidan Daniels, TFC II, USL, 544 (9)

T25. Maxime Crepeau, FC Montreal, USL, 540 (6)

T25. Quillan Roberts, TFC II, USL, 540 (6)

27. Liam Fraser, TFC II, USL, 477 (9)

28. Alessandro Riggi, FC Montreal, USL, 466 (7)

29. Bradley Kamdem, Rochester, USL, 465 (8)

30. Alphonso Davies, WFC2, USL, 459 (7)

31. Marco Bustos, WFC2, USL, 459 (6)

32. Charles Joly, FC Montreal, USL, 450 (8)

33. Benjamin McKendry, WFC2, USL, 436 (7)

34. Amer Didic, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 430 (8)

35. Ryan James, Rochester, USL, 421 (8)

36. Jackson Farmer, WFC2, USL, 360 (4)

37. Jems Geffrard, FC Montreal, USL, 349 (4)

38. Adam Bouchard, TFC II, USL, 342 (7)

39. Robert Boskovic, TFC II, USL, 340 (8)

40. Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 332 (7)

41. Thomas Gardner, WFC2, USL, 311 (8)

42. Carlos Patino, Sounders FC 2, USL, 296 (7)

43. Chris Serban, WFC2, USL, 271 (5)

T44. Zachary Ellis-Hayden, Orlando City B, USL, 270 (3)

T44. Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare, FC Montreal, USL, 270 (3)

T44. Sean Melvin, WFC2, USL, 270 (3)

47. Nevelo Yoseke, FC Montreal, USL, 267 (7)

48. Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, USL, 260 (7)

49. Giuliano Frano, WFC2, USL, 247 (7)

50. Sam Adekugbe, WFC2, USL, 239 (3)

51. Mastanabal Kacher, FC Montreal, USL, 228 (6)

52. Luca Uccello, TFC II, USL, 218 (6)

53. Yacine Ait-Slimane, FC Montreal, USL, 207 (4)

54. Zachary Sukunda, FC Montreal, USL, 197 (4)

55. Simon Lemire, FC Montreal, USL, 191 (5)

56. Jordan Hamilton, TFC II, USL, 182 (3)

57. James Pantemis, FC Montreal, USL, 180 (2)

58. Mo Babouli, TFC II, USL, 162 (2)

59. Jay Chapman, TFC II, USL, 141 (2)

60. Duwayne Ewart, Pittsburgh, USL, 140 (3)

61. Jordan Haynes, WFC2, USL, 137 (4)

62. Kianz Froese, WFC2, USL, 135 (2)

63. Heikel Jarras, FC Montreal, USL, 123 (7)

64. Philippe Lincourt-Joseph, FC Montreal, USL, 115 (7)

65. Jonathan Grant, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 115 (5)

66. Josh Heard, Bethlehem Steel, USL, 115 (4)

67. Mackenzie Pridham, Sacramento Republic, USL, 108 (5)

68. Mitch Piraux, WFC2, USL, 100 (2)

69. Brandon John, Sounders FC2, USL, 98 (2)

T70. Marco Carducci, WFC2, USL, 90 (1)

T70. Callum Irving, Rio Grande Valley FC, USL, 90 (1)

T70. Wandrille Lefevre, FC Montreal, USL, 90 (1)

T70. David Paulmin, FC Montreal, USL, 90 (1)

T70. Maxim Tissot, FC Montreal, USL, 90 (1)

75. Karl Ouimette, NYRB2, USL, 87 (1)

76. Andrew Dias, TFC II, USL, 80 (1)

75. Ashtone Morgan, TFC II, USL, 62 (1)

77. Sahil Sandhu, WFC2, USL, 50 (4)

78. Ethan Beckford, TFC II, USL, 40 (2)

79. Fabrice Mbvouvouma, FC Montreal, USL, 34 (3)

80. Terran Campbell, WFC2, USL, 19 (5)

81. Richlord Ennin, TFC II, USL, 18 (2)

82. Nikola Stakic, TFC II, USL, 7 (1)

USL TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2016, RANKED BY AVERAGE MINUTES PER GAME:

FC Montreal, 8855/10 (885.5)

TFC II, 7094/12 (591.2)

WFC2, 6185/11 (562.3)

Rochester Rhinos, 1722/10 (172.2)

Swope Park Rangers, 1579/10 (157.9)

Orlando City B, 1594/12 (132.8)

Wilmington Hammerheads FC, 990/11 (90)

Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 733/10 (73.3)

Louisville City FC, 698/12 (58.2)

Sounders FC 2, 394/12 (32.8)

Sacramento Republic, 108/10 (10.8)

Bethlehem Steel 115/11 (10.5)

Rio Grande Valley FC, 90/11 (8.2)

NYRB2, 82/11 (7.5)

Error-filled Canadian women’s side lucky to lose only by two to Brazil

Kadeisha Buchanan

Where to begin?

The scoreboard at Toronto’s BMO Field read Brazil 2, Canada 0. But, in this first of two friendlies against the Olympic hosts, the Canadian national women’s team played such an error-filled, undisciplined match, it’s safe to say that the scoreline actually flattered Les Rouges.

This Canadian team deserved to lose by more. A lot more. And, without Erin McLeod in goal to bail the team out with a highlight reel worth of saves, you can’t help but feel that this team is scarily close to being on the wrong end of a pretty bad beating from one of the top-tier international opponents.

Brazil’s two goals, both from Marta, were the product of chain-reaction series of errors from Canada.



On the first goal, centre back Kadeisha Buchanan decided to leave her positional awareness behind, and came way out to the right sideline to challenge for a ball she should never have been near. She came out second-best in the 50-50 challenge, and venturing way out into the wing meant that wasn’t where she should have been when the Brazilians sent the ball into the centre of the penalty area. Now, Canada still should have been OK; Allysha Chapman had scrambled over from the fullback position to clear the danger. But, she fell over the ball, and Marta was left with an open net.

The second goal came after Janine Beckie slipped and lost the ball. But, there was plenty of chance for her Canadian teammates to recover. But, the entire backline backed off the Brazilian ball carrier. Buchanan, who usually relishes the challenge, backed off and allowed Marta to shoot. Keeper Stephanie Labbe dove to stop the ball, and it went under her.

Throughout the game, we saw centre backs Shelina Zadorsky and Buchanan playing so far apart from each other, you could have driven a train down the middle of the pitch. There was no cohesion in the back line, no sense that the players communicated with each other. And Buchanan wandered out of her position so often, you have to wonder just how much one of the world’s highest rated defenders actually trusts her teammates.

The Brazilians love to press the player with the ball — in numbers. They’ll often bring two players to press an opposing midfielder with the ball. But, time after time, the Canadians lost the ball in midfield; the Brazilians swarmed, and the poor ball handler realized that she had no short option, no quick-relief pass to get herself out of trouble. The Brazilians then won the ball like a pack of wolves descending on a wounded deer.

It was if the Canadian was horribly uncomfortable having to play on a grass surface; pass after pass was left short, and players caught their studs and fell in many critical situations.

Maybe this was a blip — a nervous team playing in front of a big home crowd. But, wait, this Canadian team just went through a home World Cup, playing in front of even bigger crowds in 2015. Sure, some of the players on display Saturday were not part of that World Cup squad, but there’s still enough of a veteran presence there to steady the ship.

The international book on Canada is that it struggles to score, but that it defends well. Well, Canada couldn’t score, but the defence was also terribly suspect.

The details on Mallan Roberts’s loan move to Ottawa

Canadian defender Mallan Roberts will join the Ottawa Fury on loan from FC Edmonton.

This marks the first direct transaction between the two Canadian NASL teams.

Roberts had been a regular starter for FC Edmonton, but in 2016 had been moved down the depth chart with the acquisition of defender Pape Diakite, who was just named the NASL’s Player of the Month. Now, Roberts will get the chance to go to Ottawa and compete for a central-defence spot with Rafael Alves and Timbo.

Coach Colin Miller said that Edmonton is in “total control” of the move.

“If another team comes in for Mallan, we’re in control of that situation. What Ottawa has done is taken on his salary and hopefully he can get some playing time there.”



Miller said that academy product Marko Aleksic has blossomed, and has moved up the depth chart behind Albert Watson and Diakite.

Roberts would be permitted to play for the Fury in games against FCE; and Miller said that, if needed, the Eddies have the right to recall Roberts.

“Mallan will add good depth to our backline. He’s a good young Canadian player and a very athletic defender,” said Fury head coach Paul Dalglish in a release issued by the club. “With the injuries to (Kyle) Venter and (Rich) Balchan we needed to add depth to our squad and he will now fight for a spot in our back four.”

That could suggest that Roberts or another central midfielder could be shuffled to a fullback spot if needed.

Roberts appeared in one World Cup qualifying match for the Canadian national team — and Miller had lobbied Canadian national-team coach Benito Floro to have a look at the player.

He is just 23 and has already logged over 4,000 minutes of NASL action. Though he has seen very limited playing time in 2016, Fury fans can regard him as being a youthful veteran, if there is such a thing.

“Sometimes, a player needs to leave from where he grew up,” said Miller.

Hands off the Kaffeewerk cup: Canada and Azerbaijan play to draw

Tesho Akindele and Tosaint Ricketts celebrate a goal against Azerbaijan. PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

If a game goes on in the forest, does anybody hear?

For the three thousand or so watching the stream of the Canadian men’s national team’s friendly against Azerbaijan, it was 90 minutes that offered very little in terms of hope or discouragement ahead of the next two crucial games of World Cup qualifying. Tesho Akindele’s goal, thanks to a wonderful set-up from Scott Arfield, was clinical. And Akindele put a ball off the bar earlier in the first half, as well.

That was the good.

But, as the game went on, Canada’s attacking intent dwindled. As night set in the Austrian forest that surrounded the playing field (it would be overly generous to use the word “stadium”here), coach Benito Floro brought in a series of defensive-minded substitutions, save for the insertion of Junior Hoilett.

Tosaint Ricketts’s shot that narrowly went over the bar was as close as Canada would come in the second half.

It was almost as if Floro and Canada wanted to show it could hold Azerbaijan to a 1-1 draw, as the opposition drew level early in the second halfafter Karl Ouimette was judged to have fouled an attacker in the penalty area. Dimitrij Nazarov finished off the penalty kick.



The good: Canada scored from open play. Akindele was positive and Arfield is looking more and more comfortable in a Canadian shirt. Julian de Guzman was brought in for a second-half stint, so it looks like the veteran has recovered from the injury he suffered playing for the Ottawa Fury in Edmonton a few weeks ago. (That’s good news for Fury fans, as players eligible for the Amway Canadian Championship will be returned early to their clubs so they can participate in the second legs of their semifinals.)

The bad: Ouimette, who committed the foul that led to the equalizer, also had a shaky moment when he made the poor decision to nod a ball back to keeper Simon Thomas despite the fact an Azerbaijan attacker was streaking into the penalty area. Marcel De Jong had to leave the game with injury — which could be bad news for the Ottawa Fury. And, with de Jong out, that reduces Canada’s already limited roster of fullbacks who actually play fullback with their club teams.

To be fair, a Canadian team that doesn’t start striker Cyle Larin, Hoilett, midfielders Atiba Hutchinson, JDG or Will Johnson (the latter is back with Toronto FC after suffering a hip injury) isn’t really a close facsimile of what Floro will use when Canada plays those oh-so-huge qualifying matches against Honduras and El Salvador at the end of the summer.

So, it’s impossible to grade this game, other than the cool signage for the Kaffeewerk coffee house (I can only imagine it is staffed by four baristas in skin-tight glow-in-the-dark suits). It was another chance for Floro to look at some of the players who might have an impact for Canada in the months and years to come — but can’t really help us get a handle on the immediate future.