The final score was a lot closer than anticipated, nonetheless, a win is a win and Canada officially booked their ticket to the semi-finals of the 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifiers with a 2-0 victory over Cuba.
Head coach John Herdman made 8 changes to the starting XI that defeated Haiti 6-0, largely to keep players fresh for more important upcoming matches. Twenty-one year-old Shannon Woeller, along with veterans Christine Sinclair and Melissa Tancredi were the only players to remain in the starting lineup. Herdman was also confident enough in his team to give Alyscha Mottershead, 20, and Chelsea Buckland, 21, their first career starts.
Canada's first chance on goal was a free kick from the right side of the pitch quite reminiscent of the play that setup their emphatic goal against Germany in the Women's World Cup. This time around, Sinclair was unable to convert the direct free kick and sent the ball straight into the Cuban wall.
Perhaps a foreshadowing of what was to come for most of the match, Canada's one of many missed opportunities occurred in the 6th minute. A well taken corner kick by midfielder Kaylyn Kyle was headed down and just wide by an unmarked Carmelina Moscato. With another corner kick a few moments later, Mottershead sent her header over the bar.
John Herdman provides his thoughts on Canada's victory over Cuba:
After quick one touch passing among Sinclair, Tancredi and Kyle, Kyle was hip checked to the ground in the box, earning Canada's second penalty kick of the tournament. Sinclair converted the PK, electing to place the ball exactly as she did against Haiti: low and to the left after freezing the goalkeeper. Canada led 1-0 after 17 minutes.
Erin McLeod wasn't troubled too much while in the Canadian net. Cuba won a corner kick in the 21st minute, but Canada easily headed away the danger against their young and pintsized opponent. Cuba later sent in a potentially dangerous cross from the right side, but McLeod was able to grab it out of the air just as she did with a Cuban free kick late in the first half.
Canada captured their second goal in the 24th minute when defensive midfielder Mottershead played a perfect diagonal ball off the outside of her boot to split the defence and release Sinclair heading to the end line. Sinclair's cross to the far post was met with a thumping header by Tancredi. The sequence gained momentum following an initial ball from right back Robyn Gayle, much to the liking of Herdman as he's emphasized possessing and building plays from the backline.
Ten minutes later, Tancredi sent a weakly taken shot into the arms of Cuban goalkeeper Lucylena Martinez, and Buckland one-timed Sinclair's pass but the ball ricocheted off the post. Buckland's second attempt on goal in the 41st minute was sent high.
Christine Sinclair discusses Canada's 2-0 win over Cuba:
Sinclair was replaced in the second half by Sophie Schmidt. Schmidt, who played on the flanks in the opening match, was now the attacking midfielder.
With a scoreless and Sinclair-less second half, it was encouraging to see that the team could possess the ball just as well as they did with their captain on the pitch, yet it was a bit worrying that they were unable to put the ball in the back of the net without their leading goal scorer. Compared to Sinclair's 125 goals (including 5 goals and 2 assists thus far in the tournament), Tancredi is the next highest scoring player on the active roster with 15 goals.
Cuba made Canada's task of scoring ever more difficult as they bunkered and packed 10 players into their defensive half. The crowded box produced a number of corner kicks, but Canada was unable to convert.
Chelsea Buckland discusses the result and her first start:
The Canadians were prone to sending their efforts right to the goalkeeper or wide of the net, as Schmidt did in the 51st minute, Melanie Booth a minute later, as well as Mottershead, Tancredi, Kyle and Booth's substitute, Chelsea Stewart, late in the match.
In the 75th minute, Canada missed out on a potential third goal from a PK when head referee Gillian Martindale of Barbados failed to see the ball bounce off a Cuban defender's arm while in the box.
Despite losing their second game and, thus, being eliminated from an opportunity to advance to the 2012 London Olympic Games, the close 2-0 score line was a moral victory for the Cubans, who appeared rather pleased at the end of the match. While Martinez was kept busy in the net, she was able to smother loose balls as well as hang on to prevent rebounds considerably well compared to other goalkeepers from small CONCACAF nations.
Canada's ability to possess the ball and the depth of the team displayed in this match were still very encouraging signs going forward. Another record crowd came in support of the home team at BC Place with 12,416 fans – "the largest ever attendance for a CONCACAF tournament match in Canada."
Kaylyn Kyle discusses Canada's result and looking forward to Costa Rica next week:
**********
In the first match of the day, Wendy Acosta's two goals in the second half defeated Haiti 2-0, securing Costa Rica a place in the semi-finals. Canada and Costa Rica will face off for the top spot in Group A on Monday, January 23 at 10:30PM ET/7:30PM PT. Eliminated teams Cuba and Haiti will meet the same day at 8:00PM ET/5:00PM PT.
Friday's Group B action saw Mexico triumph over Guatemala 5-0, including a hat trick by Maribel Dominguez as well as goals by Marylin Diaz and Dinora Garza.
The USA's 14-0 thumping of the Dominican Republic unleashed a flurry of criticisms and counterpoints. Carli Lloyd, Rachel Buehler, Tobin Health and Lauren Cheney scored single goals, while Abby Wambach scored a brace, Heather O'Reilly a hat trick and Amy Rodriguez netted five.
Coach Pia Sundhage was deemed "classless" by Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest in the broadcast for her exuberant goal celebrations that continued until the end of the match. However, the most important discussions that stemmed from it all and where most of the attention should have been placed is, what can CONCACAF and FIFA, as well as individuals and organizations, do to close the gap between the top and bottom women's soccer nations. After 6 total matches being played at the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifiers, the top teams have outscored the others 31-0 (Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and USA compared to Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Haiti.)
The Americans were dealt a serious loss when starting right back Ali Krieger suffered ACL and MCL tears in her right knee following a reckless challenge by an opponent. Krieger is expected to be out 6-8 months and is likely to miss the Olympics should the USA qualify.
Tonight's matches will feature Mexico vs. Dominican Republic at 5:00PM ET/2:00PM PT and USA vs. Guatemala at 7:30PM ET/4:30PM PT.
While pursuing a career in non-profit event planning and fundraising, Melissa provides in depth coverage of the CanWNT for All White Kit and RedNation.
|