Canada 3 Puerto Rico 0
With an opening win in World Cup qualifying over St. Lucia to their credit, the Canadian Men’s National Team arrived in Puerto Rico to play their second fixture in a week against a side that many expected would be a much stiffer opponent. With Canadian Head Coach Stephen Hart often calling playing away from home in the CONCACAF the great equalizer, Canada went into this one knowing they were going to have to get the job done with Atiba Hutchinson, as Hart gave his still recovering from injury best player the night off. Lars Hirschfeld got his second straight start in net for Canada and Mike Klukowski and David Edgar started at the fullback positions in place of Ante Jazic and Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault respectively. Will Johnson and Terry Dunfield also got their first World Cup qualifying starts in place of Simeon Jackson and Hutchinson.
The First Half
The first half kicked off with Canada looking more patient in their build up play than they did against St. Lucia, as they dominated possession in the first half. At the same time, it was actually Puerto Rico that emerged looking like the stronger team in the early going.
Canada had their first scoring chance in the 15th minute when a Puerto Rico giveaway allowed Iain Hume to release a shot from the top of the box. Unfortunately for the visitors, the Preston North End striker shot high over the cross bar on an off target finish that would be the first of many for the Canadians.
In the 24th minute, Puerto Rico’s Christian Arrieta delivered a shot from distance that required a save by Hirschfeld.
Three minutes later, Josh Simpson showed off some nice dribbling skills as he worked a give and go with Will Johnson, but ultimately his poor final touch let him down on the final ball and he was unable to get a shot off.
As the half progressed, it was very much a situation of Canada dominating possession, but doing very little with it, as the Canadian attack looked hopeless and hapless through the majority of the opening forty-five.
Just when it looked like Canada would never get a shot on target, a scoring breakthrough came in the 42nd minute when a Mike Klukowski cross would fall to the feet of Hume, who made no mistake in putting it into the back of the Puerto Rico net from twelve yards out.
Simeon Jackson, who plays for Norwich of the English Premier League, scored Canada's second goal and set up the third in a 3-0 win over Puerto Rico.
The Second Half
Both teams got off to a slow start in the second half with Canada and Puerto Rico both lacking intensity and looking like they were conserving themselves in the stifling humidity.
In the 50th minute, David Edgar delivered an excellent cross into the Puerto Rico box, but Simpson got under his header and sent the ball straight up in the air.
Canada came much closer in the 69th minute when second half substitute Simeon Jackson blasted one off the post.
Puerto Rico had a fantastic chance to even things up in the 72nd minute when Tyler Wilson found himself open in the Canada box and headed a cross wide of the net.
Jackson got himself on the score sheet in the 85th minute when an Edgar free kick was stopped the Puerto Rico keeper stopped the initial shot, but could prevent the Norwich City striker from jumping on the rebound and putting it in the back of the net.
Canada added a third goal during injury time when Tosaint Ricketts took advantage of a mistake by the Puerto Rico back line and scored the third goal of the evening.
Tosaint Ricketts' late goal was Canada's third goal of the night and his second career goal for his country.
The Final Word: Canada in control of Group D after two matches
While As Canada’s initial round of World Cup qualifying goes on, the team is likely to be continually judged according to two parameters. With only the team that wins Group D continuing on to the next round, the fundamental barometer for Canada will be in getting the results required to achieve that goal. Outside of that, Canada will also be under a microscope in terms of the manner in which they win against the three lower ranked teams they have been matched up with. On the former count, this victory is an unqualified success. The team now has six points after two matches and added three more goals to better their goal differential. And it should not be forgotten that this win came on the road in a difficult stadium. In the end, Canada showed enough quality when it counted to produce a score line that reflected the talent gulf between the two sides. Two substitues coming on in the second half and scoring also bodes well for future matches.
Taking all of the above into account, this match still left a lot to be desired from a performance standpoint. Like the St. Lucia match, this was the type of performance in which Canada surely would have been defeated by a more talented and seasoned opponent. Unlike the St. Lucia match, Canada generated very few real offensive chances. Atiba Hutchinson was clearly missed in the midfield and the Canadian team once again got off to a slow start with a mostly listless first half. Canada got the job done in the end and supporters can only hope that the team will build and get stronger as the qualifying process continues.
Canadian head coach Stephen Hart reacts after his team beat Puerto Rico 3-0 in San Juan.
Iain Hume's goal late in the first half proved to be the winner as Canada came away from San Juan with a 3-0 win over Puerto Rico. Hume got the start in both of Canada's first two qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup.
Canadian captain Kevin McKenna speaks to the media after Canada's 3-0 win over Puerto Rio. The win gave Canada a perfect six points after their first two games in World Cup qualifying.
Canada Starting Lineup
1 Lars Hirschfeld
3 Mike Klukowski
4 Kevin McKenna
5 Andre Hainault
15 David Edgar
6 Julian de Guzman
7 Terry Dunfield
8 Will Johnson
11Josh Simpson
7 Iain Hume
14 Dwayne De Rosario
Substitutions: (62) Jackson in for Dunfield (84) Ricketts in for Simpson.
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