Canada 4 St. Kitts and Nevis 0
The Canadian National Team entered their final match in the second round of World Cup with a spot in the next round already clinched, but also with all kinds of pressure hanging over them due to the lacklustre performance they delivered in St. Kitts last Friday. Canada Head Coach Stephen promised Canadian supporters ahead of the match that they would see a different Canadian team at BMO Field and also hinted that he was going to make fairly significant lineup changes for the game.
RedNation Online speaks with Ashtone Morgan following Canada's 4-0 victory over St. Kitts and Nevis at BMO Field.
On that latter point, Kenny Stamatopoulos got the start in net, Patrice Bernier replaced Julian de Guzman in the midfield, Ashtone Morgan started at left back and Olivier Occean got the nod ahead of Simeon Jackson up front. Tosaint Ricketts started at right wing, with Nik Ledgerwood lining up behind him at right back and Adam Straith starting alongside David Edgar in central defence.
The First Half
The first half kicked off with Canada looking much more spirited and forward thinking than they did a few days ago in St. Kitts. That said, this one almost began in a disastrous fashion with a defensive breakdown by Canada allowing St. Kitts forward George Isaac a direct line to the Canadian net. A strong defensive play by David Edgar ended the danger, but the visitors had sent the message that the home side was not going to be able to leave the back door open as they pushed forward in search of audience pleasing goals.
Veteran Canadian midfielder Patrice Bernier discusses his first game back with the National Team after a considerable absence due to injury.
In the 7th minute, Ricketts made an electrifying run down the right side and delivered a dangerous ball into the St. Kitts box that keeper Akil Byron grabbed just ahead of a sliding Olivier Occean.
As the half progressed, Canada dominated possession, but also saw the majority of their crosses easily cut out by the St. Kitts defenders.
Canada had a major scare in the 15th minute when Isaac blasted one off the post and just missed opening the scoring.
The home side came close with a chance of their own in the 21st minute, when Dwayne De Rosario made a nice lay off pass to Josh Simpson, who set up Ricketts for a shot. Unfortunately for Canada, his blast was off the side netting.
Olivier Occean got the ball rolling in the first half for Canada when he redirected a corner kick for Canada's first goal in their 4-0 win over St. Kitts.
Canada opened the scoring in the 27th minute, when De Rosario sent a corner kick to Will Johnson outside the top of the box. The Real Salt Lake player then delivered a well placed ball in that Olivier Occean redirected into the back of the net.
In the 35th minute, an excellent forward pass from Nik Ledgerwood to Ricketts ended with the Canadian right winger pulled down in the penalty area, as the St. Kitts defender simply could not keep up with the lightning quick Canadian. Dwayne De Rosario stepped up and scored on the penalty kick to not only double Canada’s lead, but also tie Dale Mitchell as the Canadian National Team’s All-Time Leading Scorer.
Josh Simpson added another goal in first half injury time when he headed in a corner kick delivered by Will Johnson.
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Soup always tastes good on nights like this... No heartbreak, no angst no mexican referees... Just wholesome #CanMNT goodness #TasteTheSoup
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The Second Half
The early going of the second half continued with Canada dominating play and the majority of the action occurring in the St. Kitts half of the pitch.
Canada almost scored again in the 56th minute when Ricketts made a fantastic penetrating play and delivered a strong cross that Simpson unfortunately was unable to head into an open net.
In the 65th minute, Ledgerwood delivered an excellent cross into the St. Kitts box, but Ricketts headed it wide of the net, as Canada continued to struggle in the final third in open play.
Canadian National Team midfielder Will Johnson discusses Canada's bounce back victory over St. Kitts on home soil in Toronto.
As the second half played out, Canada continued to generate scoring chances but could not find that final pass or shot to finish their often impressive build up play.
Canada finally broke through in the 88th minute when De Rosario blasted a shot from just inside the penalty area that Byron lost hold of and Ricketts pounced on the rebound and knocked it in.
The Final Word: That’s more like it Canada!
Ultimately, the 10, 235 fans announced in attendance witnessed the type of easy victory that Canada needed to placate what was becoming a very nervous legion of supporters that had been left very unhappy with Canada’s uninspired performance against the Sugar Boys last Friday. Very importantly, with the win, Canada protected their home field and ended their initial round of World Cup qualifying with a strong positive performance to at least partially silence their detractors.
There were a lot of positives that Stephen Hart and the Canadian team will be able to take from this match. First and foremost was the spirit and character shown by the players, who played with a lot more passion and energy than they had exhibited last Friday in St. Kitts. It’s hard to even fathom what the chorus would have been like if this match had ended in another scoreless draw or a win for St. Kitts. Credit needs to be given to the Canadian players for answering the call and delivered the type of performance that was very badly needed from a perception and momentum standpoint. Overall, the pace and energy that this young Canadian squad showed was both exciting and encouraging.
Tosaint Ricketts won man of the match honours and rounded off Canada's scoring night in their 4-0 win over St. Kitts.
In terms of the individual player performances, both Straith and Edgar were solid on the back line and Ashtone Morgan showed the type of pace that Canada will need at fullback when it goes up against some of the better teams in CONCACAF. In many ways, Nik Ledgerwood played a big part in setting the tone for this game with some gutsy play at right back, as he was on the end of a couple of brutal fouls by St. Kitts and just got up and got on with business. On the offensive end, Dwayne De Rosario and Josh Simpson lead the way in the manner you would expect from a pair of players of their pedigree, with the latter delivering some stunning 1v1 moves to beat defenders in the offensive end and the former scoring on a patented to De Ro penalty kick to secure a place in the Canadian History Books. Will Johnson also played a very spirited and strong two way match in the central midfield while Olivier Occean and Tosaint Ricketts both were very high quality in such a manner that Stephen Hart will now need to consider these two for further starts in 2012. The pace of Ricketts in particular stood out as something that could become a real X-factor for Canada as the 24 year old forward continues his development into a front line player.
Dwayne De Rosario's first half penalty gave him 19 career goals for Canada. It tied him with Dale Mitchell for the most all-time for Canada.
On the negative side of the equation, there were a couple of poor defensive breakdowns by Canada that likely would have been punished more severely by better opponents. The fact that St. Kitts had several genuine scoring chances and actually hit the post has to be a point of concern for Hart and his staff. Furthermore, the 4-0 scoreline looks good and is undoubtedly a very decent end result. However, for many stretches of this match Canada still struggled to finish in the final third and three of the four goals came from set pieces. With better finishing, this one should have ended 6-0 or 7-0. It may seem like grasping at straws or looking hard for negatives, but one goal from open play in two games against St. Kitts also has to be a valid concern for the squad.
Ultimately, Canada got the job done on this day with the type of performance and result that everybody expected them to deliver against this level of competition. While many people are probably wondering if the very negative criticism of the team after their poor performance on Friday was now over the top, the basic fact is that Canadian supporters can only hope that the team learned something of value from their previous lacklustre game. In the end, it can’t be highlighted how important it was for Canada to end 2011 with a victory at home.
Canadian head coach Stephen Hart's post-match press conference following Canada's 4-0 win over St. Kitts & Nevis.
Canada Starting Lineup
22 Kenny Stamatopoulos
2 Nik Ledgerwood
5 Adam Straith
15 David Edgar
17 Ashtone Morgan
20 Patrice Bernier
17 Will Johnson
14 Dwayne De Rosario
11 Josh Simpson
9 Tosaint Ricketts
16 Olivier Occean
Substitutions: (70) Attakora in for Ledgerwood; Jackson in for Occean (81) Beaulieu-Borgault in for Bernier.
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