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CANADA 1 GUADELOUPE 0
After losing to the United States in their opening match of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canadian Men’s National Team Head Coach Stephen Hart made four changes to his lineup for the team’s second group stage match against Guadeloupe, with two of those changes being brought on by training session injuries to a couple of starters. Under an extremely hot Florida Sun, keeper Milan Borjan made his Gold Cup debut in place of Lars Hirschfeld and striker Ali Gerba got the start up front in place of Simeon Jackson. Julian de Guzman and Mike Klukowski also made their ways into the starting eleven in place of the injured Atiba Hutchinson and Marcel de Jong, with the loss of the former being a major setback for Canada given that Hutchinson was the team’s best player against the United States.
Like Canada, Guadeloupe came into this fixture having lost their opening match. That said, it’s important to note that the team was also coming off an inspiring performance in their 3-2 loss to Panama, in a match in which they came back from 3-0 hole with only ten men to almost pull off a draw.
Canadian head coach Stephen Hart's post-game comments after his side's 1-0 win over Guadeloupe in Tampa, Florida.
The Opening Forty-Five
The first half kicked with Canada gaining a clear advantage right off the bat, when the referee sent off Guadeloupe defender Jean-Luc Lambourde for a lunging tackle on Will Johnson.
With the man advantage, Canada would dominate possession throughout the opening forty-five minutes, but would also have trouble generating scoring chances from open play.
In the 16th minute, Dwayne De Rosario delivered a cross that Ali Gerba was able to redirect into the Guadeloupe net, but the Canadian striker was deemed off side and the goal did not count.
Twenty-Eight minutes in, Guadeloupe forward Brice Jovial unleashed a dangerous shot that required Borjan to make a big save.
Canada had an excellent scoring chance in the 32nd minute when Josh Simpson sent a fantastic ball through the Guadeloupe box, but Gerba could not get a foot on it to redirect it into the net.
The half would progress with Canada not looking very much like a team with a man advantage and Stephen Hart looking suitably frustrated on the sideline.
The opening forty-five would end scoreless, with Gerba having had a number of good scoring chances that he was unable to convert.
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#CMNT looked a lot like #TFC tonight. Lots of meaningless possession with not a lot of end product.
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The Second Half
Canada started off the second half with another break going their way in the 51st minute when the referee awarded the Canucks a penalty kick on what looked like a harsh call against defender Stephane Zubar for a foul on Gerba in the Guadeloupe box.
Dwayne De Rosario stepped up and took a cool and professional penalty kick, depositing the ball in the right corner of the net to give Canada its first lead of the tournament.
With the lead, Canada would continue to dominate possession in the second half, but also showed very little killer instinct and almost no inclination to finish off their opponents.
Guadeloupe had several good chances to tie things up, but Canada was able to hold them off the scoreboard, as the team kept its shape throughout the match.
Canada almost doubled their lead in the 65th minute, when substitute Simeon Jackson unleashed a rocket of a shot from distance that a diving Franck Grandel just pushed to safety.
The final minutes of the match degenerated, as a desperate Guadeloupe resorted to unsportsmanlike challenges in an effort to try and pull out a result. Canada got a scare in the 90th minute when a mugging of challenge by Livio Nabab on Borjan, left the Canadian keeper dazed for a few minutes. Ultimately, the 23 year old up and coming keeper was able to shake off the challenge, as he lead Canada to their first victory in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The Final Word: Canada show no killer instinct
While Canada got the three points the team needed, their performance in this match was every bit as befuddling as the one the team delivered in their tournament opener against the United States. Viewers that missed the first five minutes of this match likely would not have even been able to tell that Canada played ninety minutes - including injury time - up a man against Guadeloupe. The boys in Red had many stretches in which they dominated possession and got into the Guadeloupe end of the pitch wit relative ease, but ultimately the lack of finish and killer instinct that Canada displayed was disturbing.
Canadian National Team Supporters can only hope that Canada will get stronger as the tournament progresses, because thus far the team has not looked close to a finished product. Against a stronger team, or even any other team not down a man for essentially an entire match, Canada likely would not have come out of this one with a victory. Atiba Hutchinson was clearly missed in this match, as Canada actually benefited from the type of questionable CONCACAF referee calls that usually go against them. Canadian keeper Milan Borjan was a bright spot in his Gold Cup debut and, if he is healthy for Canada’s next match against Panama, the 23 year old deserves another start in the team’s final group stage match in Kansas City. Canada have their work cut out for them as they had back to the training pitch.
Canada Line-up
Milan Borjan
Mike Klukowski
Kevin McKenna
Andre Hainault
Nik Ledgerwood
Will Johnson
Terry Dunfield
Julian de Guzman
Dwayne De Rosario
Josh Simpson
Ali Gerba
Substitutions: (64) Jackson in for De Rosario; Friend in for Gerba (81) Pacheco in for De Guzman (81).
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