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UNITED STATES 2 CANADA 0
Canada’s opening fixture at the 2011 Gold Cup was billed as an opportunity for the Canadian team to exact revenge for loss to the United States in the 2007 Gold Cup that was facilitated by a poor call by the referee. Instead of coming out of the gates with fire in their eyes and revenge on their minds, Canada started out this match very tentatively and never recovered from a poor first half that likely left Canada Head Coach Stephen Hart exasperated.
Canadian head coach Stephen Hart comments on Canada's performance in their 2-0 loss to the United States to start their 2011 Gold Cup campaign.
The Opening Forty-Five
The first half kicked with the Americans clearly looking to bounce back after being soundly spanked by Spain in their last tune-up match before the Gold Cup. The U.S.A dominated the first half of the match in terms of possession, corner kicks and scoring chances.
The first scoring opportunity of the match came in the 3rd minute when Andre Hainault fouled Jozy Altidore just outside the Canada box, but Clint Dempsey’s resulting free kick hit the Canadian wall and deflected out of bounds.
As the first half progressed, it was all the U.S.A., as the Americans dominated possession and used excellent off the ball movement to penetrate the Canadian end of the pitch.
The States opened the scoring in 16th minute, when Altidore took a shot from wide angle and beat Lars Hirschfeld to the short side on a play in which the Canadian keeper should have done better.
Canada’s only real chance of the half came in the 33rd minute when Dwayne De Rosario unleashed a shot from distance that beat Tim Howard and just missed curling inside the right corner.
In the 40th minute, Hirschfeld made a great reaction save on a deflected shot by Juan Agudelo to keep the score close.
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USA 2, Canada 0. Meh. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but not good. As Hart said after Ecuador game, "We have some work to do."
- @JohnMolinaro
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The Second Half
Canada started off the second half with a run of improved play and much more consistent possession compared to the first half.
In the 57th minute, Jackson showed great skill to beat Tim Ream as he broke into the box, but the U.S.A. got numbers back quickly and Canada could not get a shot off.
Three minutes later, the United States doubled their lead when a sliding Clint Dempsey redirected a perfect cross by Altidore into the back of the Canada net.
Ali Gerba had the first of two excellent scoring chances in the 70th minute when an excellent pass from Jackson allowed the Montreal Impact striker to unleash a powerful shot that U.S. keeper Tim Howard just got a hand on to tip it over the crossbar.
In the 85th minute, Howard made the save of the match when dove to block a sure goal on a shot by Gerba from within the U.S.A. box.
Scenes from outside Ford Field in Detroit where a small group of Canadian soccer supporters gathered some 4 hours before kickoff to make their presence felt.
The Final Word: Canada have their work cut out for them
While it wasn’t a disaster, this match likely felt like something of a letdown for Canadian supporters and the Canadian National Team itself. Whether it was nerves or just strong determined play by the Americans, Canada came out flat and did not play anywhere close to their potential in the opening forty-five minutes.
Only Stephen Hart and the players know what was said over the half-time break, but whatever it was, it worked, as Canada was much better in the second half, with the team that everyone expected actually appearing. The Canadians moved the ball better and delivered a handful of excellent scoring chances only to be denied by arguably the best keeper in the tournament in Tim Howard.
Ultimately, the score line perfectly matched the performances on the pitch. Canada was never really in this one and the United States legitimately earned all three points. From Canada’s perspective it was much less than the team is capable of, but it wasn’t a something they can’t build on, learn from and rebound from. If the team can come out of the gate quickly and play to their potential in their next two group stage matches, this one will be quickly forgotten.
So what does Canada need to do better against Guadaloupe and Panama? A few things stood out. Josh Simpson looked dangerous when was on the ball against the U.S., but he did not see enough of it. Canada must find a way to get him more involved. Simeon Jackson had some excellent moments, but at least in this match, it looked like he is too small to play as the lone striker and he would probably benefit greatly playing off either Rob Friend or Ali Gerba. The Canadian attack was much more effective when these players came on. In fact, regardless of the fact that he plays in the North American Second Division, Gerba certainly showed more than enough to earn a start in the next match. He simply plays well for Canada and, while he has his detractors, he came on and made this one a game.
Lastly, whether or not it was Hart’s game plan to have the fullbacks staying close to home for a tactical defensive purpose, Nik Ledgerwood and Marcel de Jong contributed very little to the build-up, with neither looking like they have the natural pace to be a threat from the flanks. At least offensively, Mike Klukowski and Jaime Peters would likely add more to the Canadian attack.
Canada Line-up
Lars Hirschfeld
Marcel De Jong
Kevin McKenna
Andre Hainault
Nik Ledgerwood
Will Johnson
Terry Dunfield
Atiba Hutchinson
Dwayne De Rosario
Josh Simpson
Simeon Jackson
Substitutions: (65) Gerba in for Johnson (81) Friend in for De Rosario (81) Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault in for Dunfield.
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