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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
June 16, 2015 |
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Steve Bottjer
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@BottjerRNO
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After earning a 2-0 victory away to Dominica last Thursday, the Canadian Men’s National Team was back in action on Tuesday for the home leg of their initial round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. With a win and two away goals to their credit, Canada went into this match firmly in control against a Dominica side that often looked outmatched in the opening game of the series.
Canadian Men’s National Team Head Coach Benito Floro made a number of changes to his starting eleven, with David Edgar and Ashtone Morgan starting on the back line in place of Manjrekar James and Karl Ouimette respectively. Morgan’s Toronto FC teammate Jonathan Osorio also got a start in place of Russell Teibert, as Floro elected to go a second straight match with an attacking trio of Tesho Akindele , Cyle Larin and Tosaint Ricketts that showed so much promise last week. Kenny Stamatopoulos started in net in place of the suspended Milan Borjan.
The Opening 45
Canada scored an early goal for the second straight match, with Tesho Akindele hammering home his first national team goal in the 4th minute after picking up a loose ball just outside the Dominica box.
The Canadians continued to generate scoring chances with the majority of the action taking place in the Dominica side of the pitch. Dominica keeper Glenson Prince was a very busy man for the second straight match, as he was peppered by shots right from the get go.
Canada came close again in the 14th minute when left back Ashtone Morgan delivered a fine cross that Tosaint Ricketts got on the end of and powerfully headed, but with Prince ultimately coming up with a big game.
Four minutes later, Prince had to be quick to snuff out the danger after Ricketts sent in a cross that evolved into a scramble in front of the net with both Cyle Larin and Jonathan Osorio lurking to tap the ball in from in close.
Canada doubled their lead in the 41st minute when Larin delivered a wonderful strike from 25 yards out to beat Prince in the top right corner.
Ricketts then came within inches of adding a third during first half injury time with a powerful blast that sailed just wide of the far post.
The Second Half
Canada added to their tally early in the second half when Ashtone Morgan delivered a fine pass down the left side to Akindele, with the FC Dallas forward then delivering a perfect ball across the box to set up charging Ricketts for a relatively easy tap in.
After a Dominica defender was called for a foul inside the box, Canada had an excellent chance to add to their lead in the 56th minute. However, Prince guessed correctly and was able to save a low penalty kick from David Edgar.
Canada capped off a solid offensive performance in the 77th minute when Jonathan Osorio delivered a beautiful pass to send in Ricketts one on one with Prince, with the Edmonton native delivering a clinical finish to score Canada’s fourth goal of the match.
Post-Match Reaction: Julian de Guzman:
With the victory, Canada win the series 6-0 on aggregate and clinch a spot in the next round of World Cup qualifying for the CONCACAF region, as the team will now head into this summer’s Gold Cup with a couple of confident performances to their credit. While Dominica are far from the strongest side in CONCACAF and a team that rarely troubled Canada’s defense and keeper over two games, there was plenty to like about the manner in which Canada attacked and scored goals from open play. The obvious objective for the Canadian team will now be to continue show the same type of scoring prowess against the stronger CONCACAF sides they will face in the Gold Cup and later rounds of World Cup qualifying.
Man of the Match
Tosaint Ricketts
Tosaint Ricketts gets the nod as Canada’s Man of the Match due to his strong play in an attacking role. With a brace to his credit, the lightning quick attacker kept the Dominica back line under pressure for the entirety of the game.
Tesho Akindele also delivered a fine effort as he scored his first International goal and threaded a beautiful ball to get the assist on a goal by Ricketts. Akindele looked strong on the ball while delivering pace and smart movement off of it.
Post-Match Reaction: Cyle Larin:
Young Cyle Larin also had a fine game as he continued to look very much like the type of dynamic centre forward that Canada has often lacked in the past. The Brampton, Ontario native delivered a fine goal from distance and continued to link up well with his teammates overall while forming a fluid and dynamic strike force along with Akindele and Ricketts.
Midfielder Samuel Piette also had a fine game while shielding the back four, winning balls with his tenacity and physicality and distributing the ball with smart passing and intelligent movement.
Canada Line-up
22 Kenny Stamatopoulos
2 Nik Ledgerwood
5 David Edgar
15 Adam Straith
3 Ashtone Morgan
14 Samuel Piette
8 Tosaint Ricketts
10 Jonathan Osorio
6 Julian de Guzman
23 Tesho Akindele
21 Cyle Larin
Substitutions: Marcus Haber for Cyle Larin (63); Maxim Tissot for Tesho Akindele (72); Mallan Roberts for Julian de Guzman (84).
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