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Posted by
Kamal Hylton,
July 9, 2015 |
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Kamal Hylton
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Coming off its positive result against Dominica to begin the road down Russia 2018 World Cup Qualifying, the Canadian Men’s National Team entered into 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup eager to continue the positive momentum. It’s first test beginning with a tournament opener against El Salvador at StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Head coach Benito Floro and the squad knows its work is cut out for them, being part go a difficult group that also consists of Costa Rica and Jamaica (whom ended in a 2-2 draw earlier in the evening). With that in mind, the Spaniard named a line-up and formation similar to those that got the job done against Dominica over two legs in June.
Some changes were expected such as the inclusion of Kenny Stamatopoulos in goal, Dejan Jakovic in central defence partnering David Edgar and Marcel de Jong playing left fullback. However, Kyle Bekker joining the fray alongside converted central defender Adam Straith and Samuel Piette was an interesting move and one likely made to give the midfield a different look. Floro kept the attacking trio of Cyle Larin, Tesho Akindele and Tosaint Ricketts together, all three looking particularly impressive and standing out against Dominica.
The Opening 45
El Salvador began the game as the better of the two teams, playing probing passes, keeping the ball and testing the Canadian backline. Two players standing out for La Selecta were the holding midfield duo of Darwin Ceren of Orlando City SC and Richard Menjivar of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, both winning tackles, acting as the fulcrums of the side and getting the better of the newly formed Canadian midfield.
Canada’s front line of Larin, Akindele and Ricketts showed activity in the opening moments, pressing the defence and running onto through balls. Much of the game was stop/start, with a lot of fouls and referee stoppages, however El Salvador did get a spark from the combination of veteran midfielder Arturo Alvarez and early substitute in forward Irvin Herrera. The Santa Tecla FC striker came on for an injured Nelson Bonilla and immediately tested Stamatopoulos with a pair of chances, the first coming in the 26th minute from a long ball that beat the Canadian defence and the other coming a minute later after Herrera beat Edgar for pace from the left wing.
Canada did see more of the ball as the half wore on only for its best opportunity of the night to go begging in the 36th minute, defensive pressure allowing Larin to get in on goal alone, round the keeper and promptly blast it over the net. The Canucks went from almost scoring to nearly conceding at the end of the half, Menjivar producing a mazy run past multiple defenders that produced chaos for the Canadians to deal with and ending in a missed punch from Stamatopulos before the ball went out of play and the half would end 0-0.
The Second Half
Coming into the second half, the Salvadorians would continue its momentum by dictating play, finding space and earning set pieces. Menjivar popping up again in the 58th minute, getting a long range shot on goal and forcing Stamatopulos into a save.
Canada would get a chance on goal moments later, Piette and de Jong combining and getting a shot on Derby Carrillo’s goal. As time ticked away the tempo of the match began to pick up for both sides, looking to piece some passes together and stretch the defences in order to make the game more open. El Salvador continued to look the better team in the second half, Canada unable to keep the ball in dangerous positions or hold the ball up in order to sustain attacks.
Substitute Marcus Haber got a chance on goal in the 77th minute, a cross from Bekker leading to a header straight into the keepers hands. The Canadians would have another chance on goal in the 81st minute, a Ricketts bicycle kick not having enough on it to beat Carrillo. Seeing time dwindling away substitute Teibert comes on making an instant impact, seeing a shot go over the bar in the 85th minute. Ultimately neither team was able to break the deadlock, wasting an opportunity to go top of the group in the process after group favourites Costa Rica dropped what was expected to be a win.
Man of the Match
Kenny Stamatopulos
Although he did make an error towards the end of the first half that could’ve led to a goal, if it wasn’t for his pair of saves against Irvin Herrera and solid goalkeeping throughout the match this could’ve easily ended in a loss for Canada. The Salvadorians were clearly the better of the two teams, creating more positive plays and having more meaningful chances on goal, but the combination of poor finishing and good leadership from the AIK keeper led to a clean sheet in what was a lacklustre game.
Canada Line-up
22 Kenny Stamatopoulos
2 Nik Ledgerwood
12 Dejan Jakovic
5 David Edgar (C)
17 Marcel de Jong
8 Kyle Bekker
15 Adam Straith
14 Samuel Piette
9 Tosaint Ricketts
23 Tesho Akindele
21 Cyle Larin
Substitutions: Marcus Haber for Cyle Larin (68’); Russell Teibert for Samuel Piette (83’); Jonathan Osorio for Kyle Bekker (86’).
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