Pierroth

September 4, 2004

FIFA World Cup – CONCACAF Qualifying – Semi Final Group 2, Matchday 2
Canada vs. Nicaragua

Canada (4-4-2): Onstad, Serioux, Brennan, McKenna, Reda (c), Hume, Stalteri, Hutchinson, Bernier, Radzinski, Occean. Subs: Sutton, Friend, Klukowski, Bircham, De Guzman, Pozniak, De Rosario.
Nicaragua (3-5-2): Olivas, Gaston, J. Solorzano, Perez (c), Sanchez, Acevedo, Martinez, Palacios, Garcia, Zapata, Webster. Subs: Espinoza, Bustos, Molina, Bayadares, Calero, Lagos, D. Solorzano.

This could basically be called “the night of missed chances” if we wanted to get technical. Radzinski had no less than 5 chances of net in the first half, 2 of which were with an empty net to shoot at... and he blew them all. He came off at the half in favor of De Rosario; it just wasn’t his day. The second half was even more frustrating, as in the 51st minute Pozniak (who came on for Brennan) made a terrible defensive error, allowing Zapata to latch onto a Webster cross for the easy tap-in to give Nicaragua the lead. Two minutes after that, Onstad got hit in the face with a shot and needed to be helped off, with Sutton coming in. Things were looking bleak with our missed chances, and Bernier was guilty of a few of them; that is, until Olivas fisted the ball away right into Bernier’s path, and the ensuing shot went in from a tight angle to draw us even. That’s how the match would finish off, and Nicaragua can certainly take more positives away from the match than us.

Canada 1 (Patrice Bernier 83)
Nicaragua 1 (Jimmy Zapata 51)

Man of the Match: Manuel Olivas
Attendance: 58,571
Referee: Arthur Reed

Following the match, it was revealed that both Pat Onstad and Patrice Bernier would have to be dropped due to injury; Bernier will be out for 2 weeks with a damaged shoulder, and Onstad will sit out for a month due to a broken collarbone. How he got that from the shot to the face, I have no idea. Fernando Aguiar has been called up to take Bernier’s place against Jamaica, but we won’t call up a replacement for Onstad.

Pierroth

CONCACAF WCQ Semi Final Day 2 reports

(AP) – Match reports from today’s games in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying:

Honduras 3, Panama 0

Julio Cesar Leon’s goal 46 seconds in made the difference as Honduras eased past Panama. Carlos Alberto Pavon and Milton Nunez also connected for the home side, the former off a penalty kick.

United States 5, Grenada 0

Brian McBride scored 2 goals, including a penalty, as the United States routed Grenada 5-0 at the Rose Bowl. Earnie Stewart opened the scoring 5 minutes in, and Clint Mathis and Steven Cherundolo also got on the scoresheet for the Americans, who could have done more damage in the second half if not for poor finishing.

Canada 1, Nicaragua 1

Patrice Bernier’s 83rd minute angled strike spared Canada from an embarrassing result against Nicaragua. Jimmy Zapata’s 51st minute goal against the run of play ensured another inspiring result for the visitors, who were badly outshot by Canada 20-4.

Jamaica 1, Cuba 2

Miguel Angel Gandara’s 64th minute free kick led Cuba to a shock win over hosts Jamaica. Alberto Delgado opened the scoring for the visitors in the 18th minute, but Kevin Lisbie cancelled it out 3 minutes later. Warren Barrett was stellar in goal, but he could not stop Gandara’s rocket which secured the points for Cuba.

El Salvador 3, Guatemala 1

Diego Armando Mejia scored two goals as El Salvador defeated a weakened Guatemala in San Salvador. Mario Rafael Rodriguez was sent off after only 5 minutes, putting the visitors at a serious disadvantage throughout the match. Roberto Carlos Vasquez also found the net for El Salvador, while Carlos Ruiz scored for Guatemala.

Trinidad & Tobago 1, Belize 2

Goals on both sides of the break from Dean Flowers and Wilmer Garcia led Belize to an epic win over Trinidad & Tobago. Jason Scotland scored for the hosts in the 48th minute, but Garcia streaked through the defense a moment later to send a shot sailing into the top-left corner of the goal, out of the reach of Shaka Hislop.

Pierroth

September 8, 2004

FIFA World Cup - CONCACAF Qualifying - Semi Final Group 2, Matchday 3
Jamaica vs. Canada

Jamaica (3-5-2): Barrett (c), Moore, Sinclair, M. Johnson, Taylor, Gardner, Langley, Francis, Williams, Lisbie, D. Johnson. Subs: Ricketts, Ralph, Benjamin, Whitmore, Davis, Byfield, King.
Canada (4-4-2): Sutton, Serioux, Brennan, McKenna, De Vos (c), Hume, Stalteri, Hutchinson, De Guzman, Radzinski, Occean. Subs: Hirschfeld, Friend, Aguiar, Bircham, Reda, Harmse, De Rosario.

Maybe the Nicaragua match took too much out of the boys, but we looked absolutely pathetic in the early going. Jamaica kept getting chance after chance, and it was all we could do to weather the storm and muster up some token chances on the counter-attack. The second half started out exactly the same way, until De Guzman lost his focus and tripped Lisbie in the box for a penalty. Francis easily sent Sutton the wrong way to give Jamaica the lead. Later in the half, Taylor was tripped by Stalteri, earning him a second yellow card and forcing us to finish the game with 10 men. We kept trying to press forward, but Jamaica were just too strong. Whitmore took advantage of our low morale in stoppage time by streaking in to put away any hopes of a comeback by us. Nothing positive to take away from this performance; the fact we were outshot 25-5 says it all.

Jamaica 2 (Damien Francis 48pen, Theodore Whitmore 90)
Canada 0 (Paul Stalteri s/o 58)

Man of the Match: Ricardo Gardner
Attendance: 39,963
Referee: Arturo Angeles

Pierroth

CONCACAF WCQ Semi Final Day 3 reports

(AP) – Match reports from today’s games in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying:

Grenada 0, Panama 2

Luis Tejada and Roberto Brown were on the mark in St. George’s, as Panama successfully recovered from their 3-0 loss to Honduras by easing past Grenada.

Honduras 1, United States 3

Clint Mathis’ goal right before halftime earned the United States a win over Honduras. Brian McBride opened the scoring for the Americans 13 minutes in, with Earnie Stewart converting a penalty in the 25th minute to make it 2-0. Jose Reynaldo Clavasquin brought Honduras within one goal in the 42nd minute, but Mathis’ lob 2 minutes later sealed the victory.

Jamaica 2, Canada 0

Damien Francis’ penalty in the 48th minute secured a win for Jamaica over a woeful Canadian side, who were outplayed throughout much of the match by the hosts and finished the game with 10 men after Paul Stalteri was sent off in the second half. Theodore Whitmore also scored for Jamaica.

Nicaragua 1, Cuba 1

In Managua, Victor Webster’s goal 5 minutes from time cancelled out Raudel Rodriguez’s 79th minute strike, as Nicaragua and Cuba shared the spoils in a fast-paced encounter.

Belize 1, Guatemala 2

Norman Nunez gave Belize hope of another upset with his 12th minute goal, but Dwight Pezzarossi and Pando Ramirez struck back before the break as Guatemala beat Belize at the People’s Stadium. Belize had control of the play in the second half, but were constantly shut down by the Guatemalan defense.

El Salvador 4, Trinidad & Tobago 1

El Salvador relied on four different scorers to overcome Trinidad & Tobago in San Salvador. Stern John’s 6th minute goal was cancelled out by Gilberto Alfredo Murgas’ header off a corner kick, and Selvin Hernan Gonzalez scored the winning goal just 18 minutes in. Jose Alexander Amaya and Elias Vladimir Montes also scored for the home side.

Pierroth

The group tables following the first three matchdays:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st U.S.A. 3 3 0 0 9 1 +8 9 2nd Honduras 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 4 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Panama 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3 4th Grenada 3 0 1 2 2 9 -7 1 Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1st Jamaica 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1 4 2nd Canada 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Cuba 3 1 1 1 3 4 -1 4 4th Nicaragua 3 0 3 0 4 4 0 3 Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st El Salvador 3 2 1 0 9 4 +5 7 2nd Belize 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Guatemala 3 1 0 2 4 6 -2 3 4th Trinidad & Tobago 3 1 0 2 4 7 -3 3 </pre>

Skiddaw

This is the read of the moment, Pierroth. KUTGW! :thup:

nottmred

I too had a go at managing Canada.I got the last part of qualifying where there are 5 other teams aswell as you.I failed miserably.

Pierroth

(Thanks for the votes of confidence. )

October 1, 2004

Squad announced for Cuba and Nicaragua games

TORONTO (Canadasoccer.com) – Colin MacKinnon has named a 24-man squad to face Cuba and Nicaragua this week in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying.

Josh Simpson of Millwall has been called up to replace Paul Stalteri for the game against Cuba. Stalteri is serving a one-game suspension for his sending off against Jamaica last month. Simpson will likely head back to Millwall after the Cuba match, reducing the squad to 23 players.

“We really came crashing down to earth after last month’s matches, but I expect that we could come close to qualifying for the final round this week,” said MacKinnon. “We need to keep focused on the task at hand, and I’ve told all the players to be ready to put in a great effort so that we can breathe a little easier after Wednesday.”

Goalkeepers:

Lars Hirschfeld (Dundee United, Scottish Premier League)
Pat Onstad (San Jose Earthquakes, MSL)
Greg Sutton (Montreal Impact, A-League)

Defenders:

Jim Brennan (Norwich City, English Premiership)
Jason De Vos (Ipswich Town, English Championship)
Stathis Kappos (AEK Athens, Greek National A Division)
Mike Klukowski (La Louviere, Belgian First Division)
Kevin McKenna (Hearts, Scottish Premier League)
Marco Reda (Sogndal, Norwegian Premier Division)
Adrian Serioux (Millwall, English Championship)
Josh Simpson (Millwall, English Championship)
Paul Stalteri (Mallorca, Spanish Premier Division)

Midfielders:

Fernando Aguiar (Penafiel, Portuguese Premier Division)
Patrice Bernier (Tromso, Norwegian Premier Division)
Marc Bircham (Queens Park Rangers, English Championship)
Maycoll Canizalez (Hannover 96, German Bundesliga)
Julian De Guzman (Hannover 96, German Bundesliga)
Iain Hume (Tranmere Rovers, English League One)
Atiba Hutchinson (Helsingborg, Swedish Premier Division)
Tam Nsaliwa (Saarbrucken, German 2. Bundesliga)

Forwards:

Dwayne De Rosario (San Jose Earthquakes, MLS)
Oliver Occean (Odd Grenland, Norwegian Premier Division)
Rob Friend (Molde, Norwegian Premier Division)
Tomasz Radzinski (Fulham, English Premiership)

Pierroth

October 9, 2004

FIFA World Cup – CONCACAF Qualifying – Semi Final Group 2, Matchday 4
Canada vs. Cuba

Canada (4-4-2): Hirschfeld, Serioux, Brennan, McKenna, De Vos (c), Hume, Simpson, Hutchinson, Bernier, Radzinski, Occean. Subs: Sutton, Friend, Aguiar, Bircham, De Guzman, Canizalez, De Rosario.
Cuba (3-5-2): Molina, M. Rodriguez, Marquez (c), Driggs, Dalcourt, Ruiz, Estrada, Colome, Aragon, Marten, Gandara. Subs: A. Rodriguez, More, Bobadilla, Diaz, Galindo, Alvarez, Fernandez.

We needed to put the memories of the Jamaica match behind us, and we looked pretty good doing so early on with some crisp passing and ball control. Radzinski looked much better today, acting more like a playmaker; he gave a streaking Occean a pass into the box, and he had no problems rounding Molina to score the opening goal. We doubled our lead in the 32nd minute when Occean found himself on the left flank after a corner and swung a cross in to Hume, who’s shot went off Hutchinson and into the net. The latter received credit for the bizarre goal, which would be his first for Canada, but nobody was complaining. Cuba looked listless in the second half, not really putting in much of an effort. We capped off the win in the 86th minute when Friend was pushed from behind by Mario Rodriguez, and De Vos fired the penalty home easily as Molina barely moved, and took an extremely important 3 points away with a comprehensive win. The only hitch was that De Vos will be out for the Nicaragua game with a bruised rib.

Canada 3 (Oliver Occean 16, Atiba Hutchinson 32, Jason De Vos 86pen)
Cuba 0

Man of the Match: Iain Hume
Attendance: 60,209
Referee: Felipe Ramos Rizo

Spav

Bewdy, still on track for the final round.