Gold Cup frustration
http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/columnist.jsp;jsessionid=NHIMCILIPAIE?content=20050708_132517_964
Canada's young soccer hopefuls showed pride and promise against Costa Rica - and then along came the ref.
Honest, folks, I'm not a ref basher by nature. I watch tons of soccer - and lacrosse - and while I share any good fan's horror at the occasional atrocious call, I rarely leave feeling the referee blew the game.
And then there's CONCACAF.
With all the necessary prefaces that there are always exceptions, and that the following comments have nothing whatsoever at all to do with race, nationality, shoe size or any other factor other than the apparent region-wide interpretation of the laws of soccer - well, I'm shocked, stunned and saddened.
I seriously doubt there is any other region on Earth where the standard for calling penalty kicks and issuing red cards is so low, and completely arbitrary. Throughout Central America and the Caribbean, the rule book is an odd, elusive thing. Any contact by any team from any other region (Canada, y'all?) can and will be punished, whether or not the infraction actually occurred.
And it's driving me nuts!!
Yeah, there was a lot of good news for Canada in their 1-0 loss to a young and speedy Costa Rica side in the opening match of the 2005 Gold Cup in Seattle. Plenty on that to follow.
But the result? Let's just say it's a fortunate relief that our lively lads in red aren't actually trying to qualify for a World Cup right now. Ultimately, it really doesn't matter if yet another well-earned draw turns into a reality-challenged loss.
(Insert scream of frustration here. Feel free to play along at home.)
For the record, referee Peter Prendergast of Jamaica needs to be informed that Canadian defenders are, in fact, allowed to use their upper chests and inside parts of their shoulders to control through balls into the penalty area. Penalty kicks should not be awarded in such situations, quickly resulting in the only goal in a 1-0 defeat.
And while Mr. Prendergast showed good patience and judgment, I thought, in not issuing second yellow cards on borderline fouls, his consistency dried up and floated away into the salt pacific air when the tackler in question was Canada's Kevin McKenna, who had previously been carded for arguing that miserable flop-job of a penalty kick.
In fairness, your embattled scribe concedes that he probably wouldn't have been so toxically annoyed by all this if it hadn't been for the back-to-back botch jobs Canada suffered against Honduras in World Cup qualifying. But there's a pattern here. I'm not calling conspiracy, but I am calling for a clearer, fairer call.
So, that's the bad news. Let's step back and assess the team:
Canada coach Frank Yallop is using the Gold Cup to get a look at some players who haven't previously had a chance to represent their country. Most notably, five members of the Montreal Impact won their way into the starting lineup.
Of the five, two did pretty well. Goalie Greg Sutton didn't actually have to make any serious saves, but he did a fine and fearless job of hauling in crosses and directing traffic in his six-yard box. He had absolutely no chance on the penalty kick, which was perfectly struck into the high right corner by Costa Rica's Jafet Soto.
Also eye-catching was the play of central midfielder Sandro Grande, who took all the corners and free kicks until Iain Hume checked into the match with twenty minutes to go. Grande's set-pieces weren't world-beaters on the night, but they were consistently professional, and did create a couple of decent chances. And while I'd like to see a bit more ball-winning in the centre of the park, it was a fine outing. He certainly deserves another look.
Canada, in general, opened the match with fine hustle - and patience. Lots of good, short passes to feet, and a constant will to push the ball deep into Costa Rican territory throughout the first half. There was a significant drop in flow and organization after the halftime break, but that affected both teams more or less equally.
Among the strikers, Dwayne de Rosario had a great chance to head home a first-minute opener, but spent most of the rest of the opening half getting caught by an aggressively upfield-pushing Costa Rican offside trap. He got loose for two more open shots, in the 44th and 52nd minutes, but neither was well struck. Great running throughout, however, and we certainly know DeRo can finish.
The finest Canadian chance of all fell to Patrice Bernier right at the death. Late substitute Jaime Peters tightroped the ball down the sidelines, and somehow zipped in a wild, wonderful cross. Two odd bounces later, it bounced right to Bernier, whose imminent dramatic top-corner volley was sadly downgraded to a looping lollipopper right into the eager arms of the Costa Rican keeper.
Iain Hume's later arrival stirred things up a little, but is anyone else noticing something about his play for Canada? More and more, the Tranmere Terror is reminding of Paul Peschisolido.
For most of his Canada career, Pesch played a darting, surging, take-on-all-defenders school of midfield that produced lots of chances for his teammates. But there was no Pesch in the box to finish, and goals were rare. The rest of the time, he played striker, but there was no Pesch in the midfield to run the balls through walls to set him up, and - again - goals were rare.
I'm starting to see Hume the same way. He's a free kick wizard, but - with all due respect to DeRo and Jim Brennan - he needs a clone of himself in the box to cash them in. It will be interesting to see, if Grande continues to develop his set-piece game, if Yallop will turn to him for spot kicks, and unleash Hume in the box.
That and many other happy speculations will unfold throughout the remainder of this Gold Cup, so this tournament should turn out to be a useful exercise, indeed.
... Whatever the referees cook up the rest of the way.
Onward!
