Estonia 2 Canada 0
So much to say about this friendly, so little time. The score is a bit unfair to Canada, really. We played a decent game in terrible conditions (-2 and a blizzard that conjured up images of Winnipeg in January). Certainly no need to be calling for Mitchell’s head on a plate, as some are doing over in the Voyageur’s forums.
Estonia was a good choice. Obviously they were competitive, despite being ranked 100 odd places below us in the FIFA standings. But besides that, they were a good choice because of proximity. We have so many players in Germany and Northern/Central Europe that it made absolute sense logistically to play a team in Europe right now. The core of the team that will take us to the WC are the Europeans. DeRo aside, these are the guys who need to be playing, and playing together. Trying to get a whole crew of players over to North America or the Caribbean for a Friendly just wouldn’t happen. Besides, we’ve got Friendlies coming up over here before WC qualifying, so let’s just stop the “Estonia was a horrible choice” nonsense.
As for blaming Mitchell, I’m still reserving judgment and am willing to give the guy a few more kicks before I jump on that bandwagon. I am certainly not holding today against him. I think he is still checking players and formations out, trying to figure out his squad before the serious work begins in June.
And there were bright points today. One thing I noticed today that I hadn’t in the past is the strength of Hirshfeld’s arm and how quickly he can toss the ball down field and provide a quick break out of our end. On a few occasions his tosses were the start of some very fast counter attacks from deep in our own end. He throws with a lot of precision. Having a keeper who can transition your guys to attack is a huge asset.
Issey Nakajima-Farron got his first start for the MNT and had a decent showing. He has speed and is crafty. Josh Simpson had a better game today, and Friend & Gerba up front were dangerous (and how funny was it for those of you watching the CBC feed, that the announcer kept referring to Friend as Gerba and Gerba as Friend). DeGuzman almost had a highlight reel free kick that curled just inches wide, and DeRo was his usual all over the place dangerous self.
On the downside, Paul Staltari is worrying me. A once solid performer, his game has slipped. I thought South Africa was a one off, but today’s performance was again sub par for the man wearing the arm band. Atiba Hutchinson had once of his worst games in recent memory. He was invisible in the midfield. And our central defenders are still scrambling way too much.
Overall, I think that, had the conditions been better this would have been a real cracker of a game. But it’s hard to ignore the snow and cold when analyzing a game like this. The weather was such a factor that it really makes it difficult to read too much into the result. Suffice to say, it was what it was and I am sure that the boys will be happy to head home to warmer climes – like Denmark, Sweden and Northern Germany.
