No one said this was going to be easy
There is a reason that old warhorse cliche “Group of Death” was hauled out for our WC qualifying group. We are going to have to work to make it to the Hex. Jamaica, although considered the lesser of opponents in this group, is still a solid team and our team has to bring their game to the next level if we hope of making the hex and, ultimately, the WC.
Specifically, I think we need to see more from the likes of Klukowski, Bernier and Friend. I need to see their A game and I don’t think last night was it.
And Onstad. Well, it’s all being said elsewhere.
But it ain’t over. Despite some of the nay saying that might be going on about the same old same old (which it ain’t), in the end we still have a team that can steal points on the road, beat Honduras and Jamaica and give Mexico a good run.
And there were positives in the game. For one, the score could have easily been 3-0 Canada save some acrobatic keeping by Jamaica’s Donovan Rickets and, at the other end, a mishandled cross that will haunt Pat Onstad (someone please, PLEASE slap Hirschfeld’s agent upside the head and get him on a club where he starts). We had offensive chances, especially in the second half where DeRo came alive and the injection of Iain Hume seemed to breath life into the Canadian offense.
Hastings and Serioux looked solid in the back - no gaffs, and the physical presence of Serioux caused problems for Jamaica.
JDG was strong - his goal beautifully worked around the box by DeRo and Radz, which is what Canada needs to do more of. In the first half, we were not as fluid as we have been in the midfield. There seemed to be a lot of long balls and Klukowski, especially, looked rusty with his crosses. Which is one of the reasons Rob Friend was invisible up front. He just wasn’t getting much in terms of decent service until Hume arrived. Then he missed his best chance of the night off a Hume corner. Why have I never noticed before how good Hume is at crossing the ball, or delivering corners?
But give Jamaica their due. They played a strong D and clogged us up. Then when they saw they were going to nick a point, they slowed the game down and sucked momentum from Canada every chance they got.
And I have to get this off my chest - yes, we all know CONCACAF officiating sucks, but we have to rise above it if we hope to qualify. Getting carded for dissent (Yes, Hutch, I am looking at you), or handballs (both Serioux and DeRo), shirt tugging - that stuff is going to get us in serious trouble. The bad calls will happen and we cannot let that affect our play. Bottom line - we need to keep our cool.
Up next, Honduras in Montreal on September 6th, followed hot on the heels by a tough road trip down to Mexico. If the Canada that played in the second half shows up for those games, then I still think we are in good shape to move on. After all, when we qualified in ‘86, we started that campaign with a draw and still made it to the big show.
Finally, I have to give a huge shout out to all the fans. It was beyond a sellout at BMO, and it was so great to see a sea of red and hear fans of our MNT singing their hearts out. Made me proud to be a supporter. You guys rock. Let’s do it again in Montreal. This IS our house!
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