Lars, Lars, He’s Our Man!
Okay, if you were Dale Mitchell, who would you start between the pipes on Saturday against Honduras? I’m serious here. I really am curious as to what a manager in his position is thinking right now.
If he doesn’t go with Onstad, will that shake up the confidence of a keeper whose confidence is already shaken after that dreadful bobble against Jamaica that cost us 2 points? If you do pass on Onstad, what if the alternative sucks and you have to go back to him at some point in the campaign? Will he be able to pull it back after making the mistake and being yanked for it? Or does Mitchell give him the opportunity to redeem himself on Saturday?
Do we have the luxury of letting him redeem himself? No doubt about it – we need a win against Honduras on Saturday.
Last year going into the Gold Cup, no one even gave Onstad a second thought. He was of a previous era. And then Greg Sutton, who was going to be #1 for the Gold Cup suffered a major concussion. At the last minute, in comes Onstad – pretty well out of national team retirement – to backstop the Canadian campaign. A career is reborn. Since then he has been the go to guy for Mitchell. And, for the most part, he has done a decent job.
Until Jamaica. And now that changes everything.
Consider Greg Sutton unavailable. His wife is due any day.
Which leaves Lars Hirshfeld. He of CFR Cluj of the Romanian League. He who played Chelsea last fall in the Champions League and is set to take ‘em on again this fall in the Group stage of the same competition. Only this time, he may not get the call. In fact, he hasn’t gotten any calls at CFR Cluj. He could be rusty. But if he looks good in training, I think Dale has no choice but to start Lars. At 29, he is the youngest of the keepers – coming into keeper prime if we make it to SA in 2 years time. And his experience in the Champions League last year with Rosenborg shows he can play in pressure games.
Last game I saw Lars play in was the 2-0 snowfest in Estonia. Minus the own goal by Paul Stalteri, Lars had a good game. He made some good stops in terrible conditions. And, more importantly, he was instrumental in launching the counterattack. I like keepers who are offensive, and he seems to fit with the attack minded crew we currently have.
So,consider me in the Lars camp. And let’s hope he doesn’t suck. Becuase if we pass on Onstad, I’m not sure he’ll be coming back this time.
