The Footie Fool

For the past few days I have had that damn phrase “what if” running thru my head. What if Stephen Hart kept the reins after the 2007 Gold Cup? What if that whole Dale Mitchell thing was just a bad dream?

I cannot see how the CSA can deny the man the top job. With Canada’s 1-0 win over El Salvador tonight, Hart has strung together 4 wins for the nats. Dale Mitchell couldn’t string together 4 wins as a coach, never mind consecutively. I could be wrong about this, but by my account Hart has a record of 9-1-4 with the MNT.

So, CSA. When the time comes to announce the man who will lead the troops into 2014, I believe the choice is becoming quite obvious.

About tonight’s game – it was a fantastic performance all around, especially in the midfield. We must have had 70% of the possession in the first half with Hutch, De Guzman and Patrice Bernier bringing their A games. Julian must have known a few extra eyes from the Metro area would be on him tonight what with all the buzz about the TFC contract offer and he certainly did not disappoint with a stellar performance .

Once again CONCACAF”s most lethal weapon Ali Gerba poached the goal after a sloppy clearance by El Salvador. I don’t know how he does it, but he just scores goals. Period. The rest of his game is no screaming hell, but when it comes to bending the twine, the guy gets the job done.

Again, the back was solid with Jakovic and McKenna, and we got decent wing play from Johnson and Simpson. Of the two, I think Johnson has a bit more flair and creativity than Simpson, who does have the speed andgle down pretty well. But in Will you can see the genesis of a very good player forming. He and Diesel work well together on the right. Johnson is able enough going back to give Stalteri some room to overlap and push up, adding to the attack. Sure, Johnson could have done better on his finish (as could many of our players), but I think Will is going to be a crucial part of the nats for a long time to come.

I was glad to see Hutch have a stellar game. I rate him highly, his work in the midfield often overshadowed by JDG, and it was nice to see him so visible tonight. He could have also been more lethal with his finishing – I counted at least 2 occasions where he should have taken the shot and instead tried to pull an Arsenal and go for one more pass – but there is no doubt that when he is on his game our midfield purrs.

Sutton did the job in the pipes, not really being pressured by many decent shots by El Salvador. But like against Jamaica, the ball seemed to go from his feet/hands directly to opposition players a bit too often for my liking.

Still, that seems like minor nitpicking when we have 2 wins and 6 points under our belt and a date with the Ticos on Friday.

Here’s a post game interview by V’s Max Bell with Julian De Guzman. Catch more interviews on the V’s YouTube channel.

More coverage

• Canada picks up second clean sheet from the 24th Minute
• The boys at SCGWAS are drunk and asking the same question – WHY!?!?!?!
• Gian-Luca rebukes the notion that the Gold Cup is meaningless over at The Voyageurs