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Canada 1 – Guadeloupe 0
It was an underwhelming performance by the Canadians in their first victory at the 2011 Gold Cup. Up a man for ninety minutes, the men in red looked like they had no idea what to do with the gift of a man advantage. Milan Borjan was Canada’s man of the match in his Gold Cup debut, as the CONCACAF veterans on Canada’s roster looked like they were wilting due to the Tampa heat. With Panama defeating the United States in the other Group C match up, Canada is going to have to come up with a much better performance against Panama on Thursday if they want to qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament.
The midfield trio of De Guzman, Dunfield and Johnson was not up to snuff against Guadeloupe and Stephen Hart now has a number of lineup decisions to make for the team’s next crucial fixture.
In net, Milan Borjan showed enough to prove that he deserves another start. In central defense, McKenna and Hainault have been steady for Canada thus far and there isn’t really anyone to replace either even if it was warranted. Hart has some big decisions to make at fullback. Nik Ledgerwood has been steady, but not quite good enough at right back. Does Hart roll the dice and hope that the pace of Jaime Peters can bring another dimension to the Canadian squad. At left back, Marcel De Jong had a poor game against the United States, while Mike Klukowski concurrently impressed and looked out of game shape against Guadeloupe.
Reports out of the Canadian camp are that the injury that kept Atiba Hutchinson out of the Guadeloupe match is not serious and it is crucial that Canada has him back for Panama fixture. Will Johnson’s CONCACAF experience and excellent attitude make him a certainty for the starting eleven as well. Hart will need to decide on whether Dunfield or De Guzman will get the start against Panama, with the TFC’s Designated Player’s fitness and CONCACAF experience being major points of consideration against a side such as Panama.
Up front, Josh Simpson is a certainty on the left side, while it will be interesting to see if Hart just might sit De Rosario with Jackson starting on the right side. At centre forward, the Canada Head Coach will have to decide between giving Gerba another chance or rolling the dice with a start for Rob Friend or even the quick but still inexperienced Tosaint Ricketts.
The key to the ratings, as seems to be the logic on a scale of 1-10, is not to view it as a “grade”, as in a 6 would be a 60 or a C. The formula is that each player begins the game with a 5 and is the equilibrium from which their performance either improves or degrades (positive or negative influence on the match) moving in increments of .5.
Max Bell of the Canadian Soccer Association interviews Milan Borjan post-match. For more interviews check out their youtube page.
Here is the breakdown of the starting XI:
*MOTM• Milan Borjan – 6.5
Borjan came as advertised and delivered a mature and professional performance in his Gold Cup debut. The imposing 23 year old keeper was steady throughout the match and stepped up to make a number of key saves to preserve the victory for Canada. Borjan also showed off excellent toughness as shook off a crunching illegal tackle in the 90th minute to play this one out.
Mike Klukowski – 5
It was a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde night for Klukowski, who clearly isn’t in optimum game shape due to the fact that he was without a club in the weeks leading up to the Gold Cup. He looked winded at times and gave away a couple of free kicks in dangerous positions due to his mistimed tackles. On the positive side, the ball movement and offensive play on the left side looked much more fluid with Klukowski at left back, as the veteran fullback clearly showed that he still belongs in the starting eleven when he is fully match fit.
Andre Hainault – 5.5
Another strong performance by Hainault, who paired up with McKenna to give Canada a strong defensive base in front of Borjan. The Houston Dynamo defender played an effective, smart and conservative game, which was strategically astute given that the Guadeloupe forwards were clearly all quicker than him and McKenna.
Kevin McKenna – 6
Another good performance for McKenna, who again displayed his leadership and veteran presence at the back for the full ninety. Positionally sound and physically strong against a chippy, physical opposition, the veteran centre back played a big role in holding things together in a close match.
Nick Ledgerwood – 4.5
Another match in which Ledgerwood did enough defensively to get the job done in a satisfactory manner. He didn’t push forward and added little to the offense, but that was probably a smart approach given that Mike Klukowski was pushed forward often at the other fullback position. Overall, Ledgerwood showed few false steps, but he also did not stand out in any particularly positive way. Only Stephen Hart knows whether he will get a third successive start against Panama.
Terry Dunfield – 5
Dunfield looked more comfortable in his second Gold Cup match. At the same time, the talented and experienced box to box player did not particularly assert himself in the middle of the pitch.
Julian De Guzman – 5
De Guzman did just fine stepping in for the injured Atiba Hutchinson. That said, given the man advantage that Canada played with, it was overall a subpar effort for the entire Canadian midfield.
Will Johnson – 5
Like Dunfield and De Guzman, Johnson performed his defensive duties well, but he lacked the required offensive creativity that the team needed in order to take advantage of being up a man for ninety minutes.
Josh Simpson – 6
As with the U.S.A. match, Simpson looked dangerous every time the ball was at his feet. Unfortunately, also like the match against the States, the ball was not at his feet often enough. Simpson linked up well on his left side with his new Manisaspor teammate Mike Klukowski.
Dwayne De Rosario – 5.5
Like the majority of his teammates, De Rosario delivered less than his best performance. That said, the veteran Canadian International also did not float around the pitch like he did against the United States. And whether or not the penalty against Guadeloupe was the right call, De Rosario stepped up and scored on it in the confident, assured manner that we have come to expect from him.
Ali Gerba – 5
A mixed performance by the Montreal Impact striker. On the one hand, he held the ball up well and continually got himself into the right positions to score. On the other hand, he missed a couple of good chances and mistimed a couple of his runs such that he was called off side at some inopportune times.
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