Canada U23 Finish 3rd on PK's
By Al Clark
al@canucks-abroad.com
After playing out a 0:0 tie in a game devoid of highlights it seemed, Kyle Hall stepped up to seal 3rd Place in the Qualifying Tournamant as Canada ran out 5-4 winners on spot kicks.
Monsalve made a decent save or two not least in the shootout to give fans of the Maple Leafs a small consolation for missing out on the big prize. In what was a meaningless game, not many will care either way.
Still, 3rd Place and a near miss for the U23s is a credible effort. Hopefully this provides a springboard to future successes. The performances of Will Johnson, Andrew Ornoch and Dan Jakovic in particular showed promise.
“I said that if this is the last time you put on your country’s shirt, you better put it on with a little bit of pride and play like it is your last game,” says coach Nick Dasovic. “When you play for your country, it should be like that every game. I think the players played like that today and I was very, very pleased with their effort.” (Source: CSA)
2008 CONCACAF MEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION (Source: www.concacaf.com)
23.03: Nashville, Tennessee USA; LP Field
THIRD PLACE (A: 12663)
CAN: 22-David Monslave – 2-Graham Ramalho, 4-Dejan Jackovic, 6-Nikolas Ledgerwood-C, 7-Andrazes Ornoch (46: 19-Isidro Sanchez), 8-Ryan Gyaki (69: 17-Marcus Haber), 11-Tosaint Ricketts, 12-Diaz Kambere, 13-Kyle Hall, 14-Tyler Hemming, 15-Tyler Rosenlund (73: 16-Keegan Ayre). Booked: Kambere 80’
TD: Nick DASOVIC
Statistics: GUA – CAN
Goal Attempts: 15 – 5
Shots on Target: 5 – 1
Saves: 1 – 5
Fouls: 23 – 12
Corners: 7 – 2
Offsides: 0 – 2
So, how did you feel about Canada's performance? Please feel free to leave a comment. For the record, 43% said that Canada would have a near miss in our poll (which was al little confusing in retrospect). Only 24% thought the wouldn't get out of the group and 33% though qualification was imminent.
It's too bad that CONCACAF
It's too bad that CONCACAF doesn't have a group final round for olympic qualification rather than its rediculous all-important semi-final followed by a meangless final/3rd plage game. I really think that Canada would have had a good shot at placing second if that had happened.
As a Dual citizen of USA and Canada, I would have loved to see those two countries advance. I was born and raised in the USA, so my loyalties lie there, but I root for Canada in all their other games.
I always feel like Canada is on the verge of becoming a force in CONCACAF, and I really hope it happens soon. I saw some glimpses of that this tournament and I hope they can build on that.
On an unrelated note, great site! Keep up the good work!
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