InsideSoccer WEB EDITION

Canada faces Jamaica in Friday opener
Canada’s men’s national team will face Jamaica in the opening match of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The two sides will kick off at 8:00 PM (ET) at The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, CA.

The Canada-Jamaica match will officially kick off the 12-team competition. The match will be broadcast live on Rogers Sportsnet (Sportsnet West and Sportsnet Ontario ). The Canada-Jamaica match will be followed by the El Salvador-Costa Rica match (also at The Home Depot Center; live on GolTV).

Coach Hart expects Jamaica to be ‘tight and organized, closing space down and trying to get behind us with their speed. We kind of know what to expect and it will be a very close game.’

Canada has an all-time record of six wins, six draws and three losses against Jamaica . Last year, both Canada and Jamaica were eliminated from the so-called CONCACAF Group of Death in the confederation semi-final stage of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

This year, Canada has won both of its friendly matches in preparation for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Coach Stephen Hart, who took over before Canada’s 1:0 win in Cyprus on May 30, has an all-time record of seven wins, one draw and four losses. Including Canada’s most recent 3:0 win over Guatemala on 30 June, Hart’s teams have scored 20 goals and conceded just 10 in 12 games played.

Canada is a two-time confederation champion, first in 1985 to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup and then again in 2000 at the Gold Cup to qualify for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2001. At the most recent 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada reached the semi-final stage.

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Stephen Hart
Paul Stalteri

Canada’s men’s national team won 3:0 over CONCACAF rival Guatemala today in an international friendly match played in Oxnard, CA. Ali Gerba scored two goals while Patrice Bernier scored the other in Canada’s second win of the 2009 season.

“In the first half, we played extremely well and created a number of chances, but still lacked that cutting edge in finishing it off,” said coach Stephen Hart. “We talked about it at half time. Then in the second half, we kept the tempo of the game high, created the chances, and scored.”

Canada went on the attack from the opening whistle, pushing forward and getting its first corner kick in the opening minutes. A few moments later, Canada was on the scoreboard with the opening goal from Gerba. It was Marcel de Jong who played the ball in from the left side before Gerba headed it in.

As the half progressed, Canada continued to maintain pressure on its opponent. Canada had the better part of possession and won four corner kicks while conceding none. Wagenaar was hardly tested behind the defensive line of Kevin McKenna, Dejan Jakovic, Paul Stalteri and Mike Klukowski.

Canada also came close to scoring a second goal in the first half. Will Johnson fired a shot just wide of the net on one opportunity and de Jong hit the crossbar on another terrific chance late in the half.

Late in the first half, Guatemala’s Fredy Thompson took down Julian de Guzman. The play brought both teams to the centre of the pitch. As this was a friendly match, both Thompson and de Guzman were replaced for substitutions.

Before the second half, coach Stephen Hart made three more changes. He switched goalkeeper Greg Sutton for Wagenaar, defender Richard Hastings for Jakovic (who had a cut on his chin), and forward Josh Simpson for de Jong. He made three more changes in the second half: Simeon Jackson for Jaime Peters, Issey Nakajima-Farran for Johnson, and Adrian Cann for McKenna.

Early in the second half, Bernier made it 2-0 on what was his first international goal with Canada’s national team. Simpson made a good run into the Guatemalan end before Klukowski played the ball to the other side of the pitch. Johnson controlled the ball in the box six yards from the line, but he pushed the ball back to an unmarked Bernier who entered the play at the top of the box. Bernier fired home the low shot past the diving goalkeeper.

Ten minutes later, it was another Canadian substitute causing trouble in the Guatemalan end. Jackson had control of the ball in the Guatemala box before he was tripped by captain Gustavo Cabrera. Canada was awarded the free shot from the penalty mark, so striker Gerba made it 3-0 with a shot to the top right corner of the goal.

Canada had more chances late in the game, but could not connect for a fourth goal against its opponent. Canada had two more corner kicks in the second half while both Simpson and Jackson had good chances to score in the final 10 minutes.

Goalkeepers Wagenaar and Sutton shared the clean sheet For Wagenaar, it was his first clean sheet in just his second game at the national level. Bernier, meanwhile, scored his first goal while Gerba scored his 12th and 13th goals. Gerba moved into fifth place on the all-time national list.

“We defended well as a whole team,” said Canada’s defender and man of the match McKenna. “When we score goals, we score goals as a team; when we keep a clean sheet, we keep a clean sheet as a team. We were just a hard unit to beat.”

Canada has one more day in Oxnard before packing up and moving into Los Angeles for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Canada opens the biennial confederation championship this Friday 3 July at the Home Depot Center against group opponent Jamaica.