By Nana Attakora
I’m very dissapointed with our performance last night. It was staged for us to come out with a result — Canada Day, in front of a full crowd.
Although Chile was very technical there is no exuse for the lack of determination. We were second in every aspect of the game. We showed too much respect to our opponents.
Chile showed a lot of skill and team work. They pressed as a team which caused many problems for us offensively. With the way Chile plays, we had trained to be able to beat there press and contain their wingers. Personally, I think I dissapointed. As full backs Kent O’Connor and I had a difficult time on the ball. Chile shut down every option we had offensively. They pressed quick but at the same time pressed in numbers.
People watch the game and think Canada’s game plan was to go direct with long balls. This is totally wrong. We can play a possession game, but last night it was very difficult to get on the ball with no options. Chile was very organized and on the night we weren’t at all. South American teams all have something special about them. They are very technical, strong, and fast. It is our job to continue to use what we have learned to be able to break these type of teams.
With the group of players we have we are confident in ourselves that we will bounce back from that embarrasing showing. We have no excuses for that match. All we can do is continue to work hard and stay focused.
As for myself, last night things were not going my way. Chile had done exactly what we expected but much quicker and sharper. My passing was unacceptable on the night. Along with that, I do believe we need a lot more movement of the ball. With the movement off the ball, things will start to open up for us which will help us get out of our half and help us create chances.
We just arrived in Edmonton and there is little goofing around. We are trying to stay relaxed and forget about our match. Tomorrow we get back to training and will be on top of things from the beginning.
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