Archive for Men NT U20
Your 2009 Canadian Players Of The Year
Jackson is male selection for 2009 Canadian Players of the Year award
Simeon Jackson is the male selection for the 2009 Canadian Players of the Year award. Jackson was honoured in a vote shared by Canadian media (50%) and Canadian coaches who have taken the Canadian Soccer Association’s national course at the B and A levels (50%).
Jackson of Mississauga, ON wins the award for the first time.
“This is a fantastic achievement for Simeon,” said Canadian national head coach Stephen Hart. “He had an excellent club season and performed admirably at the national level. Full congratulations to Simeon.”
In 2009, the 22-year old striker helped Gillingham FC earn a promotion to League One in England. In the second half of the 2008-09 season, he scored nine goals in 25 League Two appearances, including three goals in the final two playoff matches to earn Gillingham FC the promotion for the 2009-10 season. It was on 23 May 2009 in front of 53,706 fans at Wembley Stadium that Jackson scored the winning goal of a Gillingham FC 1:0 victory over Shrewsbury to secure the promotion. Jackson scored on a header in the 91st minute of play.
Just one week later, he made his international debut with the Canadian national team in a 1:0 victory over Cyprus in Larnaka. Again, Jackson scored the lone goal of the match, this one the first of his international career.
Over the summer, Jackson represented Canada at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He helped Canada reach the quarter-final stage. He was called up again in November for a pair of friendly matches in Europe, thus earning him seven national appearances by year’s end.
As for the start of the 2009-10 England League One season, Jackson has been in fine form through the first 18 games of the season. He has scored 10 goals including an opening-day hat trick against Swindon Town on 8 August. He scored two additional goals in League Cup matches against Plymouth and Premiership opponent Blackburn. The 25 August goal against Blackburn was Jackson’s second of the year against a Premiership opponent; his first was a 4 January 2009 goal against Aston Villa in FA Cup action.
Canada Falls To Costa Rica At CONCACAF U20s
Canada was eliminated from the 2009 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship after a 1:2 loss to Costa Rica. Randy Edwini-Bonsu scored first for Canada, but Costa Rica returned with a pair of its own to eliminate the young Canucks. Canada had been pushing forward in the second half in search of a winning goal when Costa Rica countered for the winning goal.
Canada started the match with two new faces in the starting XI. Midfielder Brandon Bonifacio replaced Shaun Saiko who was out with a one-game suspension while defender Ethan Gage replaced Nana Attakora-Gyan who did not dress because of his injury.
The first started as usual, with both sides looking for space and trying to get an early feel for the ball. Costa Rica had the first corner kick, but to no danger. It was in the 12th minute that Edwini-Bonsu struck for his third goal of the tournament. Edwini-Bonsu used his speed to outrun the Costa Rican defender on a long pass down the left side from Philippe Davies. With the ball on the line, Edwini-Bonsu decided to flirt his way into the box and found the space to score the first goal of the game.
Down 0-1, Costa Rica came back with a wide shot in the 15th minute, a shot into Adam Street’s arms in the 16th minute, and another shot into Street in the 18th minute. They came back with another shot on Street six minutes later.
Costa Rica’s work was rewarded in the 25th minute on a goal by Jorge Castro off a free kick. The free kick was awarded after Bonifacio reacted with his hands to a shot fired from close range. Canada had a long wall, but the ball fired above the wall and into the top left corner of the net.
Through the second part of the first half, Costa Rica continued to press into the Canadian end. Davies did have a shot from distance in the 30th minute that Marcus Haber tried to deflect on target with his head, but that was as close as Canada got. Costa Rica had a few half chances before Marcos Danilo Ureña smacked the crossbar in the 44th minute.
The second half started with Canada pushing forward, knowing it needed a win to advance. Edwini-Bonsu continued to create problems for the Costa Rican defence down the left side. Edwini-Bonsu danced his way into the box for chances in the 55th and 60th minutes, but both times could not create the go-ahead goal.
In the 62nd minute, coach Fonseca made his first substitution to add to the offence, inserting forward in place of defender Eddy Sidra. It was in Canada’s push forward that Costa Rica found an alley to penetrate on the return. In the 72nd minute, Ureña pushed his way in and fired the go-ahead goal for Costa Rica.
Canada came back, but as the next 20 minutes would prove, the goals would not come. Forward Igor Pisanjuk entered the game in the 75th minute for midfielder Davies and had a quick chance. Too many passes from the Canucks up front, however, pushed Haber too deep in the box.
On the counter attack, Costa Rica nearly made it 3-0 in the 80th minute. A chip shot and a neat header was saved by Street, though. Canada pushed all of its troops up front, but couldn’t cut back on the Costa Rican lead. One final shot from Costa Rica in the 90th minute hit the Canadian crossbar and stayed out.
With three points in three games, Canada finishes third in Group B at the 2009 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship. Only the top two teams advance. A draw in its final game would not have been good enough as four Canadian points would not have been better four Trinidad & Tobago points because of the opening match loss.
U20s Drop Opener
Canada starts U-20 tournament in third place after loss
Canada lost the opening match of the 2009 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship today, falling 0:1 to host Trinidad & Tobago at Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya. The score was a in a deadlock until the 82nd minute when Sean De Silva scored the decisive goal.
The first half started with the host applying some early pressure. From there, both teams looked to make their mark, but neither side could mount any momentum. In the 11th minute, Randy Edwini-Bonsu used his speed to press on the Trinidad & Tobago goal, but his shot went wide. A few minutes thereafter, Canada had its first corner kick, but the ball was easily cleared.
In the 14th minute, Trinidad & Tobago had its first good chance after a shot rebounded off a Canadian defender. The follow-up shot, however, was sent wide of goal. Canada then had a free kick in the 16th minute, but the shot was high. In the 17th minute, Marcus Haber was booked and Trinidad & Tobago fired its free kick right into the Canadian wall.
As the first half progressed, both sides made their drives down field. In the 21st minute, a good run by the host forced Canadian goalkeeper Adam Street out of his net to make a diving stop. In the 24th minute, Shaun Saiko took a long free kick that sailed over goal.
Canada did start to build an attack for several minutes, a sequence that included a caution to opponent Robert Primus. In the 33rd minute, Saiko played a long free kick that headed on goal, but just couldn’t slow down in time for a Canadian striker to get a boot on it.
Late in the half, Trinidad & Tobago had its turn to get the home crowd standing. In the 42nd minute, Canada was very luck after Trinidad & Tobago rushed on goal and fired a low shot that dribbled just wide of the goal. Less than a minute later, Trinidad & Tobago broke through the Canadian defence again, but once again fired the shot wide.
The rest of the half played out with Canada creating a couple of chances. Edwini-Bonsu had a good run and Canada had a late corner kick, but to no avail. The second half then started with Brandon Bonifacio replacing Saiko in the midfield.
In the second half, it was much of the same with neither side taking full control of the match. Both sides had their chances, though, starting with Trinidad & Tobago in the 55th minute as the hosts danced into the Canadian box. Eddy Sidra was beat for a moment, but he recaptured his feet and had the help of goalkeeper Adam Street who deflected the ball to a sweeping Adam Straith.
In the 56th minute, Trinidad & Tobago had another good run, but again the delivery was wide. A few minutes later, Edwini-Bonsu had a great run down the right side and into the box. He managed to get a centering shot from the line, but the ball snaked through to the opposing defender who cleared it well.
In the 67th minute, Canada took a quick throw in after a quick Edwini-Bonsu run down the left side. Canada turned the throw into a centering pass that Haber headed on net. The header was directed on goal, but the goalkeeper just managed to tip the ball over the net. On the ensuing corner kick, some defensive confusion nearly led to a Canadian goal, but the ball was cleared out of danger.
In the 72nd minute, Trinidad & Tobago tried to create some danger with a free kick around the wall, but goalkeeper Adam Street was there to take away the chance. A minute later Canada had a free kick, but it still did nothing to change the score.
Finally in the 82nd minute, Trinidad & Tobago found the net after a Philippe Davies caution one minute earlier. De Silva blasted the shot to the right of the Canadian wall and into the top corner of the net, leaving goalkeeper Street with no chance on the play.
