Focusing on the bigger picture Canada earned the point needed to qualify to the next phase of CONCACAF World Cup qualification, mission accomplished. But recent performances have been extremely disappointing. Another scoreless draw versus weaker opposition does little to build confidence moving forward.
The atmosphere inside Warner Stadium on the tiny island of St Kitts and Nevis was surprisingly upbeat and festive. The sound of steel drums could be heard echoing around the modest athletic facility, the crowd was energetic and really got behind the home side as they crammed inside the aging concrete stadium. If you missed the match which was aired via live stream on sportsnet.ca, the pitch was equivalent to what you would play on at your nearest neighborhood park, not for professionals. Lucky for Canada the match was played at night rather than mid-day which would have provided all sorts of problems because of the heat and humidity.
Both sides had chances in the opening exchanges but neither could muster up a decent opportunity. Simeon Jackson squandered a good chance early on, sending his shot over the bar. The Sugar Boyz responded back and were inches away from taking the surprising lead, thirty-nine year old Keith Gumbs beat Lars Hirschfeld with his header but the ball skipped inches wide of the post.
The game continued with a barrage of half-chances but it was evident from the beginning Canada was out of sync struggling to put two passes together offensively, content with playing the long ball dump and chase. The middle of the field was a black hole, void of any creativity. Josh Simpson and Dwayne De Rosario took turns moving the ball up the field but were forced wide and left isolated in no man's land without any options due in large part to Canada's lack of movement off the ball. The performance was stale and uninspired, almost settling for the draw instead of going for the kill.
Defensively the Canadians were lucky not to concede on a number of occasions, stronger opposition would have made them pay dearly for their laziness at the back. The man-marking was atrocious across the board. If they continue to play like this an early exit in the next round is inevitable. St. Kitts were able to enjoy long spells of possession uncontested, dictating the pace and virtually outplaying Canada in every facet of the game. It looked as if Canada expected this to be a walk in the park. Overall their performance was dull and lifeless.
I’m not sure if the resort-like surroundings played a role in Canada's lethargic performance, it must be hard not to relax in that type of atmosphere. But every player looked extremely rusty with every touch of the ball. The second half provided much of the same from the home side, firmly in control Ian Lake sent a shot wide from inside the eighteen yard box, followed by a penalty appeal by Isaac George which was not given by the referee. The pep talk by Stephen Hart in the locker room obviously did nothing to motivate his players.
As the match progressed Canada did have a handful of opportunities to break the deadlock with Jackson and Julian de Guzman each coming closest to scoring, unfortunately both struggled with their control and final ball all night, failing to test Akil Byron with a proper shot on goal. With time winding down St. Kitts had another appeal for handball turned down by the referee following a corner kick which pin-balled inside Hirschfeld's area before going out of bounds.
Deep in injury time Jackson was sent clear through on the breakaway from almost the half-way line, but the Premiership striker's finish was dreadful as Byron came out hard on the challenge to make a decent kick save. A player of his caliber should have done much better after having so much time to pick his spot. Jackson was one of many that had an off night.
After starting out with three straight victories, scoring fourteen goals and conceding only one, it was safe to say confidence was at an all-time high in the Canadian camp. Any momentum gained has now been lost following two uninspired performances that resulted in zero goals scored. The final match in the group takes place on Tuesday, instead of taking it easy and fielding a weaker line-up Hart should look at this match as an opportunity to regain some much needed confidence within the squad. Go for the jugular in Toronto and restore some of that earlier good form.
Nothing short of undying patriotism and love of soccer was needed in order to sit through these last two matches; both were dreadful to watch. If for nothing else but to pay back the supporters who stick by the national team and help to promote the sport from coast to coast, Canada needs to put on the same type of performance as in St. Lucia, which sadly was not televised. Going into the next round on a positive note should be priority number one as the fixtures only get harder from here on out.
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