Much was expected of Canada at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica. [url=http://www.shoptheofficialpatriots.com/Elite-Kevi

Posted in IYH Forums by jokergreen0220 at 08:10, Aug 12 2019

Much was expected of Canada at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica. Kevin Faulk Jersey .The young Canadian soccer team had performed well on a pre-tournament tour of Europe, returning home unbeaten against quality opposition. The squad had never lost two games in a row.And while coach Rob Gales team was denied two of its top weapons — midfielders Dylan Carreiro of Dundee and Fraser Aird of Glasgow Rangers — when their Scottish teams refused to release them for the tournament, there was good depth. Teenage striker Cyle Larin went No. 1 in the MLS SuperDraft during the tournament. Ten players on the roster were on the books of Canadian MLS clubs, with several having already made their first-team debut.Gale had faith in his squad, having worked with many of them for the last three years. But he knew that not many had played much competitive soccer in the leadup to the CONCACAF event. And five games in 12 days would be a big ask in the heat, humidity and uneven pitch in Montego Bay.Plus Canada had not taken part in the world under-20 championship since it hosted the event in 2007, exiting without scoring a goal or registering a point. And rival teams were making strides in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.Despite a good start, the tournament quickly went south. The Canadians were eliminated from contention Monday when they lost 2-1 to Cuba and Honduras beat Haiti 3-2.All our kind of worst fears about what potentially could happen or affect the players have come to fruition, unfortunately ... Its been a poor display of who we are as a group, said Gale.Where these boys have been fantastic in the past in tournament football, for any number of reasons and the boys are struggling themselves to put their finger on it, this week, at this moment of time, they didnt have the energy and the resolve and that character to get themselves out of moments of a game that would turn the course, he added.Canada opened on a positive note, downing Haiti 3-1. A 2-0 loss to two-time defending champion Mexico was perhaps not unexpected.A 3-2 loss to El Salvador on a stoppage-time goal was a dagger through the heart. Then the bottom fell out with the loss to Cuba, with Canada conceding the opening goal on a flubbed clearance. When Honduras beat Haiti later that day, Canadas dream of reaching the U20 World Cup were shot.Canada (1-3-0) wrapped up play Thursday with a meaningless game against Honduras.Panama and Mexico topped their groups to reach the final and automatically qualify for FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand this summer. The second- and third-place teams in each pool will play off to see which two teams join them.For Gale and his staff, its time to review and reconsider. Their job is long-term development and this tournament, however painful, has been a learning step for their young players.The good news for Gale is that his players responded in the second half of games.For Gale, Thursdays finale outing was about sheer effort and pride, that has been lacking in some individuals and also as a collective, at times, when the going got tough in the conditions, the heat and everything else.Obviously theyre down and theyre disappointed that they havent represented themselves as they would have wanted. But youre as good as your next game and in football you have to get back on the horse. And if they want to make a career out of it, theyre going to have many many difficult moments and its how you respond.Gale was encouraged by the opening win over Haiti. He knew the margin of victory could have been more had his group retained its focus but he saw it as a lesson learned.Mexico was next, the toughest game on the schedule. The Mexicans were well-rested after a 9-1 romp over Cuba.We refreshed the pack but unfortunately a couple of players had just tough tough days at the office, said Gale. To be fair to the boys, they dug in again. The second half we were much much better.Down 1-0, they had chances to tie it up but were punished on a late counter-attack.Mentally, the team was in good spirits going into the El Salvador game. There had been positives against Mexico.But extreme heat took its toll on a Canadian team inexperienced at this level and in the conditions. Watching from the sidelines, Gale could see his team stray from its game plan just minutes into the contest.It becomes not about football then, its about digging in — the heart and desire to work you way through it.Down 1-0 and 2-1, the Canadians rallied to tie the game, only to fall victim to a 94th-minute goal off a set kick.It was just a mental lapse, said Gale. Very disappointing ... But with a young group of players, that happens in football.Against Cuba, an unfortunate individual error led to a fifth-minute goal and the Canadians were behind the eight-ball again.Down 2-0 at the half, the Canadians cut the lead to 2-1 and had chances to score while the Cubans played a delaying game that descended into farce. The stretcher comes on seven times, Gale said with disgust.Unfortunately thats the reality of CONCACAF, he added. Any time you give a team oxygen or life, where theyre ahead, they can wind it down and it can cost you.Under that extra pressure, players started second-guessing themselves, said Gale.Finding the character and heart when the going got tough just deserted us here. And thats tournament football. It can happen.This is the first cycle of players Gale has had since under-16. Now the plan is to grow a squad from the under-14 level.Jamaica is a valuable, if painful, lesson. Theres no immediate and short-term fix, said Gale.The young Canadians are talented but lack experience under pressure, the coach says.Missing Aird and Carreiro, his longtime captain, did not help.If there was one thing that we needed a little more of at this tournament, it was character, said Gale.He notes with frustration that Carreiro had not played a minute at Dundee during the tournament.I think thats disgraceful for a coach to hold a player back from international football and the experience and to not play him at all.Aird played sparingly at his club during the tournament.Still, Gale says there are no excuses for what happened in Jamaica.We havent performed and adapted as well as other countries in key moments of key games. And thats been the difference.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Tom Brady Jersey . Doug Fister allowed two runs over seven innings and Washington hit three solo homers in a 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night. Andre Tippett Patriots Jersey . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks. http://www.shoptheofficialpatriots.com/Elite-Julian-Edelman-Patriots-Jersey/ . -- J.R. Sweezy was the one part of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line that had avoided injuries or having to change positions this season.Chelsea sit comfortably atop the Barclays Premier League table heading into the international break, as Jose Mourinho’s men continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday. One of the core attributes of Chelsea under Mourinho is their defensive strength and organization; they had the best defensive record in the Premier League last season, and they are odds-on favourites to have it again this year. However, Liverpool’s goal on Saturday highlighted a potential weakness that other teams can look to exploit. A high press employed by a team such as Chelsea often forces their opponent to be cautious when playing out of the back; such is their fear of conceding possession and giving up a clear scoring chance. But from the outset on Saturday, Liverpool elected for a much more brazen approach against the league leaders. This approach paid off handsomely in the 9th minute when Liverpool opened the scoring. Liverpool’s two fullbacks, Glen Johnson and Alberto Moreno, pushed up to the halfway line with Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet in possession of the ball. Liverpool’s two central defenders, Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren, split to the corners of the penalty area, with Stephen Gerrard dropping deep from midfield to form a triangle from which Liverpool could play. (Click to View Larger) Lovren eventually worked the ball into Gerrard to break the pressure from Diego Costa and Oscar, who had pushed forward to occupy the two central defenders. Gerrard took a touch and then played an inch-perfect pass into the path of Jordan Henderson, breaking the pressure from Chelsea midfielder, Cesc Fabregas. (Click to View Larger) Liverpool deserve credit for being bold enough to play four against four in their own half against Chelsea; a turnover in this situation would lead to a clear scoring chance for Chelsea, with Eden Hazard, Costa, Fabregas and Oscar all applying pressure. On the halfway line, the advanced positioning of Liverpool’s Johnson and Moreno would force Chelsea to make some difficult decisions. With Moreno pushed up all the way down the left flank, it was down to Chelsea’s Ramires to either track the run of Liverpool’s left fullback or pass him on to his own right fullback, Branislav Ivanovic. Unfortunately for Chelsea, Ramires did neither. Moreno got in behind Ramires, which was the cue for Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling to drop inside into midfield. Sterling knew that his fullback had the beating of Ramires and would occupy Ivanovic, meaning the winger could drift inside unchecked to provide an option for Henderson, who was now in possession of the ball on the left flank. Sony Michel Womens Jersey. (Click to View Larger) Moreno is actually the furthest Liverpool player forward – so much so, that he isn’t even visible in the picture, below, after Sterling turns with the ball: (Click to View Larger) This is where one can see the cumulative effect of Liverpool being bold with their fullbacks. Neither Johnson on the right, nor Moreno on the left, have touched the ball to this point, but their willingness to get forward was instrumental in pulling apart Chelsea’s otherwise disciplined midfield. Ramires shoulders the largest blame in this situation, as he neither tracked Moreno’s run nor pushed into midfield to contain Sterling. As a result, when Sterling received the ball from Henderson, he had freedom to turn with the ball and drive at the heart of Chelsea’s defence. With Fabregas out of the game after being bypassed by Henderson, Nemanja Matic was left on his own to cover in front of Chelsea’s back four. Matic stood no chance up against Sterling, who had the options of either Mario Balotelli in front of him or Emre Can to his right. Can, in particular, had acres of space to exploit, largely due to Hazard’s failure to recover his shape and take up a defensive position for Chelsea. (Click to View Larger) Liverpool succeeded in breaking Chelsea’s press and freeing up Can to shoot from 25 yards. Granted, the only reason the ball found the back of the net was because of a wicked deflection off of Chelsea’s Gary Cahill - Thibault Courtois would have likely saved Can’s effort had it not come off the Chelsea defender - but that is beside the point. Liverpool got the reward that their bold approach merited. (Click to View Larger) Liverpool also showed that even the best midfield duo in the Premier League this season – Matic and Fabregas – can be pulled apart by clever movement. What is most thought provoking is that the movement that caused Chelsea so many problems came from players who had no involvement with the ball. Take note of the final positions of both Moreno and Johnson, Liverpool’s two fullbacks. Both are in the attacking third, almost in line with their Chelsea counterparts. Neither touched the ball from the time it left Mignolet’s boot to the time it nestled into the back of Courtois’ goal, yet a strong case can be made that the goal would never have occurred if not for their movements. The goal was yet another example of how the modern game – specifically the role of fullbacks – continues to evolve. ' ' '