Canada Suffers 10 Minute Crash

It was the work of Ramon Nunez and Wilson Palacios in a ten-minute span that turned the table on Canada this Saturday night at Stade Saputo. The Honduran duo combined for a pair of goals early in the second half en route to a 2:1 victory over the home side. Both teams were playing their second game in CONCACAF Stage III of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa(tm) Qualifiers.

Canada had a quick lead thanks to an Adrian Serioux goal in the fourth minute. It was Serioux’s first international goal with the national team. Patrice Bernier made the kick before Serioux headed the ball past Honduran goalkeeper Noel Valladares.

Down a goal, the Hondurans picked up their pace by the 20th minute of the game. Canadian goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld, playing in his second FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match, was well positioned to stop an Amado Guevera rush. At the time, Honduras was playing a man up as Tomasz Radzinski was off getting treatment for a sliced finger. It wasn’t until the 22nd minute that Canada was able to replace the sidelined Radzinski with substitute Iain Hume. Radzinski had injured his hand in the 15th minute after he slid along the grass into the end boards.

“I think Tomasz’s injury really hurt us,” said Canadian coach Dale Mitchell. “He was looking sharp on the left side and that was something we wanted to key on.”

Up 1-0, Canada was unable to add to its lead in the first half. In the 45th minute, Paul Stalteri made an excellent cross that was headed by a sliding Ali Gerba. The ball was all in the direction of the net, but it hit the far post and stayed out.

“It was a great start,” said Mitchell. “After (our) goal, I felt like we sat back too much. We should have definitely given them a bit more pressure because even in the first half it looked like (their) goal was coming before halftime.”

In the second half, it took Honduras less than two minutes to even the score. Palacios set up Nunez who put the ball past Canada. Nine minutes later, Nunez fired a shot past Canada for his second goal, with little chance on the play for Canada’s goalkeeper. Once again, it was Palacios who made the pass to Nunez.

Canada made its push near the end of the match, but it did so with a man down. This time, Patrice Bernier was shown off the field after collecting his second yellow card. Bernier was cautioned in the 73rd and 75th minute, thus earning his ejection from the match.

“We seemed to lose our legs in the second half,” said Bernier after the match.

“The two goals, unfortunately, came when we were in possession,” said Mitchell. “We had the ball, gave it away and they break quickly, which is a big part of the game at this level. Those two goals they scored on the break were the difference.”

A goal and a man down, Canada still created chances late in the match. In the 78th minute, Rob Friend found his way around the defence, but he fired the shot over the crossbar. Four minutes later, Atiba Hutchinson fed a nice pass to Dwayne De Rosario who fired the shot on target. Valladares, however, was in place to stop it in favour of Honduras.

In the starting XI, coach Dale Mitchell made two changes from the last start on 27 August in Toronto. Hirschfeld took the place in goal while Gerba took his spot up front.

Canada (0-1-1) now heads to Mexico in search of its first win in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Qualifiers. Canada faces Mexico on 10 September in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapa. It has been nearly eight years since the two sides last met in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (an 0:0 draw on 15 November 2000 in Toronto, ON).

“We now have four games left to show our group what we have,” said Mitchell.

Canada has but one loss against Mexico in the last four encounters between the two sides. The 10 September match will be the 27th match between the two national sides, dating back to their first-ever encounter in Mexico City on 30 June 1957.

Starters
Lars Hirschfeld, Paul Stalteri, Richard Hastings, Adrian Serioux, Mike Klukowski, Patrice Bernier, Julian de Guzman, Atiba Hutchinson, Dwayne De Rosario, Tomasz Radzinski, Ali Gerba,

Subs
Iain Hume (Tomasz Radzinski) 22′
Rob Friend (Ali Gerba ) 64′
Jim Brennan (Iain Hume) 85′

Scorers
CAN … Adrian Serioux 4′
HON … Nunez 47′
HON … Nunez 56′