Canadian men’s soccer falls 1-0 to Martinique in Gold Cup clash, another low point for the team
Sunday's Canada-Martinique CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer clash featured a young and promising Canadian team, eager to impress their new coach who was watching from the wings, against a side from a place with just over 400,000 people that can't even compete for the World Cup, as Martinique's an overseas department of France rather than a separate country. On paper, it looked like a mismatch. In reality, it played out as a mismatch, but in favour of Martinique: they came away with a 1-0 stoppage-time victory on the last kick of the game, but it was a thoroughly deserved win, as they dominated the run of play for much of the game. More than the loss alone, the poor nature of the performance has to be concerning for a Canadian team that appears to have hit one of its lowest points since last year's 8-1 World Cup qualification-ending debacle in Honduras. Canadian soccer commentators and fans from all over were less than impressed with the team's play:
I have to say I'm shocked & embarrassed by how poorly Canada performed. Martinique deserved the win. #CanMNT #GoldCup.
— Nigel Reed (@Nigel_Reed) July 7, 2013
That was embarrassing, folks. No two ways about it. No sugar coating or looking for positives. It was simply embarrassing.
— John Molinaro (@JohnMolinaro) July 7, 2013
#CanMNT coach Benito Floro: "Uhhhhh, I don't want the job anymore..."
— Mike Martignago (@MikeMartignago) July 7, 2013
Just when you think #CanMNT can't embarrass this country any more, they find new ways to do it. So.. ya know.. Kudos to them or something
— Art Middleton (@GameTimeArt) July 7, 2013
I thought we hit rock bottom when we lost 8-1 to Honduras. I was wrong. #CanMNT
— Alykhan Jinah (@AJinah17) July 7, 2013
CAN 0-1 MTQ. One comes from a place that will never see its flag in a World Cup. The other is Martinique. #beensavingthat #CanMNT #GoldCup
— Roehl Sybing (@roehlteacher) July 7, 2013
And then people wonder why so many soccer fans in Canada choose to cheer for their country of heritage. That is why. #CanMNT
— Dan Riccio (@DanRiccio590) July 7, 2013
From @doyle_jamie to me, just now: "I don't know why you care about this tournament when the team clearly doesn't."
— Daniel Squizzato (@DanielSquizzato) July 7, 2013
That criticism was well-deserved, as the Canadian squad lacked urgency and intensity all day long. Martinique dominated the match and directed 27 shots towards the Canadian net (eight on target), while Canada only managed eight total shot attempts and three on target. Canadian keeper Milan Borjan was one of the few players to have a solid day, as he made seven saves, several of them quite impressive. In the end, though, he couldn't keep out a stoppage-time blast from 38-year-old Martinique midfielder Fabrice Reuperné, who scored just his second international goal.
Reuperné's goal was a fitting end to a dismal match for Canada, and one that suggests there's a lot of work ahead for new head coach Benito Floro. Of course, Floro doesn't take over until after the Gold Cup, and interim coach Colin Miller's youth-filled side still has a chance to make something happened against Mexico (July 11 in Seattle) or Panama (in Denver July 14): those teams will likely be playing B-sides given their ongoing World Cup qualification focus, so anything is possible. If the Canadian team continues to play the way they did Sunday, though, it looks like this program might be at one of its all-time lows, and Floro's job may become much more of a scorched-earth makeover than a gradual building project.
