11/6/2007 - 23:57(EST)

Canada moves on to the quarterfinals

With only 30 minutes of great soccer, Canada was able to beat Haití 2-0 and qualify to the next round as the first seeded team in Group A of the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2007.

11/JUN/07 - After Costa Rica’s victory over Guadeloupe in the previous game, both Canada and Haiti were looking for a victory that would send them on to the next round as the group leaders. In case of a tie, Canada would qualify and Haiti would stay behind as the last team in the group. It was do or die for the islanders.

At the 30th minute a cross from the right landed on the far side of the box and Dwayne De Rosario tucked it home. He didn’t have much angle, but Fenelon’s mistake covering his first post gave him the chance to put Canada ahead in the game.

Then, two minutes later, a play started by Stalteri on the right found Nakajima-Farran inside the box. As he tried to cut away from Pierre, the Haitian defender hacked him inside the box and it was the perfect chance for Canada to get ahead 2-0 from the penalty spot.

De Rosario did not fail, and at the 35th minute, Canada was leading the game 2-0. Interestingly enough, Haiti started pushing up after the second goal, and for quite some time play was only seen in and around Canada’s box.

It was Pat Onstad’s time to shine. First, he stopped a shot from Bruny with his right foot. The Haitian forward connected with Boucicaut in a wall-pass and drove it low, but Onstad kicked it out of bounds. Then Gilles found a hole on the Maple Leaf’s defense and looked to nail it on the back of the net, but Onstad again took the glory and cleared it out.

Second half brought out the best in Haití. Their chances kept coming as Canada simply waited for a lucky break on a counter attack. Their best chance was a shot by Fabrice, who faced Onstad one on one. A through ball went past the Canadian defensive line and Fabrice, making the run, found himself completely alone ten yards from the goal. His shot went out by inches.

It was Friend who became the first Canadian to bring some pressure to Fenelon on the second half. He came in wide open on the left and tried to chip the ball over the Haitian goalkeeper. Canada was trying to recover possession, but Haiti was playing at a very high pace and Julian De Guzman could not hold on in the midfield.

Once again Haiti brought some danger to Onstad’s goal, and it was more thanks to their effort than to their ability. A messy play on the top of the box ended up with a ball that looked as if it was bouncing out of bounds. Boucicaut, however, decided to fight for it, and if it weren’t for Onstad’s reflexes he would have scored the 2-1 at the 63rd minute.

The islanders were not giving up and the game became a Haitian monologue. The left hand side of their attack was an open highway and crosses were coming in again and again, but they never found a target. Finally, at the 65th, Mones Cherry tried his luck with a shot from afar that forced Onstad to dive in order to clear out the danger.

Ante Jazic for Canada tested Fenelon at the 70th minute, and Bruny ended up saving the keeper’s mistake on the clearance. In the next play, De Guzman found a ball on the top of the box and tried to curve it in. This time Fenelon delivered and dove to make a great save.

Pierre Richard Bruny was ejected at the 80th minute for elbowing a Canadian defender, and with the red card Haiti lost all their hopes of coming back.

CAN: 14- Dwayne DeRosario (7- Paul Stalteri), 32’

CAN: 14- Dwayne DeRosario, 35’ (Penalty Kick)

Miller Light Man of the Match: 14- Dwayne DeRosario (CAN)

HAT: 1- Gabart Fenelon, 3- Frantz pilles, 4- Peter Germain, 6- Stephane Guillaume, 7- Brunel Fucien (21- Jamil Jean-Jacques, 67’), 8- Turlien Romulus, 10- J. Michael Alexandre Boucicaut, 13- Pierre-Richard Bruny, 19- Ricardo Pierre-Louis, 20- Mones Chery, 23- Frantz Bertin

DNP / No jugaron: 2- Jean Sony Alcenat, 11- Noel Fabrice, 15- Ednerson Raymond, 17- Alain Vubert, 18- Olrish Saurel, 22- Peterson Occenat

TD: Luis Armelio Garcia

CAN: 3- Ante Jazic, 5- Andrew Hainault, 6- Julian DeGuzman (8- Kevin Harmse, 78’), 7- Paul Stalteri, 9- Robert Friend, 11- Richard Hastings, 13- Atiba Hutchinson, 14- Dwayne De Rosario, 18- Issey Nakajima-Farran (15- Patrice Bermier, 83’), 20- Chris Pozniak, 22- Patrick Onstad

DNP / No jugaron: 2- Adam Braz, 10- Ali Gerba, 16- Martin Nash, 17- Iain Hume, 23- Robert Giacomi

TD: Stephen Hart

Booked /Amonestado:
HAT: 20- Mones Chery, 86’

Sent off / Expulsado:
HAT: 13- Pierre-Richard Bruny, 81’

Terra/CONCACAF