TORONTO — Canada got its first taste of the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying on Thursday, having to fight hard for a 1-1 tie with Honduras.
The game — fast-paced and often prickly with little room to breathe — was the first of 14 for Canada in the eight-team Octagonal. And Canada’s first trip to the final qualifying round since the lead-up to France ’98 was an instant reality check, with two valuable home points dropped.
“That was a big welcome to the CONCACAF Octagon, I guess you could say,” said Canadian defender Alistair Johnston. “Nothing’s going to be easy, nothing’s going to be given.”
“It’s the start of a journey and we ‘ve got the ability to get better,” added coach John Herdman. “That’s the exciting thing for us.”
The teams each scored from the penalty spot with Honduras going ahead 1-0 in the 40th minute from Alexander Lopez with Cyle Larin pulling the Canadian men even in the 66th.
Canada, currently ranked 59th in the world, came into the game on a wave of optimism. But No. 63 Honduras, looking calm and collected some 3,400 kilometres away from home, proved to be a stubborn opponent.
The Canadians now head south to face on the U.S. in Nashville on Sunday. Then it’s back to Toronto to host El Salvador next Wednesday.
Next month, the Canadians visit Mexico and Jamaica before returning to BMO Field to entertain Panama on Oct. 13. Canada will play eight more matches after that, wrapping up play in March.
Canada got some help from other CONCACAF results Thursday with the U.S. tying El Salvador 0-0 and Panama drawing Costa Rica 0-0. Mexico defeated Jamaica 2-1.
Veteran goalkeeper Milan Borjan’s message to his teammates in the post-game huddle was the Canadians can’t wait until the second half to get into high gear, according to Johnston.
Herdman said his team lacked cohesion and chemistry in the first half, but came on strong in the second with substitute Junior Hoilett making a difference.
“It’s going to be a marathon,” Herdman said. “We’ve got a long way to go. The first game at home, it was a three-point focus. But these boys were in a number of occasions an inch, an inch away from making it one of those nights where the crowds goes home very happy.”
Both teams managed 15 shots with Honduras holding a 6-3 edge in shots on target. The Canadians had 66 per cent of possession in a game that featured a total of 39 fouls.
“A call or two went against us,” Canadian defender Steven Vitoria said diplomatically.
Canada had more of the ball but could not unlock the Honduran defence until Larin converted his penalty for his 19th Canadian goal. That moved him into a tie for second place in Canadian men’s scoring behind Dwayne De Rosario’s 22.
Veteran defender Maynor Figueroa took down Hoilett after Borjan triggered a rapid-fire attack following a save at the other end. Richie Laryea did most of the work with the ball before the Honduran defence was compromised.
Lopez opened the scoring after Canadian wingback Tajon Buchanan brought down Andy Najar in the box. A nice give-and-go between Kervin Arriaga and Najar allowed for the Honduran penetration with Buchanan’s leg catching Najar as the D.C. United wingback headed towards goal.
Mexican referee Fernando Guerrero Ramirez pointed to the spot and Lopez slotted the ball into the corner.
Lopez appeared to injure himself on the penalty, grimacing and holding the back of his thigh as his teammates celebrated. He was taken off the field on a stretcher, giving way to CF Montreal forward Romell Quioto.
Canada pressed in the second half with Honduras doing its best to kill time and slow down play. The visitors still had some teeth, however. Borjan got a fingertip to a Brayan Moya header in the 74th minute, pushing the ball off the post to safety in a game-saving save.
Jonathan David had an opening in the 80th minute after Vitoria headed the ball to him on a free kick but the Canadian forward’s shot was blocked. Laryea then shot high from a tight angle in the 89th minute.
Herdman liked what he saw in the second half.
“If they can carry that sort of spirit and resilience that we’ve seen, this is going to a great journey for the team,” he said.
The top three in the final CONCACAF round-robin qualify for Qatar 2022 with the fourth-place finisher taking part in an intercontinental playoff to see who joins them. Honduras made that playoff last time around, losing 3-1 on aggregate to Australia.
Thursday’s game was the first for the Canadian men on home soil since Oct. 15, 2019, when they scored a landmark 2-0 win over the U.S. in CONCACAF Nations League play at BMO Field. The Canadians played their next 15 matches on the road due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, going 11-4-0 with the only losses to Iceland, Mexico and the U.S. (twice).
Attendance for Thursday’s match was capped at just under 15,000 due to COVID regulations. The announced crowd of 14,822 was enthusiastic and noisy with a chant of “Canada, Canada” in the first minute of play. “Super Canucks” read one large sign in the south stand.
Canadian captain Atiba Hutchinson earned his 86th senior cap, moving within three of the retired Julian de Guzman, who holds the Canadian men’s record.
Herdman fielded an attacking lineup with Alphonso Davies, Larin, David and Buchanan all starting. Borjan made his 54th appearance for Canada.
The Canadian starting 11 came into the game with a combined 294 caps. Six of the starters had less than 20 senior appearances
Herdman said prior to the match it might take his team a little while to find its rhythm given the layoff since the Gold Cup. But it was a frenetic opening with neither team given much time on the ball.
Davies wasted little time showing his pace and guile, beating defenders down the left flank in the 11th and 13th minute but unable to find a teammate in the box as Honduran defenders scrambled. Buchanan showed off his bag of tricks, nutmegging a Honduran in his own half.
Honduras was unfazed, looking to counter-attack and shoot from any distance. Borjan made a diving save in the 20th off Diego Rodriguez after punching away a Honduran free kick.
Davies and Buchanan changed sides midway through the half. At times, Canada had a line of five attackers waiting for the ball as attacks developed.
Canada had 58 percent of the possession in the first half but was unable to turn that into goals.
A call for a Honduran handball went unanswered in the 58th minute. The CONCACAF final round does not feature video review with the confederation saying the technology was not available in the stadiums of five of the eight competing federations.
With the CONCACAF road map changing several times as the pandemic played havoc with the world soccer schedule, the Canadians — along with El Salvador (No. 64) and Panama (No. 74) — fought their way through a 29-team first round and then a knockout second round to earn the right to join Mexico (No. 9), the U.S. (No. 10), Costa Rica (No. 44), Jamaica (No. 50) and Honduras in the so-called Octagonal.
Canada defeated Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Aruba, Suriname and Haiti (twice) to get this far.
The Canadian men came into the game 7-11-6 all-time against Honduras but 5-2-2 on home soil. The teams drew 0-0 the last time they met, at the 2017 Gold Cup in Frisco, Texas.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — Patton Kizzire ended a long victory drought Sunday in the Procore Championship, closing with a scrambling 2-under 70 for a tournament-record, five-stroke victory in the FedEx Cup Fall opener at Silverado Country Club.
Kizzire had gone 176 events without a victory after winning tournaments in Mexico and Hawaii in a two-month span in late 2017 and early 2018.
“I’m going to enjoy this win,” Kizzire said. “It’s just so sweet to get through the ups and downs. That’s life. You just got to stay positive. That’s what led me to here, to right now.”
The 38-year-old former Auburn player earned a PGA Tour card for the next two years after entering the event 132nd in the fight to earn a card with a top-125 finish in the standings. He also gets spots in the Masters and PGA Championship and The Sentry at Kapalua.
Kizzire finished at 20-under 268. On Sunday, he repeatedly misfired off the tee for a second consecutive day, but stayed steady with his approach shots and had three birdies, an eagle and three bogeys.
“I knew that it would be difficult not to get ahead of myself with a four-shot lead heading into today,” Kizzire said. “I wrote down in my yard book, ‘I am here, I I am now.’ Kept going back to that. That helped me be disciplined and stay present. That’s what really helped me come out on top.”
David Lipsky was second after a 71.
Patrick Fishburn (71) was third at 14 under. Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, Ont. (72), Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont. (71) and Greyson Sigg (72) were another stroke back.
Sahith Theegala, the winner last year, closed with a 72 to tie for fifth at 12-under 276.
Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., finished tied for seventh at 12 under. He carded a 1 over on his final round. Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., finished tied for 13th at 9 under. He shot a 4 under Sunday. Roger Sloan of Calgary finished tied for 37th at 6 under.
Unlike in 2023 when Theegala was followed by a large gallery on his way to winning, Kizzire and Lipsky played the final round in front of a small crowd at the picturesque course in the heart of the Napa Valley wine country.
For the second straight day, Kizzire had to make up for his erratic tee shots. He missed 11 fairways and hit three drives into bunkers but got out of trouble and limited the damage each time.
Lipsky also had issues off the tee trying to battle winds that had been mostly absent for the first three rounds.
“It was really tough out there,” Lipsky said. “The wind was swirling and it was strong and the greens were so firm. Where they put some of those pins is really tough to get close.”
After Lipsky made birdies on Nos. 1 and 4 to get within two shots, Kizzire responded with an eagle on the par-5 fifth. Kizzire hit his second shot past the green, then holed a soft wedge shot coming back from 50 feet to get to 20 under.
Kizzire bogeyed No. 11 after another errant tee shot, while Lipsky birdied to get within two strokes again. Kizzire then made a birdie save after driving into a greenside bunker on No. 12, and had another birdie on No. 13.
Kizzire was ahead by five strokes after a birdie on No. 15, then missed a short par putt on No. 16. He had a chance to get the stroke back on No. 17, but pushed his putt to the right of the hole and settled for par.
