Canada 1 (Johnson) –
Honduras 0
Canada used a first
half goal that was officially credited to Will Johnson but seemed to
come off the back of Cyle Larin last to get past Honduras in an
entertaining 1-0 win in FIFA World Cup Qualifying for Russia 2018.
Johnson had directed a Junior Hoilett header towards goal when the
ball would bounce off Larin and a Honduran defender before going into
the net late in the first half. Johnson would almost
double the lead in the 2nd half when his free kick effort
was tipped onto the bar by Honduran keeper Noel Valladares, that
would be the closest anyone would come to scoring in the 2nd
half.
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BC Place played host to
the Canadian Men's National Team World Cup Qualifier against Honduras
as they continued their road to Russia 2018. Head Coach Benito Floro
went with Milan Borjan in goal, with Marcel De Jong, Dejan Jakovic,
Adam Straith and Karl Ouimette in the back. The midfield trio
consisted of Captain Julian de Guzman, Will Johnson and Atiba
Hutchinson. Longtime national team holdout Junior Hoilett officially
was cap tied to Canada with this start, and along with Tosaint
Ricketts on the other wing looked to feed MLS Rookie of the Year Cyle
Larin up front.
Junior Hoilett got his
official welcome to Concacaf in the 18th minute, as he was
booked for a foul near the Canadian bench. The referee would even up
the cards a couple minutes later as Will Johnson was taken down in
the centre circle, with the card going to Bryan Acosta.
Honduras would ge a
chance on goal off a Canadian turnover in the 27th minute
as Carlos Discua tried to curl a shot towards the far post but his
effort would go wide of goal. Discua would then get a yellow a
couple minutes later as he interfered with an Atiba Hutchinson free
kick in midfield.
A minute later
Hutchinson played provider for Julian de Guzman, who's rising shot
was parried by Honduran keeper Noel Valladares over the bar.
In the 38th
minute Canada would get on the board. Junior Hoilett would intercept
a pass in midfield, and would sprint to the right of the Honduran
goal before corssing for Will Johnson, who's header went off a body
and into the net for the 1-0 lead. Replays would show that Larin
would get the final touch but Johnson got credit for the goal to put
Canada ahead.
Canada would head into
the half up 1-0, but needed to tighten up at the back as Honduras
started to push the Canadian back line.
Both teams would trade
chances early in the first half before Honduras would make its first
substitution. Romell Quioto, who was injured in this very stadium
playing for CD Olympia against the Vancouver Whitecaps, came in for
Erick Andino on 55 minutes.
In the 62nd
minute Luis Garrido earned a yellow card for a foul on Hoilett in a
dangerousspot. The resulting free kick would be taken by Will
Johnson, who struck a shot that nearly beat Valladares, but the
Honduran keeper managed to get his fingertips on it to push it onto
the post and out to keep the match at 1-0.
Honduras would make
their 2nd substitution in the 65th minute as
Mario Martinez would come on for Bryan Acosta. Soon after that
Honduras would get their own free kick chance as Atiba Hutchinson was
called for a foul, with the free kick eventually going out for a
corner.
Honduras would make
their final substitution moments later with Angel Tejada coming on
for Carlos Discua in the 69th minute.
In the 73rd
minute Marcus Haber would come on for Cyle Larin as Canada made its
first substitution.
In the 76th
minute Milan Borjan had to be sharp as Mario Martinez's long range
shot almost handcuffed the Canadian keeper but he managed to push the
shot over the bar. A minute later Julian de Guzman would come off
for Samuel Piette, getting a standing ovation as he left the pitch.
In the 80th
minute Tesho Akindele would come on for Junior Hoilett, which meant
that no Canadian Whitecaps player would enter the match tonight.
In the 82nd
minute Borjan had to be sharp as he spilled a shot from distance
before recollecting it, but not before taking a knock from a Honduran
player. After a minute of treatment Borjan would be alright and play
resumed.
Borjan would be called
on late to punch out a chance from a free kick, and Canada would
effectively kill of the match as they beat Honduras by a 1-0 score,
and excise some of the ghosts of the 8-1 defeat from 2012. An
estimated 20,108 people were in attendance to watch the victory,
which surprisingly is a record for the Canadian Men's National Team,
which now prepares to get ready to face El Salvador on the road on
Tuesday.
Post Match Quotes:
Will Johnson – On
the Goal:
"It's just a great
play, you know with Junior he's such a special player, there's a good
chances that he's gonna get that ball in the box, so when you play
with one striker you need another guy, the opposite side winger or a
midfielder to make the run also and Cyle went to the middle of the
goal so I went far post, it went a bit over Cyle's head and I was
able to get it on target and then it just kinda rolled into the
goal."
Adam Straith –
Playing at Home:
"It's the most fun
I've ever had in a football match, playing in front of friends and
family and also the way that the game went added to it, and it was a
lot of fun."
Julian de Guzman –
Important Victory:
"I've been waiting
years for this, I remember 2008, at home against Jamaica, we were in
the lead, that was an important match for us and we didn't win that
and the rest is history, then in 2012 we ended up tying against
Honduras, but we dominated that game and didn't get the win that we
needed and that affected the end result for us at the end of
everything so, this win at home, its very special, I think a lot of
the guys, something I was talking to Atiba about just before the
game, its a different feeling that we had going into this game, a lot
more confident, the right players involved, and everyone finally
believed in us, we had a great turnout, a record and I think its
something we're hoping to look forward to in the future with this
success behind us."
Atiba Hutchinson –
Overall Team Performance:
"It was a good
start for us, we controlled the game, started off with a lot of
confidence, played the way we wanted to, didn't give up many chances
and we put them under a lot of pressure and we deserved the three
points."
Junior Hoilett –
On his first home match for Canada:
"It was great, it
was a great result, the fans, they helped us as the 12th
man, I'm pleased to get that result and I know they are as well."
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