How about those kids?
The Canadian U-20 men’s national team came back twice to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw in a friendly with England’s U-20 side Wednesday in front of a crowd of 6,986 in Bournemouth, England.
"I thought the boys did terrifically well to come back twice," Canadian U-20 head coach Rob Gale told CanadaSoccerTV. "It shows terrific spirit amongst the group. But above all, I thought it was a good football game. Both teams looked to try and play. There are obviously good quality players on the opposition. But for all the quality they have, we were difficult to break down. I think we out-chanced them overall, so I was delighted for the lads. I thought it was an absolutely just reward when we got the equalizer."
"Any time you go away and get results against top tier opposition, it bodes well," he added. "There's a definite belief in this squad and this just reaffirms that."
There was a strong Vancouver Whitecaps FC contingent in the match, as each of the club’s five players at the camp appeared for Canada.
Goalkeeper Marco Carducci, midfielders Jordan Haynes (currently a member of Whitecaps FC U-18 Residency) and Kianz Froese, and defender Sam Adekugbe started, while Marco Bustos was subbed on in the 76th minute.
Adekugbe, who looked dangerous along the left flank, wore the captain’s armband for the Red and White, while Bustos helped set up Jordan Hamilton’s stoppage-time equalizer with a cross into the box. Michael Petrasso scored the other goal for Canada.
Froese was also very involved. The first-team midfielder released Manny Aparicio into the box in the ninth minute and had a few half-chances of his own. Carducci, meanwhile, was forced to make an important fingertip save at 2:15 of the highlight package above.
Canada will now travel to Marbella, Spain, where they will meet Russia on November 15 and USA on November 18. The series of friendlies will serve as another opportunity for the Canadian U-20 men's national team to prepare for the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which will take place in Montego Bay, Jamaica in January of next year, and will serve as a qualifier for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
MATCH DETAILS (courtesy of The FA)
Referee: Simon Hooper
Attendance: 6,986
Scoring Summary:
15' - ENG - Chuba Akpom
48' - CAN - Michael Petrasso
85' - ENG - Baily Cargill
90' - CAN - Jordan Hamilton
England (4-3-3):
1.Christy Pym (Exeter City); 2.Shay Facey (Manchester City), 5.Lloyd Jones (Liverpool), 6.Baily Cargill (Bournemouth), 3.Matt Targett (Southampton); 8.Paul Digby (Barnsley), 4.Lewis Baker (capt, Chelsea), 10.Josh Harrop (Manchester United); 7.Matt Grimes (Exeter City), 9.Chuba Akpom (Arsenal), 11.John Swift (Rotherham United, on loan from Chelsea).
Substitutes:
12.Dominic Ball (Tottenham Hotspur) for Facey 23'; 14.Kortney Hause (Gillingham, on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) for Jones 45'; 15.Harrison Reed (Southampton) for Targett 45'; 16.Josh Murphy (Norwich City) for Baker 61'; 17.Jordon Ibe (Derby County, on loan from Liverpool) for Swift 61'; 18.James Wilson (Manchester United) for Akpom 61'; 19.Kwame Thomas (Derby County) for Harrop 61'
Substitutes not used:
13.Christian Walton (GK, Brighton & Hove Albion), 22.Joe Wildsmith (GK, Sheffield Wednesday).
Canada (4-1-4-1):
18.Marco Carducci (Whitecaps FC); 13.Jordan Haynes (Whitecaps FC Residency), 6.Luca Gasparotto (Rangers FC - on loan at Airdrieonians), 14.Alexander Comsia (RC Strasbourg), 3.Sam Adekugbe (Whitecaps FC); 8.Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare (Montreal Impact); 15.Manny Aparicio (Toronto FC), 16.Kianz Froese (Whitecaps FC), 10.Dylan Carreiro (Dundee FC - on loan at Arbroath), 11.Michael Petrasso (QPR - on loan at Notts County); 9.Sadi Jalali (FC Edmonton)
Substitutes:
2.Marco Bustos (Whitecaps FC) for Aparicio 75'; 19.Jordan Hamilton (Toronto FC - on loan at C.D. Trofense) for Jalali 75', 7.Louis Beland-Goyett (Montreal Impact) for Froese 83', 4.Hanson Boakal (FC Edmonton) for Adekugbe 90', 12.Chris Serban (UBC) for Carreiro.
Substitutes not used:
1.Nolan Wirth (Oregon State University), 17.Marko Aleksic (FC Edmonton)
