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Olomouc, Czech Republic | Olomouc, CZE
Attendance: 9749
Caleb Clarke
Dwayne De Rosario
Ceska Republika Goal: Goal Scorer. Assist: Goal Scorer
Nana Attakora
Tosaint Ricketts
Kyle Bekker
Pedro Pacheco
Ashtone Morgan
Marcel de Jong
Russell Teibert
Jonathan Osorio
Kyle Porter
Simeon Jackson
Ceska Republika Goal: Goal Scorer. Assist: Goal Scorer
Canada concedes an early goal in 2-0 loss to Czech Republic
Ondrej Celustka scored in the third minute for the Czech Republic and though there was plenty of possession and scoring chances for Canada’s Men’s National Team, they couldn’t find the equalizer and lost 2:0 on Friday night in Olomouc, CZE.
Celustka’s goal came off a Czech free kick as he won the ball in the air to head past Canadian goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld.
Tomas Horava scored the second goal for the Czechs in the 81st minute after receiving a pass right in front of the Canadian goal. Hirschfeld did his best to close down the angle but Horava dispatched the ball into the corner.
Hirschfeld was one of Canada’s standout performances on the night as he made some sharp saves against a tough Czech team. In the 59th minute, Hirschfeld dove well to his right to deny a hard shot by Marek Suchy.
Canada could have brought the game level in the 39th minute when Dwayne De Rosario won a penalty for Canada after a smart run into the penalty area. De Rosario stepped up to take the penalty but Petr Cech showed why he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world by diving to his right to deny the shot.
The penalty came on a good spell of possession for Canada. Just moments before, Nik Ledgerwood and Tosaint Ricketts worked a sneaky free kick that sent Ricketts in on goal.
Ricketts took a low, hard shot that troubled Cech. The Czech goalkeeper saved the shot but it went high into the air and Canada couldn’t put the opportunity away.
Canada had a starting XI with Lars Hirschfeld in goal and Nik Ledgerwood, Doneil Henry, Andre Hainault, and Marcel de Jon on the back line. Adam Straith, Tosaint Ricketts, Jonathan Osorio, Pedro Pacheco, Simeon Jackson, and Dwayne De Rosario in the midfield and attack.
In the first half, Simeon Jackson picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Kyle Porter (24’). In the second half, Cnaada Head Coach Benito Floro replaced Osorio with Russell Teibert and de Jong with Ashtone Morgan (61’), Pacheco with Kyle Bekker, and Ricketts with Nana Attakora (73’).
The Czech Republic had a starting XI with Petr Cech in goal with Theodor Gebre Selassie, Tomas Sivok, Marek Suchy, and Ondrei Celustka on the back line. Ladislav Krejci, Ondrei Vanek, Libor Kozak, Bored Dockal, Vaclav Kadlec, and Tomas Hubschman made up the midfield and attack.
At halftime, Czech Head Coach Josef Peisce replaced Sivok with Ondrei Mazuch, Kozak with Matei Vydra, and Vanek with Petr Jiracek. Later in the half, Kadlev was replaced by Josef Sural (75’), and Dockal was replaced by Frantisek Rajtoral (87’).
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