Canada's men's national team fell 0:1 to Honduras tonight in the quarter-final stage of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Canada lost after an unfortunate penalty call in the 35th minute gave Honduras a free shot from the penalty spot. It was on that shot that Walter Martinez scored the lone goal of the game.
Canada created several chances to even the score as Honduras dropped back to defend its lead. Ultimately, though, Canada was unable to hit the back of the net and was as such eliminated from the 2009 competition.
The match started with both teams trading turns with possession. Canada was moving the ball well through the midfield, although Honduras was creating its own chances with a quick counter attack. In the 22nd minute, Canada created a chance from a quick one-two combination between Ali Gerba and Patrice Bernier at the top of the box. Bernier immediately played it in to Atiba Hutchinson, but Hutchinson's shot from the left side was easily stopped by goalkeeper Donis Escobar.
Three minutes later, Honduras had a great chance as Martinez creatively tried to feed Marvin Chavez inside the box. Sutton anticipated the play well, though, and made a terrific save on the ground before Chavez could get a shot.
In the 28th minute, Canada earned its first corner kick with some good work by Josh Simpson down the left side. Bernier's corner kick was cleared by the defence and Mike Klukowski's ensuing long, low shot was stopped by Escobar.
In the 35th minute, Honduras caught its break after referee Joel Aguilar called a penalty on Paul Stalteri in the Canadian box. Aguilar pulled the whistle from his pocket before Martinez hit the ground, unfortunately unaware that Martinez was in fact falling back to take a bicycle kick. Martinez was awarded the penalty kick and made no mistake to turn a 1-0 lead.
Canada came back with chances in the last 10 minutes of the first half, but it also had to defend against Honduras on the counter attack. On one close play, defender Dejan Jakovic headed the ball just wide out of danger. At the other end, Marcel de Jong had a free kick in the 44th minute and Klukowski took a corner kick in the 45th minute.
Canada did indeed advance in the second half. In the 50th minute, de Jong found some space and fired a shot that rebounded off the defender. Will Johnson was in what appeared to be a fortunate position at the top of the box, but he did not have enough space to do more than shoot it into the goalkeeper's hands.
While Canada had another chance in the 56th minute on a Simpson header, it was Honduras that had the next fantastic chance on goal. Goalkeeper Sutton anticipated the play perfectly and advanced to steal the ball off the ground.
In the last 20 minutes, coach Stephen Hart started to draw on the substitutes as the team pushed forward. Jaime Peters came on in the 71st minute for Johnson and Simeon Jackson came on in the 76th minute for Simpson.
In the 80th minute, Klukowski played the ball into Jackson who headed the ball too high. Five minutes later on the heels of the some great Canadian pressure, Stalteri played a great ball in that Kevin McKenna headed smack on the post. Gerba didn't have much of an angle for the rebound, but powered a shot off a Canadian back and out of play.
Canada pushed forward with a flurry of chances in the dying minutes. Even with defender McKenna up, Canada was unable to put the ball in the net. With the final whistle, Canada was eliminated from the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Canada finishes the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup with two wins, one draw and one loss. On a side note, captain Stalteri made his 76th start, tying the national record held by Randy Samuel and Mark Watson.
Goal: Walter Martinez scores for Opponent
