Canada completes successful week in Cyprus

For more information on this match, please visit the following fixture link.



Listen to coach Stephen Hart



Canada’s men’s national team completed a successful week in Larnaka, Cyprus, capped by a 1:0 victory on Saturday night against the host. Stephen Hart picked up the victory in his return as head coach while striker Simeon Jackson scored in his first appearance with the national team.



Coach Stephen Hart says the week “was about getting the relationships working right, letting the players understand what needs to be done when you play away from home, and what we needed to do offensively and defensively.”



The victory gave Canada a win in its first match of the 2009 season. It was just Canada’s 10th win against a European opponent (10 wins, 5 draws and 36 losses). It was also Canada’s all-time 101st win (101-67-122).



Four players in camp made their first appearance with the national team: goal scorer Jackson, defender Eddy Sidra and midfielders Tyler Hemming and Dominic Imhof. At 20 years of age, Sidra was Canada’s youngest starter in nearly four years.



After the match, Canada broke camp with several players returning to their clubs to finish the 2008-09 or 2009 seasons. Canada will regroup in the Los Angeles area in late June before the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The biennial confederation championship runs 3-26 July. Canada’s first three matches are 3 July against Jamaica (Los Angeles), 7 July against El Salvador (Columbus), and 10 July against Costa Rica (Miami).





For more information on Cyprus, please visit : www.visitcyprus.com.