Last week I wrote an article about the Canadian women's football/soccer team and how their quarterfinal match put them at a crossroads in their path to the top tier in the international game. I was not planning on writing a follow up article because, well I assumed the Canadians would either win or lose the game against Great Britain and that would be that for the story. If the Canadians won, they would surely have a game against the United States that despite their best efforts, the Canadian squad just would not have the talent, physicality or toughness to overtake the number one ranked USWNT squad. However, I was dead wrong.
Canada and the United States kicked off the women's football semi-final at Manchester's Old Trafford "The Theatre of Dreams" as they call it. A backdrop for many of my favorite memories as a footy fan, a place where last second comebacks, upsets, and legends come alive. That is why I came into Monday's match with the glimmer of hope that somehow, someway the dream would be alive in Manchester and the Canadians would steal one from the hated American women.
I was by all accounts not planning on watching the Canadians outplay the Americans. I was planning on witnessing Canada put everyone besides Christine Sinclair behind the ball and hope for a miracle, but they didn't. I was expecting American strikers Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan to have their way with the Canadian defenders, they didn't. Instead what happened was Canada dominating the midfield and showing flashes of brilliance before a perfect one two sent now Canadian Olympic legend Christine Sinclair in for the game's opening goal, she made no mistake at shaking her defender and finessing the ball into the net. One-nil Canada. The tweets started instantly, as everyone slowly began to tune into what looked like Canada's moment.
Then a goaltending error allowed a lucky bounce off a corner kick to curl into the Canadian goal. One-one, I have seen this picture before the Americans now had the game back in their hands. Canada was about to fold into the team that allowed the likes of Germany, France, and Japan to handle them over the last two years. Then Christine Sinclair and Tancredi (the underrated player of the tournament in my opinion) connected again as Tancredi's cross found Sinclair's head and the back of the net. Two-one Canada. Megan Rapinoe then levelled things once again for the Americans with a nothing you can do about it strike to the corner of the Canadian goal that put things back on level terms. This time though, I didn't think the game was over, Canada was legitimately playing with the United States. Its players will controlling possession, throwing every bit as much weight around the park as the Americans in a game even the biggest soccer hater would refer to as physical. Canada was finally playing like they were every bit as good as the team they were playing against. So when Christine Sinclair scored her third goal, which if this was hockey would probably make her prime minister after London, I was not as surprised. Seventeen ish minutes were left on the clock for the Canadians who with the way midfielders Desiree Scott and Kaylyn Kyle were playing in the defensive midfield, looked like they would be able to hold on.
Then came the controversy. The FIFA referee assigned to the game, who when the game was tied at two-two allowed a clear control of the ball by the Americans get uncalled in the penalty area, started off the mayhem by calling the Canadian keeper for delay of game. Now I watch approximately five to ten soccer matches a week, and not once have I ever seen an instance in where in a three-two high stakes game, that a referee calls a keeper on delay of game and gives an indirect free kick in the penalty area to the losing team. In fact, I have rarely seen a keeper be given a yellow card for delay of game in a similar situation for "time wasting." Let's be clear here, the Canadian keeper didn't pretend to fake an injury to milk the clock like the Americans would have undoubtedly done in a similar situation. She simply punted the ball down the field maybe one to two seconds too late, a punishment that does not need to be given if the reward for the opposing team is a near guarantee of a goal. The free kick then resulted in a Canadian player blocking her face with her arms being called for a handball, this was then called a penalty. As mentioned before, a much more blatant handball just went uncalled less than thirty minutes ago in the match. Of course, Abby Wambach levelled the game before Alex Morgan put the dagger in the hearts of the millions of Canadians who tuned into extra time to see if the Canadians could rekindle the magic.
FIFA then decided after the match to see if they were going to punish Canadian players, including Christine Sinclair, one of the classiest Canadian athletes for complaining about the referee's decisions in the second half. Not investigating the obvious fact that their officials clearly cost the better team the match, but the fact that legitimate complaints were made about one of the worst official errors of the Olympic games.
It is a shame that the Canadian women will not get their chance at a rematch with Japan for a gold medal, that after such effort and hard work that they will now play France in a bronze medal game that will likely be a blip on the Canadian Olympic schedule. That after such opportunity to make a mark that they will likely be forgotten about after having a game they deserved to win stolen away. Especially the effort of Christine Sinclair, the women's games second highest scorer who scored the biggest of hat tricks, only to have it minimized in a loss.
This isn't an excuse, this isn't sour grapes. The Canadian women can now prepare to host the 2015 World Cup with the knowledge that they are every bit as good as Japan and the United States. The 2012 Canadian women's soccer team represented what Canada is all about in its gritty effort in defeat. Do not forget about them.
