TORONTO – It was, as expected, a one-sided affair on Tuesday evening as Canada easily dispatched visiting Dominica in the second of four CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying tilts, with John Herdman’s side picking up a resounding 5-0 win at BMO Field.
Les Rouges looked comfortably in control throughout the 90-minute spell, as Dominica posed little by way of goal-scoring threat, focusing instead on staving off the flurry of attacks faced by the combination play of the likes of Alphonso Davies, Jonathan Osorio, Lucas Cavallini, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Junior Hoilett, among others.
For Canada, no thought was given to taking their collective feet off the pedal, either, as a high-scoring margin of victory was needed to keep pace with the massive gulf in goal differential separating the sides in the 34-team table.
It’s why Canada sat fourth in the standings after the first round of action, despite beating the U.S. Virgin Islands 8-0 in the opening match.
“If we want to be in the Gold Cup and we want to move on, we have to come out here with a goal, and scoring goals is the most important thing,” Larin told CanPL.ca before the match. “Not letting the ball into the back of the net is key, too. I think we have the guys to do that.”
And, despite four different players finding the back of the net for Canada, they all count the same for this united group.
“I think every goal we score, we enjoy it, whether it’s a centreback, a forward, whoever scores, because we have one goal, and that is to make the Gold Cup, and then the World Cup (in 2022),” Larin said.
Canadian supporters also had a chance to welcome veteran midfielder and captain Atiba Hutchinson back into the fold, with the Besiktas man returning to Herdman’s team for this tilt. The 35-year-old played a key role anchoring the midfield as nearly all of Canada’s forwards, midfielders and fullbacks swarmed the area around the box.
Hutchinson stayed back to defend, but it’s the sort of dirty work that has proven to be his bread and butter in Europe, of late.
“As one of the veterans on the team, I just try to give the experiences as much as I can,” Hutchinson told CanPL.ca. “My leadership, I try to bring that out onto the pitch. I’m not so much a vocal guy but I just try to lead by example when I go out there on the pitch. I hope that’s enough. There’s a little bit of talking here or there, but I think leading by example on the pitch is what I’ve always liked to strive on.”
Canada next heads to St. Kitts and Nevis on Nov. 18 in CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying, as Herdman’s side strives to earn a berth in the 2019 Gold Cup by finishing at least top 10 in the table. The Nations League is a new tournament-style format introduced to replace international friendlies, and is now the entry pathway for the Gold Cup, the region’s premier crown.
Goals scored:
- Jonathan David (3′)
- Junior Hoilett (14′)
- Lucas Cavallini (17′)
- Malcolm Joseph (OG, 47′)
- Cyle Larin (82′)