Canada 4-5 USA (AET): 2010 U21ConfedCup

Canada loses to the States AGAIN...in a thrilling, yet heartbreaking game that could be remembered for a while
Canada nearly got off to a perfect start almost immediately after the kick-off, when Truman Land's shot was saved by Ramiro Mohr, and Rueben Webber blasted the rebound over the bar. However, the striker made amends in the 19th minute by controlling Truman Land's cross, and scoring from the side of the penalty area into the far bottom corner of the net. The Americans had their chances, with Antonio Hooks looking particularly dangerous, but Hernandez made some comfortable saves, and, meanwhile, at the other end, Webber hit the bar. So, at half-time, the Americans could count themselves lucky to not be down by more than one.
Around two or three minutes into the second half, Cho raced inside the penalty area, and was brought down cleanly by defender Aidan Winston, who then gave the ball away to Floyd Hewitt. The midfielder had a go from nearly thirty yards out, and his shot flew into the roof of the net for Canada's second goal. The Americans soon got back in the game through a long-range effort from Brandon Morin, which Hernandez could have saved. Morin then headed Stuart Darden's free kick into the path of Hooks, who scored from close range to complete the comeback. Things went from bad to worse for the Canadians, as Floyd Hewitt received his second yellow card of the game following a challenge from behind on Morin. There was more to come from the Americans: Hooks scored the go-ahead goal for the Americans with a long-range strike that went over Hernandez and in, followed by a second from Hooks, this time with a low shot that rolled in past the near post after Mitchell Costa's steal. Canada, in the space of eighteen minutes, had gone from 2-0 up to two goals down and a man short, and it seemed there was no way they could make it to the semi-finals now. Alphonso Cho, so often criticised over the course of the tournament for his poor finishes, gave Canada a lifeline, connecting with a Cedrick Weir free kick to send a looping header into the back of the net. Hooks missed two good chances to put the game to bed, and Cho hit the crossbar from long-range. Finally, with three minutes to go, Cho received the ball in the center of the field, ditched a couple of tackles, and ran into the penalty box where he coolly slotted the ball past Mohr to surely send the quarter-final into extra time. There was still time for another turn to the plot, with Hooks hitting the post and Blair Cottrell tackled at the last second by Lou Saucier before he could score on the rebound. In injury time, Canadian substitute Cristobal Carney had one last kick of the can, but his shot was easily saved by Mohr, and, just like in the recent Senior ConfedCup, extra time would determine the fate of these bitter North American rivals.
It took around 15 minutes for the golden goal to arrive. Prior to that, Cho had seen his shot saved and Carney's long-range effort went just inches wide. The Americans scored when Jack Samuel was put through on breakaway, and although Hernandez had saved his first effort, the rebound was what gave the Americans the extra-time victory and a berth in the top four.
It really was a close game that could have gone either way. Canada had the better of the first half and extra time, but the second half was controlled by the U.S.A, and they were unlucky to see their lead vanish late on. Although the finish was heartbreaking, we can go out with our heads held high after a very good performance that, on our day, would have sen us go through...whatever, we'll get those damned Americans next time! :)
Canada went with virtually the same tactic as the one against Kuwait (a 4-3-3), except Waylon Lagueux replaced Doug Laframboise in central defence. The Americans went with the commonly seen 3-2-1-2-2, with one of the attacking midfielders (Morin) playing much more as a striker.
The likes of Hooks and Morin were fantastic in attack for the States, but for Canada, I'd say Cho was probably our best player, although it was a good performance from everyone, and Weir and Carney were useful substitutes.
Besides Hewitt's double-yellow, the only other booking of the match went to the USA's Houston Farley.