Canadian Men’s Team Indoor Team Finishes 10th At Indoor World Cup
February 12, 2011
Canada v. Iran: 6-7 (4-2)
The match for 9th place was an intense battle between two teams solidly organized defensively. Canada was first on the scoreboard by Brandon BARBER in the 6th minute and took some control of the game but were consistently thwarted by a strong Yaghoub BAHRAMI anchoring the Iranian defence. Devohn TEIXEIRA pushed the score to 2-0 but this triggered an immediate response from Iran and they scored twice in a few minutes to tie the game. Jonathan ROBERTS gave back the lead to Canada on a penalty-stroke and Nicholas HIGNELL restored the two-goal lead in an exciting period of indoor hockey.
The two teams traded goals early in second period. Iran progressively increased the pressure on Canada and Reza NOROUZZADEH scored on a penalty-corner, then on a stroke, to tie the game, setting up an intense end of match. Abbas AROEI gave the lead to Iran and they built up a 2-goal lead. Canada came back within one goal, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats, but Iran survived the late Canadian push to grab the win (7-6) and finish 9th of their first Indoor World Cup.
Canada performed well in their third Indoor World Cup, despite a final ranking lower than in the previous ones. Apart from the games against the powerhouses from Germany and Poland, they were never outplayed and displayed excellent individual and collective indoor skills. It is nevertheless clear that you cannot perform at this level of international competition without a full squad; the difference is some matches was often made at the end when the Canadians were tiring from the lack of substitution.
It is interesting that some of the top squads in the world (Germany, England and even now Australia) include the indoor game in the training of their outdoor squads. Australian coach Ric Charlesworth included three Kookaburras in the indoor team and said “There is a lot of benefits for our players to play indoor hockey. It is played in a very confined space which means the game is very fast. They have to learn how to defend the ball in a small space and their stick work needs to be good. All of these skills can be transferable to our team and will be a benefit to our players”. Food for thoughts.
By:FIH/Yan Huckendubler
