September 12, 2007 Men's National Team--Canada vs Costa Rica result (from Canada Press)

Canada ties Costa Rica

De Rossario scores equalizer
By NEIL DAVIDSON

A black night at BMO

TORONTO (CP) - The Canadian men's soccer team ended a seven-year absence from Toronto with a lively showing in a 1-1 tie Wednesday night with Costa Rica in a soccer friendly, the latest chapter in a rivalry that will likely be renewed in the next round of World Cup qualifying.

A spectacular strike by Dwayne De Rosario in the 54th minute earned Canada the draw, cancelling out a Costa Rican goal six minutes earlier that came against the run of play before a disappointing crowd of 9,325 at BMO Field. "I think we dominated the game. We had more and better chances. Unfortunately the one shot on goal they had turned out to be a goal," Canadian forward Tomasz Radzinski said.

"It's really, really disappointing coming to Toronto and not getting a result."

But there was plenty to celebrate, including De Rosario's goal - a thing of beauty.

The Houston Dynamo star took a majestic cross-field pass from Julian de Guzman, brought the ball down and hammered a left-footed shot past Costa Rican goalkeeper Jose Francisco Porras. De Rosario has a history of spectacular goals in MLS play and this strike was a worthy addition to his collection.

And the Canadians stroked the ball around the park, looking as comfortable as the visitors, who have been to the last two World Cups.

"I'm sure we know today that we can beat that team. Knowing that they've been in the World Cup, that means we can take their place . . . for the next one," said Radzinski.

"We're going to have a strong squad. I'm very optimistic for the future," he added.

The opening goal came in the 48th minute when Costa Rica carved open the Canadian defence to find Victor Nunez streaking down the left and his shot beat goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld.

"We went asleep for two minutes and we got punished," De Rosario said.

Two minutes later, the visitors were reduced to 10 men when midfielder Randall Azofeifa was sent off for a second yellow card after scything Radzinski to the artificial turf. The visitors did all they could to slow the game down after that, eating away at the clock.

Coach Dale Mitchell did his bit in going after the win, throwing on fresh attackers as the match progressed. The home side outshot Costa Rica 13-3.

"It was supposed to be a friendly, but it wasn't really much of a friendly," Mitchell said. "It was more like a (World Cup) qualifying game.

"Certainly there were chances there for us to win it - five or six decent chances,"

Still Costa Rican coach Hernan Medford Bryan said he was happy with his team's performance.

"We played very well," he said through an interpreter. "We had very little time together."

The team will improve in the leadup to the World Cup, he added.

The game was the first in Toronto for the national team since a 0-0 tie with Mexico in a World Cup qualifier Nov. 15, 2000, a gap largely due to lack of a suitable venue after Varsity Stadium was demolished. Since then the Canadian men have played 53 internationals of which only seven have been at home - Burnaby, B.C. (3), Kingston, Ont. (2), Edmonton (1) and Montreal (1).

The most disappointing part of the night was the sparse crowd on a cloudy night at BMO Field, with a temperature of 18 C at kickoff.

There were more players on the field than fans in the top tier of the west stand - the stadium's biggest - when the anthems started. When the expansion MLS side Toronto FC plays, the stadium is sold out with raucous crowds of some 20,000 per game.

"I thought it would be a soldout crowd. We haven't played in seven years," said De Rosario. "But there's a lot of things going on right now and the fans that came showed their support. We definitely really appreciate that."

The fans certainly liked seeing a goal from the home side. Toronto FC has not scored in 732 minutes - not since July 7 and that goal came in Chicago.

After a slow start, Canada got into the game and both sides enjoyed good stretches of possession in the first half although neither 'keeper was threatened. The closest call was in the 39th minute when Costa Rica's Porras came out to punch a Canadian cross away.

Porras had to be sharp to stop Atiba Hutchinson's low shot in first-half injury time after a nice buildup by de Guzman and Radzinski.

Costa Rica's midfield duo of veteran Walter Centeno (formerly of AEK Athens) and Azofeifa (KAA Gent, Belgium) ruled early on but Canada's de Guzman (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain) and De Rosario gradually began to make their mark.

Both teams made extensive changes from their Gold Cup meeting in June, when Canada won 2-1. The home side's starting 11 Wednesday featured six players who started in the Gold Cup game while the Costa Rican lineup had just four of the Gold Cup starters.

Costa Rica is ranked 52nd in the world, one place above Canada. The two teams are third and fourth, respectively, in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. Mexico (No. 11 overall) and the U.S. (No. 17) are No. 1 and 2 in the confederation.

Canada and the Ticos will be battling for a World Cup berth in the region, probably behind the Mexicans and Americans. The top three CONCACAF teams advance to the 2010 tournament in South Africa with the fourth-place side meeting the fifth-placed South American team from CONMEBOL qualifying to determine who joins them.

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