Let the (Canadian) kids play

Introduction

This is the Northern 90 Podcast with Pat Sweet, Episode 25.

Welcome to the Northern 90 Canadian Premier League Podcast, covering the beautiful game in the great white north. For more Canadian Premier League content, head over to Northern90.ca. That’s Northern Nine Zero dot ca.

Welcome

Hello, Canada, and welcome to the Northern 90 Canadian Premier League Podcast!

I’m your host, Pat Sweet.

In this week’s episode: a review of Canada’s top young talent in the CanPL.

Announcements

Thanks for supporting the Northern 90 Premium Channel!
Lots more to come on that, including some lower-priced tiers later on.

Results

League Play

Forge lead the league with 16 points
HFX Wanderers the only team under 1 PPG at 0.88.
Neither York 9 nor Halifax have earned a point on the road during the fall.
Approaching the 50% mark of games played. Not quite there yet.

Canadian Championship

Cavalry FC lost to Montreal Impact 3-1 on aggregate
TFC beat Ottawa Fury 5-0 on aggregate
401 Derby for the final

CONCACAF League

Forge FC beat out Antigua GFC 2-1 on aggregate.
Recently played CD Olympia at home to a 1-0 win.
Nice goal by Chris Nanco who beat ‘keeper Edrick Johnson short side
Next leg will be played behind closed doors in Olympic Stadium in San Pedro Sula.
- 6 hour drive from Olympia’s regular home stadium
- This was a CONCACAF decision after riots broke out in advance of the Classico Capitalino between Olympia and cross-town rival Montagua.
- Reported that four people died and at least 10 injured during the riots.
- Could be a major boost for Forge.
- During the last episode I predicted that Olympia’s fans would be hostile. Turns out I was right.

News

Canada Soccer have ruled on the allegations of racial slurs being used during a Canadian Championship match between Cavalry FC and Forge FC.
Forge FC Assistant Coach Peter Reynders has been found guilty of breaching Canada Soccer’s Code of Conduct and Ethics and has been suspended for 45 days, and cannot participate in any soccer-related activities. (https://www.canadasoccer.com/canada-soccer-disciplinary-committe-rules-on-canadian-championship-qr2-allegations-of-racial-comments–p162338)
The hydro pole will disappear in 2020!
- Congratulations to Max Mowbray @PFCOntario
- Condolences to Xav Ouellette @TheHydroPole
- Check out the Purple Reign podcast on the NSXI Network if you’re a Pacific FC supporter

Next up – the power of Youth

Youth Performance in CanPL

I’ve noticed you find young Canadians at the top of most important metrics in the league.
Today, I’ll go through some stats and talk a bit about the young Canadian talent that is shining.

Goals

Lots of young Canadian talent
2 top goal scoreres are Tristan Borges and Terran Campbell.
Both 20-year old Canadians
Easton Ongaro is 21, and tied for 4th in the league with 5 goals.

Assists

Elijah Adekugbe is 23 years old, tied for first with Kyle Bekker at 4 assists
Kwame Awuha also 23 and tied for 2nd with 3 assists

Minutes

Diyaeddine Abzi – top 10 minutes played as a 20-year old Canadian
Many Aparicio – top 10 as a 23-year old Canadian

Shots Taken

Tarran Campbell – top 10
Tristan Borges – top 10

Chances Created

Marco Bustos – 28 chances created, good for 4th place. 23 year-old Canadian.
Manny Aparicio – 23 chances created. 6th in the league
Tristan Borges – 21 chances
Louis Beland-Goyette and Kwame Awuha both had 19, tied for 10th. Both 23.

Tackles

Zoom Langua – 21 year-old Canadian leads the league with 63 tackles and 45 tackles won
Diyaeddine Abzi – 20, ranked 8th in tackles
For the record – Tristan Borges is tied for 11th with 36 tackles.

Three Take-aways

Canada’s got talent
The “Play your kids” rule has value
1. Teams are giving kids a chance
2. Terran Campbell asked to play as a 9 and was given the chance
3. Easton Ongaro has worked his way into a starting role – after getting a spot on the roster in the first place.
Success of youth will determine the success of the league and of Canadian soccer
1. CanPL will want to strive to become a selling league
2. Players will see opportunity to go on to bigger clubs and will develop in CanPL
3. The men’s national team’s performance will improve as more young Canadians get their chance.

Next up, the mailbag:

Mailbag

You know how this works – you send me mail and messages and I read every single one of them. If what you send is extra good I read it on the podcast.

Michael Elder wrote on the Northern 90 Supporters’ Group FB Group:

Forge FC has a really tough run of games in the next couple months. They play something like 7 in the next three weeks including away to Olimpia. Then they have a break before playing another 6 in just over 2 weeks. Less than half are home games as well. And that’s assuming they don’t advance further in the CONCACAF League.

I honestly wonder if they can keep their pace up; that’s just an exhausting series of matches. If they do hold on and win the Fall season kudos to them; they’ll definitely deserve it. One advantage they have is no other team behind them really seems to be making a push at the moment.

Carlos Barrera wrote, also on the N90SG FBG:

At the beginning, and without a #CanPL team in Ottawa, I liked #HFXWanderersFC and still support them. But as the games keep coming, I really, really like #ForgeFC. I enjoy watching them play in the #CanPL. #ForgeFC go for goals. I like their style, passing and possession with purpose. Their games are entertaining. Very talented, unselfish, and creative players. They create spaces, look for channels and the teammate who’s in better position to take a shot. The beautiful game! #ValourFC is giving #ForgeFC a good test right now. The games are very entertaining.

This week’s question: What does Forge FC’s success in CONCACAF league tell us about the CanPL’s place in the world of soccer?

Leave a comment at northern90.ca/episode25
Write to me at pat at northern90.ca
Fire me a note on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram @northernninety

The Week Ahead

Aug 28 – Wednesday 9:00 pm ADT	Valour	vs.	HFX Wanderers	IG Field	TICKETS
Aug 28 – Wednesday 10:00 pm ADT	Cavalry	vs.	Pacific	Spruce Meadows	TICKETS
Aug 29 – Thursday 11:00 pm ADT CONCACAF League	Olimpia	vs.	Forge	Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano

Announcements

Thank you to everyone who signed up for the Northern 90 Premium Channel – I love you guys.
Credit to my very first supporters
- Adam
- Blair
- Josh
- James
In the future, I’ll be opening more spots and different price points to make things more accessible for folks.
Fan Guide – northern90.ca/fanguide
- Stadiums
- Teams
- Key information about the league
- Blogs, podcasts, video channels

Outroduction

That’s all we’ve got for the show today.

If you liked the show, don’t forget to subscribe to it, and when you do leave an honest review. That helps me make the show better and others find it.

Also, if you’ve been enjoying this show, you should join my supporters’ group. When you join you get a weekly newsletter with curated CPL content, access to a members-only Facebook group, contests, giveaways, fantasy leagues, all sorts of good stuff. And it’s free. Check it out at northern90.ca/join.

Thanks so much, Canada. Have a great week.

Credits

Featured Image

Photo by Click and Boo on Unsplash

Intro music

CPL Headlines Music

Main Content Intro Music

Mailbag Music

Outro music

Let the (Canadian) kids play