SoccerPost-match post-mortem from a defender's P.O.V.

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The day after a match is always the time for a post-mortem; you grab a cup of tea, get together with the coaching staff and watch the game over again, looking for any mistakes that need to be corrected for the next time you take the field.

When you are a defender - whether you win, lose or draw - there are always mistakes made that need to be analyzed. Defensive mistakes in international football generally result in goals, because the quality level of your opponents is very high. 

So let's take a critical look at the three goals Canada conceded in their two friendlies this week, a 2-0 loss to Peru and a 2-1 victory over Honduras.

Peru 1-0 

A long diagonal ball into the box is half-cleared by central defender Kevin McKenna. I don't fault McKenna for attempting the header, because that is his job. But a little bit of communication could have prevented the goal from occurring.

The ball was coming directly at right back Paul Stalteri. All Stalteri needed to do was scream for the ball, which would have alerted McKenna that his skipper was in a better position to clear the ball. If that happens, Stalteri heads it away and the danger passes.

As it was, McKenna had to stretch to reach the header and didn't get it clear. To compound matters, when McKenna closed down the ball on the corner of the box, Stalteri neither covered the overlapping run, nor took up McKenna's position in central defence.

As a result, Adam Straith was left one-on-one in the box with Jose Carlos Fernandez, the goal scorer. When the overlapping run came from Reimondo Manco, none of the midfielders tracked the run, which gave the Peruvian time and space to measure the cross to Fernandez. 

Straith got caught ball-watching, and a clever bit of movement from Fernandez and a decent delivery from Manco put Canada in real trouble. Lars Hirschfeld came for the ball and didn't get there, and Fernandez headed in the opener. 

The entire chain of events would have been prevented if there were more communication at the back for Canada.

Peru 2-0  

In the second half, Canada seemed completely drained of energy - and it hurt them on the second goal.

Under no pressure from the Canadian midfield, Peru passed the ball around at will. When Jean Tragodara picked the ball up on the right and came inside, Jaime Peters didn't get tight enough to him. Julian de Guzman left Jefferson Farfan to close down Tragodara, who then played a little give-and-go with Farfan.

Peters failed to track the run of Tragodara into the Canadian box, so when Farfan played the return pass, Tragodara had the simple task of side-footing the ball past Hirschfeld in goal. 

If you want to delve even deeper into areas that could have prevented the goal, you could suggest that Straith could have read the situation and compensated for Peters' absence. But I think that is a little harsh on Straith, who already had his hands full dealing with Fernandez. 

Lack of pressure in midfield and Peters' failure to track Tragodara were the key breakdowns defensively on the second goal.

Honduras equalizer

A needless foul by Terry Dunfield gifted Honduras a free kick out wide. I love Dunfield's attitude - he is committed, does the simple things well and loves wearing a Canadian jersey - but on this occasion he was a little overzealous, diving into a tackle he was never going to win.

That being said, when the free kick was delivered, Canada fell asleep.

I understand why Canada used a zonal marking system - they have plenty of height in their team and they can all attack the ball. But I am not a big fan of it.

Zonal marking is static, which makes it difficult for players to win balls in the air. I don't care if you are seven feet tall - if you are jumping for a ball from a standing position and I have a run at it, I am going to win. 

A zonal system also leads to confusion because players often fall asleep and expect others to pick up players who are on the move. That is exactly what happened on this goal.

Josh Simpson allowed the goal scorer, Erick Norales, to run right in front of him as the ball was delivered. Simpson didn't track the run, and there was no time for one of his teammates to compensate. As a result, Norales had a free header, which he glanced past Hirschfeld into the goal.

The player in the near-post space, Adam Straith, got caught ball watching and was too far forward to challenge Norales. I really like Straith and I think he has a big future for the National Team, but like most young defenders, he needs to learn that ball watching at the international level is very costly.

It was important for Canada to come away with a victory against Honduras, as nothing boosts confidence more than winning. But it is also important for the players to view the games with a critical eye, to ensure that the mistakes that were made do not repeat themselves in the future.

This isn't done to single out players or to point the finger of blame. It is done so that players can recognize where they are making mistakes, both as individuals and as a team, and the team can improve from one game to the next. 

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