Canada blank Barbados 8-0

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Canada made a dazzling entry into the 2011 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship yesterday when they drubbed a hapless Barbados 8-0 to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the 12-team championship, which will produce four qualifiers for this summer's FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

The win by the Sean Fleming-coached Canadians also secured Honduras' place in the quarter-finals. Honduras had a 2-1 win against Barbados, who have been eliminated.

In a clinical display in which they showed the opposition very little mercy, the Canadians scored through the wily Keven Aleman (2), Chris Nanko (2), Michael Petrasso (2) Said Jalali and substitute Wesley Cain. They led 5-0 at half-time.

"It is very good victory and we are extremely happy we got some goals," said Fleming. "However, we are not going to get carried away, we are going to take this win into perspective as it is our first game ... we will still be aiming for an improved performance against Honduras."

Failed to follow instructions

Barbados coach Kenville Layne said his players failed to follow instructions and paid the price.

"We were totally outplayed because the players failed to follow the pre-game instructions they were given," said Layne. "We told them not to go chasing because that is not our style, but they abandoned the game plan and went chasing the ball and the Canadians cut us to pieces."

The game started with Canada looking extremely sharp through Aleman and the speedy Petrasso. They were rewarded in the 12th minute when Nanko took a neat cross before the goal and slotted home.

With Barbados looking out of touch, Canada doubled their lead in the 20th minute. Jalali struck a powerful long-range shot, which left the goalkeeper a mere spectator, making the score 2-0. Three minutes late, Nanko got his second goal when he calmly lobbed past the goalkeeper.

Petrasso capitalised on a defensive error in the 29th and made it 4-0, while four minutes later, the skilful Aleman rounded off one of his dazzling dribbles before flicking the ball over the goalkeeper's head to make the score 5-0.

Aleman made it 6-0 in the 47th minute when he broke out of midfield and fired past the helpless goalkeeper.

Canada eased off the pressure after Aleman's goal, making a few substitutions in the process. During this period, Barbados came to life briefly and created a few openings. However, they were not able to get a shot on target.

In the 57th minute, Petrasso got his second goal when he nonchalantly waltzed through the defence and fired home easily, making the score 7-0. Substitute Wesley Cain got himself on the scoresheet in the 74th minute when he fired in off a defender to complete the scoring.