Canada finishes CONCACAF futsal tourney with third straight loss

Canada will go home from the CONCACAF Futsal Championship after losing all three of its group-stage matches. After a bright start from the Canadians, four rapid-fire first-half goals gave Panama an advantage it would not relinquish, as it went to beat the Maple Leafs by an 8-5 count. Oscar Hinks bagged a hat trick for the Panamanians, who advanced to the semifinals of the tournament and sealed a spot in the Futsal World Cup. Canada’s dreams of going to Thailand were eradicated. Hinks scored on a two-on-one to give the Panamanians the lead, but Canada’s Steve De Blasio scored two goals in the span of two minutes, the first coming on a blast inside the post after he was able to take a pass and spin towards goal. Canada held the 2-1 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. But Panama then scored four unanswered goals. The killer was Hinks’ second goal of the match, which gave Panama a 3-2 lead. Really, it was more of a howler from Canadian keeper Joshua Lemos; a slow, low shot from Hinks hit Lemos in the knee, popped up in the air and over the goalie. The ball hopped slowly into the net. After Panama made it 5-2, Canadian Matthew Rios scored on a penalty kick before halftime, then again early in the second half to make it 5-4. But Panama would then go on another run, this time with three unanswered goals — two from Carlos Perez and one from Hinks — to give it an unassailable cushion. In an interview Tuesday with The 11, Canadian coach Sipho Sibiya said his team had just four days of practice time before it had to play a two-legged qualifier against El Salvador just to get into the CONCACAF tournament. Established teams such as the Guatemalans and Panamanians stick together for years. Canada got by El Salvador in the qualifiers thanks to two goals in the final 16 seconds of the second leg. The winning goal was scored by Lemos — but the reality is that, if Canada wants to succeed in futsal, a lot more resources and training times have to be allocated to the sport. RELATED: Chiles socks it to Canada in CONCACAF futsal championship (CLICK) Canadian futsal squad felled by Escobar’s four-goal effort (CLICK)