Much was expected of Canada at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica.The young Canadian soccer team had performed well on a pre-tournament tour of Europe, returning home unbeaten against quality opposition. The squad had never lost two games in a row.And while coach Rob Gales team was denied two of its top weapons — midfielders Dylan Carreiro of Dundee and Fraser Aird of Glasgow Rangers — when their Scottish teams refused to release them for the tournament, there was good depth. Teenage striker Cyle Larin went No. 1 in the MLS SuperDraft during the tournament. Ten players on the roster were on the books of Canadian MLS clubs, with several having already made their first-team debut.Gale had faith in his squad, having worked with many of them for the last three years. But he knew that not many had played much competitive soccer in the leadup to the CONCACAF event. And five games in 12 days would be a big ask in the heat, humidity and uneven pitch in Montego Bay.Plus Canada had not taken part in the world under-20 championship since it hosted the event in 2007, exiting without scoring a goal or registering a point. And rival teams were making strides in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.Despite a good start, the tournament quickly went south. The Canadians were eliminated from contention Monday when they lost 2-1 to Cuba and Honduras beat Haiti 3-2.All our kind of worst fears about what potentially could happen or affect the players have come to fruition, unfortunately ... Its been a poor display of who we are as a group, said Gale.Where these boys have been fantastic in the past in tournament football, for any number of reasons and the boys are struggling themselves to put their finger on it, this week, at this moment of time, they didnt have the energy and the resolve and that character to get themselves out of moments of a game that would turn the course, he added.Canada opened on a positive note, downing Haiti 3-1. A 2-0 loss to two-time defending champion Mexico was perhaps not unexpected.A 3-2 loss to El Salvador on a stoppage-time goal was a dagger through the heart. Then the bottom fell out with the loss to Cuba, with Canada conceding the opening goal on a flubbed clearance. When Honduras beat Haiti later that day, Canadas dream of reaching the U20 World Cup were shot.Canada (1-3-0) wrapped up play Thursday with a meaningless game against Honduras.Panama and Mexico topped their groups to reach the final and automatically qualify for FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand this summer. The second- and third-place teams in each pool will play off to see which two teams join them.For Gale and his staff, its time to review and reconsider. Their job is long-term development and this tournament, however painful, has been a learning step for their young players.The good news for Gale is that his players responded in the second half of games.For Gale, Thursdays finale outing was about sheer effort and pride, that has been lacking in some individuals and also as a collective, at times, when the going got tough in the conditions, the heat and everything else.Obviously theyre down and theyre disappointed that they havent represented themselves as they would have wanted. But youre as good as your next game and in football you have to get back on the horse. And if they want to make a career out of it, theyre going to have many many difficult moments and its how you respond.Gale was encouraged by the opening win over Haiti. He knew the margin of victory could have been more had his group retained its focus but he saw it as a lesson learned.Mexico was next, the toughest game on the schedule. The Mexicans were well-rested after a 9-1 romp over Cuba.We refreshed the pack but unfortunately a couple of players had just tough tough days at the office, said Gale. To be fair to the boys, they dug in again. The second half we were much much better.Down 1-0, they had chances to tie it up but were punished on a late counter-attack.Mentally, the team was in good spirits going into the El Salvador game. There had been positives against Mexico.But extreme heat took its toll on a Canadian team inexperienced at this level and in the conditions. Watching from the sidelines, Gale could see his team stray from its game plan just minutes into the contest.It becomes not about football then, its about digging in — the heart and desire to work you way through it.Down 1-0 and 2-1, the Canadians rallied to tie the game, only to fall victim to a 94th-minute goal off a set kick.It was just a mental lapse, said Gale. Very disappointing ... But with a young group of players, that happens in football.Against Cuba, an unfortunate individual error led to a fifth-minute goal and the Canadians were behind the eight-ball again.Down 2-0 at the half, the Canadians cut the lead to 2-1 and had chances to score while the Cubans played a delaying game that descended into farce. The stretcher comes on seven times, Gale said with disgust.Unfortunately thats the reality of CONCACAF, he added. Any time you give a team oxygen or life, where theyre ahead, they can wind it down and it can cost you.Under that extra pressure, players started second-guessing themselves, said Gale.Finding the character and heart when the going got tough just deserted us here. And thats tournament football. It can happen.This is the first cycle of players Gale has had since under-16. Now the plan is to grow a squad from the under-14 level.Jamaica is a valuable, if painful, lesson. Theres no immediate and short-term fix, said Gale.The young Canadians are talented but lack experience under pressure, the coach says.Missing Aird and Carreiro, his longtime captain, did not help.If there was one thing that we needed a little more of at this tournament, it was character, said Gale.He notes with frustration that Carreiro had not played a minute at Dundee during the tournament.I think thats disgraceful for a coach to hold a player back from international football and the experience and to not play him at all.Aird played sparingly at his club during the tournament.Still, Gale says there are no excuses for what happened in Jamaica.We havent performed and adapted as well as other countries in key moments of key games. And thats been the difference.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Air Max Plus Store . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. Air Max Plus Discount . - The RBC Canadian Open will return to Glen Abbey Golf Club next year, marking the 27th time that the national open championship will be played at the Oakville, Ont. http://www.airmaxplusstoresale.com/ . -- Canadian Erik Bedard pitched into the fifth inning in his bid to win a spot in Tampa Bays rotation, helping the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Saturday. Air Max Plus Tn Cheap .5 million contract, according to a person familiar with the deal. Hatcher agreed to terms Thursday, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been signed. Vapormax Plus Cheap . Azarenka needed exactly one hour in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Austrian Yvonne Meusburger to start the night session at Laver Arena. Sharapova had a much easier time earlier in the day with cooler conditions and took full advantage in 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, while Radwanska had to rally for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.OTTAWA -- The sight of Daniel Alfredsson skating in an Ottawa Senators jersey so soon after the very public airing of grievances between him and his former team may have surprised some people. Erik Karlsson wasnt one of them. "Its pretty normal, I mean hes been doing it for a while," the Senators defenceman said with a laugh. "Its when he puts the other jersey that it would feel a little different probably." Alfredsson joined other NHL players at an informal skate at Bell Sensplex on Monday. Last week the former Senators captain made headlines when he said negotiations to bring him back to Ottawa for another season "went nowhere," causing general manager Bryan Murray to publicly defend the front office. The 40-year-old Alfredsson signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings July 5 as a free agent after negotiations with the Senators fell through. Karlsson has grown close to Alfredsson, a fellow Swede, and even lived with him at times. He admits things will be very different without his mentor around on a daily basis. "For me on a personal level its going to be tough for me, were close friends and hes helped me out a lot. I only wish him all the best," he said. "I still think well be friends. "I dont think its that sudden and Im just happy hes still playing," Karlsson added. "We have to move on and I think we have guys on the team thats ready to take the next step and as of right now everybodys pretty excited to focus on our game and becoming a better team." Alfredssons departure after 17 seasons with the Senators undoubtedly means a change of leadership will have to take place, but Karlsson is confident the team will be able to adjust accordingly. "Theres going to be changes inside the locker-room and on the ice and I think the group of guys we have are going to handle that perfectly I think," said Karlsson. "I think there will be no problems moving on from here and as I said it was just a matter of time before Alfie was gone." Karlsson is back in Ottawa after spending much of the summer in Sweden and appears to be makinng progress in recovering from a partially lacerated Achilles tendon.dddddddddddd Karlsson suffered a 70 per cent tear to his Achilles Feb. 13 in a game against Pittsburgh when Penguins forward Matt Cooke stepped on his leg. He was expected to miss the remainder of the season following the injury, but the 23-year-old played the last three games of the regular season and all of Ottawas 10 playoff games. Karlssons return was impressive, but it was clear he had a long way to go before returning to form. The 2012 Norris Trophy winner as the NHLs top defenceman says hes been working hard and is excited about the upcoming season. "I can feel the excitement right now coming back. Its been a short summer it feels like, but I think overall I feel great and happy to be back early." As for his injury, Karlsson sees no reason for concern. "It feels good actually, Im a little bit surprised myself. Ive been able to do most of the normal stuff that I do in the summers and Ive been focusing a lot in trying to get it back as strong and as quickly as possible and as of right now I dont think I would have any concerns going into training camp. "Right now it feels normal to me even if its not as it used to be, but I dont think its going to stop me from being a good hockey player and moving forward in my career. I dont have any concerns right now that its going to affect me." One of Karlssons greatest attributes was his skating and following the injury many questioned whether or not it would be affected. "As of right now it doesnt feel like it, but well see when the first game comes," he said. Karlsson said his condition has improved considerably since his return to action last season. "Ive had some time now working off the ice and really trying to get it into shape," he said. "I barely feel it anymore when I do certain stuff that I did before, especially on the ice it doesnt feel close to what it did last season." "As of right now I dont think I could have felt any better than I do right now and I didnt expect to feel this good at this period of time." ' ' '