Canada Thumps Poland, Face Swiss In Cyprus Cup Opener

Canada’s women’s national team opened its 2010 season with an emphatic 3:0 victory over Poland on Saturday in Larnaka, Cyprus. Canadian captain Christine Sinclair scored the 100th goal of her international career while Kelly Parker scored her first and Diana Matheson added a third in a dominant first half from Canada.

The friendly match was the first test of Canada’s 18-day camp in Cyprus which also includes the 2010 Cyprus Women’s Cup. It was a banner day for Sinclair who not only scored the milestone goal but also made her 133rd national team appearance to pass current assistant coach Andrea Neil for the national record.

Erin McLeod and Karina LeBlanc shared the clean sheet in the Canadian goal. McLeod handled the goalkeeping duties in the first half before making way for LeBlanc in the second. While not busy, both veteran goalkeepers were called upon to make important saves on Polish breakaways.

“I was very pleased with the match today,” said national head coach Carolina Morace. “We saw very good movement from our players. We used a new tactical formation and I thought the players reacted very well to our changes. This team has evolved very positively in the past year.”

Canada was dominant from the opening whistle. Sinclair served notice that she in particular was up for the match with a 25-yard blast that stung the hands of the Polish goalkeeper in the first five minutes. Four minutes later, it was Sinclair again causing the Polish defence problems. She was able to get to the end of a Jodi-Ann Robinson cross only to see her looping header bounce just wide of the goal.

Goalkeeper McLeod was called upon on 14 minutes as Poland counterattacked quickly and was able to spring its striker in all alone on the Canadian goal. McLeod charged quickly out of her goal and dove to her right to claim the low shot.

The McLeod save seemed to re-focus the Canadian attack and it was Kelly Parker’s quickness in midfield that was launching many of the Canadian forays. In the 17th minute, Parker whipped in quickly to steal an errant Polish pass before releasing Sinclair down the left. Sinclair cut back against the flow and found Christina Julien in the space at the top of the Polish penalty area. Julien squared to shoot, but her goal-bound effort was well charged down by the Polish defence.

Then in the 25th minute, it was time for Sinclair to make history. Brittany Timko delivered a cross into the box from the right which Sinclair controlled before shifting the ball to her left foot and drilling a shot into the bottom left corner past the helpless Polish goalkeeper. Sinclair celebrated by running to the Canadian bench where she was engulfed by her Canadian teammates.

After the delayed restart, Canada was forced to make a change as Timko had to come out of the match having been injured on the Sinclair goal. Marie-Eve Nault came in to replace her taking up the left back spot, which shifted starting left back Rhian Wilkinson to the right side.

Canada next came close to scoring in the 34th minute as Candace Chapman whipped in a dangerous cross which the Polish defence deflected toward its own goal. The goalkeeper made an athletic save to tip the dipping shot onto the cross bar and out for a corner.

Sinclair turned provider in the 41st minute when her bouncing cross was chipped into the net by Kelly Parker to double Canada’s lead. It was Parker’s first international goal for Canada on her seventh appearance in the red and white.

Just one minute later Robinson could have added a third for Canada , but was she was unable to hit the target when well placed from 15 yards out.

A rampant Canada added a third goal before half time on a fine individual effort from midfielder Matheson. Matheson picked up the ball in the centre of the pitch just outside the Polish box, darted around one defender and jinxed past another before calmly placing her shot beyond the diving goalkeeper.

In the second half Canada was unable to find the same rhythm it enjoyed for much of the first as Canada completed five substitutions.

Canadian second-half substitution LeBlanc was called upon to make an excellent save to deny a second Polish breakaway in the 61st minute.

Canada continued to create chances throughout the second half as the excellent Sinclair nearly added her second of the match, rising strongly to head Robinson’s cross wide. Carmelina Moscato was the next to go close in the 68th minute when her 23-yard free kick rattled off the cross bar. Robinson also found the woodwork, heading off the base of the Polish post following some strong work and an excellent cross from Parker down the right.

Canada completed the final ten minutes of the match down a player having already made all six allowed substitutions before Robyn Gayle limped off with a leg injury in the 80th minute.

Canada opened the match with the starting XI of Erin McLeod in goal, Brittany Timko, Candace Chapman, Emily Zurrer, and Rhian Wikinson in defence, Kelly Parker, Carmelina Moscato, and Diana Matheson at midfield, and Jodi-Ann Robinson, Christina Julien, and Christine Sinclair up front.

Second-half substitutions for Canada were LeBlanc for McLeod (46 minutes), Robin Gayle for Wilkinson and Cindy Walsh for Zurrer (56 minutes), Kendra Flock for Julien (68 minutes), and Sari Raber for Moscato (73 minutes). Of note, Kendra Flock earned her first cap for Canada while Cindy Walsh made her first national team appearance since 1 July 2000.

Canada will now shift its attention to the 2010 Cyprus Women’s Cup, where they will face Switzerland on 24 February, England on 26 February, and South Africa on 1 March. The team will then play a classification final on 3 March against a team from the opposite group (either Italy, Scotland, New Zealand or Netherlands). Canada won the 2008 Cyprus Women’s Cup on its inaugural participation and finished second in 2009.

For Canada the Poland match and Cyprus Women’s Cup are the first steps in what is an important year for the team as it builds towards the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup. The top two teams from the confederation final will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 while the third-place team will play off against the fifth-place team from Europe for an extra qualification spot for Germany 2011.