Canada is still in position to win Group A after its scoreless draw with New Zealand on Thursday.
By Ivan Yeo
It was a good news-bad-news scenario for Canada after its second match against New Zealand in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium on Thursday evening.
We’ll start with the bad news. Canada appeared to be snakebit on Thursday, as two shots hit off the framework, a first half goal was disallowed and Canada was fortunate not to have conceded a goal in the first half, as they were called for a foul in the box leading to a penalty, but New Zealand in turn missed out on a golden chance themselves, as they failed to convert said penalty.
Which leads to the good news for Canada. Despite finishing its match against the Kiwis in a scoreless draw on a rain-soaked Thursday evening, Canada still finds itself in position to win Group A, let alone advance out of it, which is all they could ask for after a wild turn of events in Edmonton.
Canada’s 1-0-1 record along with its four points puts them atop Group A, one ahead of both China and the Netherlands. China defeated the Netherlands 1-0 earlier in the day and a Canadian win over the Dutch on Monday wins them the group. Canada can still win the group with a draw if New Zealand draws or defeats China.
Things started to go awry four minutes in when the match was delayed for about a half hour due to heavy rain and lightning, but the sight of a rainbow upon Edmonton signaled that it was time to get back onto the field. Canada had the first great chance in the 23rd minute when Ashley Lawrence sprung Christine Sinclair for the penalty area, but New Zealand keeper denied her on the shot attempt.
Canada’s next best chance, which came just before halftime, actually resulted in a goal. Sophie Schmidt sent a free kick into the box, Jonelle Filigno headed the ball to Melissa Tancredi, who fired the ball into the back net. The goal however was waived off, as Tancredi was offside beforehand Filigno made contact with the ball.
New Zealand had their shot to go ahead in the match in the 31st minute. It started when Canada’s Allysha Chapman fouled Hannah Wilkinson inside the penalty area, awarding the penalty to New Zealand. Amber Hearn, New Zealand’s all leading scorer stepped forward to take the shot, but Hearn however sent the penalty off the crossbar and Canada had dodged a major bullet.
Canada had two chances to grab the lead in the second half, but the crossbar turned out to be their worst enemy. The first chance occurred when Sinclair fired a one-timer inside the penalty area, but Nayler parried the shot up and the ball hit off the crossbar and back into play. Later in the half, Schmidt sent a free kick right towards the New Zealand goal, but the ball ricocheted off the top of the bar and back into play. Canada’s last shot to win the game occured when Sinclair fed a ball to an unmarked Tancredi, who took a touch into the penalty area, but Tancredi instead fired a shot right to Nayler.
Canada’s match with the Netherlands will take place at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. New Zealand plays China in Winnipeg, also on Monday.
