Canada 2

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Canada 2

Clinical Canadians Clobber Kiwis To Clinch Series

by Jeremy Ruane

2003 Women's World Cup semi-finalists Canada scored four goals in the first 21 minutes at North Harbour Stadium on June 6 en route to handing New Zealand their heaviest-ever home defeat - a 5-0 drubbing - in the second and final match of the series between the two countries.

The visitors stunned the 1500 faithful who braved the considerable traffic congestion en route to the ground with a blistering start, putting paid to any hopes the Kiwis harboured of levelling the series in the process.

Their clinical finishing contrasted starkly with New Zealand's flaws, chief among which were wayward passes and shortcomings of a technical nature, both aspects of the game which can be rectified through hard work, and increased understanding and experience.

To their credit, John Herdman's charges battling display showed a great deal of character and commitment to restrict their tenth-ranked rivals to just one goal in the last 69 minutes.

But make no mistake, New Zealand's heaviest-ever home reversal in international women's football, coming as it does just three months out from the code's showpiece tournament, highlights just how much work needs to be done merely to ensure our performances in China in September are, at the very least, creditable.

The first blow was struck in the fourth minute. Stung by Ria Percival's right-wing raid which forced a corner, from which Marlies Oostdam's delivery had the Canadian defence scrambling, the visitors earned a throw-in on the left flank with their first noteworthy attack.

Randee Hermus launched the ball into the danger zone, as Candace Chapman set off on a run which wasn't tracked. Christine Sinclair's neat lay-off rewarded her team-mate's intelligent off-the-ball running, but the best was still to come - the sweetest of finishes from Chapman, who unleashed a peach of a rising curling shot which swerved away from Rachel Howard and crashed into the net high by her left-hand post.

While the Kiwis were reeling from this hammer blow, the Canadians doubled their advantage in the twelfth minute. With the home team anticipating a long throw-in from Katie Thorlakson, no-one was within ten yards of Kristina Kiss as she received a standard version.

Given the problems her crosses had caused in the first game, it's fair to say the odds of Kiss delivering quality were even money at the very least, and sure enough … Howard dealt with a couple of crosses very well in this match, but stood rooted to her goal-line on this occasion as the ball arced into the goal area.

Sinclair out-jumped Maia Jackman and made the most of the goalkeeper's lack of dominance in her domain, heading the ball down and wide of her to double the “Canucks”' lead.

Howard foiled another Chapman effort two minutes later, after Rebecca Smith had been fouled by Rhian Wilkinson while attempting to clear the ball up-field, an offence not seen by referee Peter O`Leary, nor his assistants.

Smith was not best pleased, and unleashed a thunderous tackle on the offender seconds later which brought Wilkinson's involvement in the game to a premature end, and earned the New Zealand captain a booking into the bargain.

Canada's response to this blow saw them score twice in a ninety-second burst. The Kiss - Sinclair ticket was the catalyst for the game's third goal, the former's 20th minute cross flicked by the latter past Jackman and into the path of Amber Allen. With both Howard and Abby Erceg closing fast, she poked the ball in between the pair of them and into the untended net from fifteen yards.

3-0 swiftly became 4-0, as Allen, on receipt of a Hermus cross, executed a delightful flick which completely wrong-footed the New Zealand defence. Jodi-Ann Robinson, Wilkinson's replacement, darted in to slide the ball home past the stranded Howard with her first touch since entering the fray two minutes earlier.

Facing a humiliating scoreline, the Kiwis remained composed, and kept trying to string a few neat interchanges together, every so often with a degree of success. But all too often, the Canadians would apply pressure to the pass recipient, whose first touch was found wanting at just the wrong moment …

Every so often, that pressure would be applied in New Zealand's defensive third, where the Kiwis' willingness to build from the back was occasionally unhinged. Such as in the 31st minute, when the ball was bowled out to Erceg on the edge of the penalty area, where she was swiftly caught in possession by Allen - a whale of a game.

Howard, who was soon to receive treatment after

picking up an injury following a Kiss corner, blocked Allen's shot with her legs. But the striker swooped on the rebound and drilled the ball goalwards, only for Jackman to career in and clear off the line.

Before the interval, Oostdam's timely tackle thwarted Sinclair in full flight, while Diana Matheson avoided a scything challenge to whip in a cross which Erceg headed out to Hermus. Her flying volley flashed past the post, much like Allen's 43rd minute, after Erceg committed an awful error on the edge of her penalty area.

New Zealand began the second half in lively fashion. Zoe Thompson powered between two opponents inside the centre circle before slipping a pass to Hayley Moorwood. Her instant forty yard pass sent Percival spearing in behind the Canadian defence, and it was only goalkeeper Erin McLeod's anticipation which allowed her to clear the ball off the fleet-footed youngster's toes.

That livened up the crowd somewhat, and heralded a second spell in which the home team engineered a couple of rare openings, as they sought their first goal on home soil against non-Oceania opposition since March 1996.

All too often, though, it was Canadian red which was seen on the offensive, such as in the 54th minute, when a volleyed cross from Kiss arced just beyond the incoming Sinclair on the far post, an opening followed up within ninety seconds by shots from Thorlakson and Chapman which called upon Howard to intervene.

In the 62nd minute, Emma Kete announced her arrival on the scene in her inimitable in-your-face style, and Canada's rearguard looked a tad nervous as a result. Only a lunging clearance by Hermus denied the newcomer the chance to make an instant impact just three minutes after her introduction.

And after both Robinson and substitute Kara Lang had gone close, a Rebecca Smith free-kick picked out Kete, who sought out Merissa Smith with a teasing cross. Hermus again intervened, to Canada's relief.

That was in the 75th minute. Within sixty seconds, the visitors had gone nap, Sinclair's surge down the left culminating in a cross which Allen, lurking on the blindside of Anna Green, directed home into the top corner of the net with the most deft of touches - 5-0.

New Zealand responded straight from the kick-off, Moorwood leading the charge. The midfielder, who is booked in for arthroscopy on her knee cartilage injury next week, played Kete through the inside left channel, from where she let fly. As she did, substitute Sasha Andrews lunged at the goalbound ball, diverting it so that McLeod had to save by her right-hand upright.

That was the last sighting of Canada's goal the Kiwis saw, because the visitors finished the match strongly, creating five openings in the final ten minutes. Howard knew little about her first save in this period, Amy Walsh's piledriver deflecting off Matheson straight to the diving goalkeeper in the 81st minute.

Two minutes on, Sinclair headed across the face of goal after Kiss and Allen had combined to good effect. Then Howard anticipated well to thwart Lang as she homed in on a raking ball forward from Andrews.

Two minutes from time, referee O'Leary denied Canada a stonewall penalty. Kiss whipped in a low free-kick which Sinclair back-heeled. Moorwood stepped in to clear, but the ball cannoned off Allen and fell nicely into Andrea Neil's path, inside the six-yard box.

Before Canada's FIFA World All Stars representative could swoop, she found herself being hauled down from behind by Priscilla Duncan, and as Howard dived on the loose ball, referee O'Leary, standing just six yards away from the infringement, incredibly waved play on.

Howard and Rebecca Smith combined to prevent Lang, one of the stars of Canada's progress to the semi-finals of the 2003 Women's World Cup, the chance to get on the score sheet in stoppage time, but as the final 5-0 scoreline suggests, the “Canucks” had already inflicted enough damage on New Zealand, who will take much from all three games they have played on home soil over the past fortnight as their own preparations for China 2007 continue.

New Zealand: Howard; Jackman (Bromley, 59), Erceg (Simpson, 66), R. Smith (booked, 15), Oostdam (Green, 64); Percival, Moorwood, Sowden (Duncan, 46), McColl (Longo, 46), M. Smith; Thompson (Kete, 59)

Canada: McLeod; Kiss, Dennis (Andrews, 66), Franko, Hermus (Timko, 76); Thorlakson (Neil, 72), Matheson; Sinclair, Chapman (Walsh, 61); Wilkinson (Robinson, 19) (Lang, 72), Allen

Referee: Peter O'Leary

2007 Home Internationals