MONTREAL—This one hurts a lot. It’s going to sting for a while. It’s going to take some time to get over.
And most important, all is not well—no matter what Canadian coach John Herdman tells you.
A victory was in plain sight for Canada. The Reds were mere minutes away. They were going to silence their critics who had been growing in numbers over the last week. They were going to prove they could do it.
This was it. Finally!
And then it happened.
Canada failed to deal with a fast break chance and substitute Kirsten van de Vin struck in the 87th minute, as the Netherlands scraped out a 1-1 draw with Canada on Monday night in the final group stage game at the FIFA Women’s World Cup for both nations.
Ashley Lawrence’s early goal looked liked it was going to stand up as the winner for Canada, who put in its best performance at this World Cup before 45, 420 fans at Olympic Stadium after looking far from impressive in their opening two games of the tournament in Edmonton.
But it wasn’t good enough. They couldn’t close the deal, and they paid the price for not putting the game away. Also concerning is that Canada hasn’t scored more than one goal in a game since a 2-0 win over Scotland on March 4, 2015—a stretch of eight consecutive matches.
The silver lining in all of this is Canada still claimed first place in Group A with five points, ahead of China (four points), the Netherlands (four points) and New Zealand (two points). In Monday’s other Group A match, the Chinese and Kiwis played to a 2-2 draw in Winnipeg.
The Canadian team now plays the waiting game. Canada’s second-round match is scheduled for June 21 in Vancouver, but its opponent won’t be determined until Wednesday night when the group stage concludes.
Canadian coach John Herdman was in full “sell mode” after the game, putting a positive spin on Monday’s result and the team’s overall performance in the opening round.
“Top of the group, five points, we’re off to the West Coast. This was the plan. We’d love to have nine (points), we’d love to have another three points in the bag. But job done. We’re happy,” Herdman said.
Herdman did, however, admit that this Canadian team is “making things tough for itself” and that it has to learn how to “see games out.”
That’s an understatement. Goals have been at a premium for Canada at this World Cup. It took a Christine Sinclair penalty in injury time to secure a 1-0 win over China in the opener. Against New Zealand, Canada squandered chances and rode its luck in settling for a 0-0 draw.
If the Reds are going to go deep in this tournament, it has to be a lot better than it’s shown thus far. And although Herdman holds out hope, we haven’t seen much from his team’s first three games that suggests they are even capable of winning a second-round match, regardless of the opponent.
Canada has been merely present at this competition. It hasn’t enforced its will. And that’s a major problem with the second round looming.
“The knockout games are completely different. It’s just all out—all out. Everyone knows when the knockouts come you see another level of performance from teams, and I’m hoping that we can put that out there,” Herdman offered.
That might be wishful thinking from the Canadian coach, especially with his captain failing to capture the imagination. For all of her star power, Sinclair has been average at this tournament, as opposing teams have effectively contained Canada’s captain.
Herdman, though, was quick to come to Sinclair’s defence, insisting she’s still an integral part of the team even though she’s not threatening to score like she has in the past for Canada.
“She’s a class act, both on and off the pitch. She makes Canada tick, unbelievably so.
Her time is going to come. Great players become great in the great moments. Her time is coming, trust me on that,” Herdman promised.
Herdman made some lineup changes Monday in order to reinvigorate his side, subbing in centre back Carmelina Moscato for Lauren Sesselmann, midfielder Kaylyn Kyle for Desiree Scott and forward Adriana Leon for Melissa Tancredi.
The most notable change was 17-year-old midfielder Jessie Fleming for veteran forward Jonelle Filigno. Fleming is considered one of Canada’s brightest prospects, but she’s also inexperienced—this was only her 18th cap, and her first World Cup start.
Fleming was hardly overawed by the occasion, putting in a mature showing on the right side of midfield. Moscato partnered well with Buchanan (who was outstanding in making a number of timely tackles and interceptions inside Canada’s penalty area) in the centre of defence, while Lawrence offered the Reds a physical presence and creative outlet on the left.
Canada attacked right from the opening kickoff and the pressure paid off in the 10th minute. Dutch defender Stefanie van der Gragt deflected an attempt on goal by Canadian midfielder Sophie Schmidt inside the box. The ball fell kindly to Lawrence who powered it home with a side-footed shot.
The goal was Lawrence’s first in 21 appearances for Canada. It was also the first Canadian goal at the World Cup by a player other than Sinclair since 2007.
The Dutch were reeling after the opening goal, and Lawrence could have made it 2-0 just moments later, but her low shot just whispered past the far post.
Canada again swarmed their opponents from the start of the second half, with Fleming pressing forward into dangerous positions before firing on goal from distance.
Schmidt had to come out of the game for the final 10 minutes after landing awkwardly. She was replaced by veteran Rhian Wilkinson, who missed the first two games due to injury.
Herdman revealed Schmidt had to receive treatment after the game and that he wasn’t sure of her status. The good news is the team has a few extra days for their influential midfielder to recover.
The Netherlands grew in confidence as the game carried on, and finally carved out a quality scoring chance in the 85th minute when they broke with pace and got behind the Canadian defence. Goalkeeper Erin McLeod made herself big to stop Manon Melis inside the penalty area.
But the Dutch wouldn’t be denied, and van de Vin coolly slotted home into the roof of the net past McLeod on another break after Canada’s defence failed to clear its lines.
“We just got caught out on the transition,” Herdman said of his team on the Dutch goal.