CANADA 1
CHINA 0
EDMONTON 鈥� There may not be a stat for how many times Christine Sinclair has saved sa国际传媒鈥檚 bacon but, if there is, add one to her total.
The Canadian captain calmly stroked home a penalty in stoppage time on Saturday to give sa国际传媒 a 1-0 win over a young Chinese side in the opening match of the Women鈥檚 World Cup.
The decisive penalty was called when Adriana Leon went down after a foul by defender Zhao Rong.
鈥淭he first thing that went through my mind is 鈥業鈥檓 taking this.鈥� I鈥檝e been practising my whole life for that moment,鈥� said Sinclair. 鈥淭hen the next thing through my head was, 鈥楾he crowd鈥檚 very loud right now.鈥� 鈥�
The crowd of 53,058 鈥� and perhaps the better part of a nation outside Commonwealth Stadium 鈥� exhaled after Sinclair sent the ball deep into the corner past a diving Wang Fei.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if she could have got any closer to that post,鈥� midfielder Sophie Schmidt said.
It was Sinclair鈥檚 154th goal in 224 international appearances and it came in the 92nd minute, with three minutes up on the fourth official鈥檚 board for stoppage time.
鈥淐ometh the hour, cometh the woman,鈥� coach John Herdman said. 鈥淥utstanding from Christine Sinclair, the sort of pressure [there was] on her. There鈥檚 only one woman in the world that can get up and do that.
鈥淕ood start for sa国际传媒. Three points in the bag. Exactly where we wanted to be.鈥�
But perhaps not how he drew it up. The game had seemed to be destined to end at 0-0, with sa国际传媒 unable to fire on all cylinders against a China side that would have been delighted with a draw.
For sa国际传媒, it was three points and a bullet dodged after Herdman switched to a more attacking 3-4-3 formation late in the game. A draw would have been two points lost in a tournament with little margin for error.
sa国际传媒 is ranked eighth in the world, compared with No. 16 for China. While Sinclair administered the coup de grace, her teammates set the scene by coming at China in waves.
The penalty changed everything. 鈥淚 nearly cried on the touchline,鈥� Herdman said.
鈥淎nd when the call came, I celebrated like we鈥檇 just scored,鈥� he added. 鈥淏ecause I knew there was only one woman who was going to step up in the 90th minute and write the script. Like she always does. And she did.鈥�
Herdman said it was a brave call by Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul. China coach Hao Wei was classy in defeat, saying he needed to see the video of the incident, but respected the referee鈥檚 calls.
After she scored, an emotional Sinclair broke into a celebration run, destination unknown.
鈥淚 had no idea. I was running fast and I just saw John. I鈥檝e never seen him squat that low before so I thought he deserved a hug.鈥� It quickly turned into a group hug.
The Canadians had earlier chances but failed to execute and, after a strong start, let the Chinese back into the match before an enthusiastic crowd. Both teams hit the woodwork in the first half.
sa国际传媒 had 62 per cent of possession and outshot China 14-5 (4-1 in shots on target).
Happy ending aside, Sinclair called it a frustrating game with China dropping back in defence and constantly wasting time. Herdman, despite his wide smile, acknowledged sa国际传媒 had snuck a win against a side playing for a draw.
His substititions helped turn the tide.
Herdman replaced Jonelle Foligno with Kaylyn Kyle in the 61st minute, pushing Schmidt up higher. Ten minutes later he traded muscle for flair, bringing off hard-nosed Desiree Scott for teenage midfielder Jessie Fleming. The last roll of the dice was Leon for Tancredi in the 77th minute.
The crowd booed what it saw as China鈥檚 efforts to waste time as the clock wound down.
The previous attendance record for a Canadian national team match on home soil was 51,936, set on June 5, 1994, when the Canadian men played Brazil at the same venue. Sinclair called the Commonwealth Stadium atmosphere the best she had experienced in sa国际传媒.
sa国际传媒鈥檚 next game is on Thursday against No. 17 New Zealand, which lost 1-0 to 12th-ranked Netherlands in the second game of Saturday鈥檚 Group A doubleheader.
The tournament spotlight switches today to Ottawa, where No. 29 Thailand and the 67th-ranked Ivory Coast face No. 11 Norway and No. 1 Germany, respectively, in Group B play.
sa国际传媒 has now won six straight against China.
sa国际传媒鈥檚 best finish at the World Cup finish was fourth, in 2003. Its worst was 2011, when it came dead last, although the team rebounded to win an Olympic bronze medal in London in 2012.
