England Women beat Canada 1-0 to win Cyprus Cup
Wednesday 11 March 2015 20:43, UK
England Women have won the Cyprus Cup after Lianne Sanderson scored the second-half winner as they defeated Canada 1-0 in Larnaca.
England had previously won the competition in 2009 and 2013, defeating Canada on both occasions, with Sanderson’s calm finish ensuring a hat-trick of victories over the country that will host the World Cup in June and July of this year.
Defeat for John Herdman’s side, their first in 10 games, came courtesy of the only goal they had conceded in this year’s competition.
England reached the final after group stage victories over Finland and Australia and a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, with manager Mark Sampson opting to make nine changes from the one that drew with the Dutch.
Alex Greenwood and Jordan Nobbs, who captained England for the first time, were the only players to retain their place in the starting XI.
The game started in cagey fashion before both goalkeepers were called into action, with Canada’s Erin McLeod forced to tip a side-foot shot from Manchester City midfielder Jill Scott over the crossbar.
Christine Sinclair then went close at the other end with a low shot from 12 yards that England’s Siobhan Chamberlain did well to save.
Sinclair continued to drive Canada forward but she failed to hit the target with a header after she got on the end of a cross from Adriana Leon.
Instead it was left to Sanderson to make the telling contribution to the game in the 67th minute as she raced onto a flick-on from Jodie Taylor before curling the ball beyond McLeod for her second goal of the tournament.
Canada left-back Allysha Chapman almost equalised in the fifth minute of added time but Chamberlain pulled off a superb save to deny her and secure the silverware for England.
Sampson said: “I’m incredibly proud of the whole team’s effort.
“This tournament is always a tough one with the calibre of opponents you face but the team has performed admirably and the squad and the staff have really come together to help us win this tournament which in a World Cup year is a very important one.”
Earlier, Kim Little scored a hat-trick as Scotland finished their campaign with a 3-1 win over the Netherlands in Larnaca.
The result means Scotland finish seventh in the tournament.
Elsewhere, the United States beat France 2-0 to win their 10th Algarve Cup title in Portugal.
Julie Johnston and Christen Press scored for the Americans who secured a title they last won in 2013.
