Canada Double-Up On Brazil In Halifax To End On A High
By On Monday Bev Priestman said they were looking to improve and work on what didn’t go well in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Brazil in Montreal, and tonight the improvements seemed to work as Canada beat Brazil 2-0 at Wanderers Grounds in Halifax.
“We worked through some things tactically,” Bev Priestman answered in her opening remark. “We were asked some tough questions and it was a unique camp.”
Playing for the first time in the Maritimes since 2012 when they faced China PR in Moncton, NB, Canada was given quite the welcome by the Halifax faithful who packed the stadium in numbers.
Priestman made six changes to the starting eleven, bringing in Shelina Zadorsky, Jayde Riviere, Evelyne Viens, Emma Reagan, and most notably Sabrina D’Angelo in net, giving Kailen Sherdian the night off.
“The first half wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t great. We changed things tactically and I felt we needed to get the ball up more and we were put under pressure.”
The first half was similar to the game in Montreal and for the first 15 minutes we saw both teams trying to figure out their formation and shape, so we didn’t witness a lot of chances early on.
The first registered shot on target came in the 22nd minute when Ary Borges managed to get a shot from distance but it went right into the hands of D’Angelo.
“I knew tactically we had to change things at the half, but it was also the mindset. I wanted them to connect the ball and get more passes.”
Canada’s first chance at goal came in the 39th minute when off their first set piece of the contest Vanessa Gilles was able to get a header on target but was denied by the Brazilian keeper Leticia.
“We learned a lot this window and that’s what we targeted so I am pretty happy.”
In the 44th minute, it was Adriana Leon off another set piece getting her first shot of the game, but she unable to find the back of the net to her dismay.
“I told my players I wanted them to give the fans a show and in the end we did.”
Priestman made some changes at the half bringing in Jesse Fleming, who started the game on the bench. She made an immediate impact in the 61st minute finding Cloe Lacasse, who was able to thread the needle but her shot rang off the post and stayed out.
I think it’s great,” Lacasse told Canada Soccer in a one-on-one interview. “We have people on the bench and people starting and everyone can make an impact.”
Six minutes later D’Angelo was called upon again and forced to make another save to keep the Brazilians at bay and in the 70th minute Canada opened the scoring when Jordyn Huitema headed in a perfect cross from Ashley Lawrence.
“It’s tough”, Huitema told OneSoccer post-game. “We are coming in with a new formation and a new strategy and Brazil put in a new formation against us and it was difficult to solve that in the first half.”
19 minutes later Deanne Rose scored the insurance goal when she was sprung on a breakaway and was able to finish with the ball into the back of the net.
“To get a clean sheet, we need to cherish that…and to get two open play goals, it was nice to end the window on a win.”
Canada will now focus on the two games confirmed for Victoria and Vancouver against Australia and will wrap up the Christine Sinclair send-off series.
Header Image Photo Credit: Audrey Magny