FIFA U-17 WOMEN&039;S WORLD CUP – LEMARRE STEALS THE SHOW AS CANADA EDGE BRAVE KIWIS

AUCKLAND – Canada has won the opening match of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after edging out a spirited New Zealand by 1-0 in front of a vociferous home crowd of 13,123 at North Harbour Stadium tonight.

A 53rd minute solo effort by Canada’s pacy wide midfielder Rachel Lemarre proved enough to hand her team the three points but the CONCACAF qualifiers were made to sweat it out as New Zealand dominated the second half.

Both teams started the match nervously with very little to choose between the two sides in a keenly contested and physical first twenty minutes. New Zealand striker Rosie White earned the hosts first attempt on goal after 14 minutes when Hannah Wall played a clever pass through for White who forced Canadian goalkeeper Genevieve Richard into a good save.

The Canadians had a gilt-edged opportunity to silence the home crowd on 20 minutes when a cross from Shelina Zadorsky was headed wide by Nkem Ezurike.

White was in the thick of the action again on 27 minutes when she flicked on a long ball that released Hannah down New Zealand’s left. With the Canadian defence scrambling to recover, Hannah dragged her shot well wide of the target.

Just three minutes later Tiffany Cameron swept beyond Bridgette Armstrong before trying an ambitious lob over Victoria Esson. Cameron’s next attempt on goal proved more threatening when her thunderous right foot long range shot forced Esson into a brilliant save at her right-hand post to keep the match level.

Esson was in action once more repeating her heroics when she saved another long range shot this time from Caroline Szwed after 35 minutes. Esson – a last minute replacement for the injured Charlotte Wood – proved one of New Zealand’s bright performers.

Canada’s dominance earned them a free-kick on the edge of the New Zealand penalty area just before half-time after Armstrong appeared to have brought down Cameron. Replays showed Cameron had in fact fallen over as she miscued her shot and justice appeared to be served when the resultant free-kick was repelled by the New Zealand wall.

Lemarre nearly opened the scoring on 47 minutes when the Montreal local back heeled a cheeky effort just wide of Esson’s right hand post.

However, Canada took the lead on 53 minutes when Lemarre’s solo run and right foot shot from just outside the penalty area left Esson beaten. The loss of a goal and the introduction of substitutes Leah Gallie and Yumi Nguyen galvanised the Kiwis who threw everything at Canada in desperate search of a goal.

Caitlin Campbell nearly pulled a goal back when her surging run into the box was blocked by goalkeeper Genevieve Richard. Campbell had Richard in trouble again when she struck Canada’s crossbar with a superb 30m free-kick on 70 minutes.

With the midfield area less congested than in the first-half, Annalie Longo found herself in more space to play telling passes and it was her craftwork in the Canadian defensive third that laid on good opportunities for Rosie White and Campbell.

New Zealand continued to create a raft of chances as Finnish referee Kirsi Savolainen added an additional five minutes of time added on following injuries to Tiffany Cameron, Genevieve Richard and Annalie Longo.

However, it was not long enough to prevent the brave New Zealand team from losing the match despite having 56% of the possession and creating sixteen shots at Canada’s goal in an entertaining second-half that had the 13,123 fans to the edge of their seats.

New Zealand coach Paul Temple was disappointed by the result but lauded his team for their efforts.

“"We’re shell-shocked. But I feel our girls did themselves proud and showed the big crowd that we’re capable of competing and have a lot to offer at world level. It’s amazing to get 13,000 at a women’s U-17 match.

I felt the first half was quite even but we dominated the second half and Canada only created one-and-a-half chances.

We looked the better team technically. The performance fills me with confidence. The team is a little bit emotional right now, but we’ll review the match, segment it, see how we played and prepare for Denmark," Temple said.

Canada coach Bryan Rosenfeld was a relieved man.

"I’m really glad we got through tonight. It was an important three points, a great atmosphere and a big experience for the girls.

In the end, we were lucky not to actually lose the game; New Zealand really put the pressure on us in the second half. But I have to commend my players for holding out."

“In the first half we played well, but the second half was theirs (New Zealand). They were well-organised, fit, direct and physical; we expected that type of football,” Rosenfeld said.

Rosenfeld was delighted with his team’s win and backed FIFA’s decision to create a U-17 Women’s World Cup.

“This is all new to the players. The media attention, the build-up, it’s all brand new. You

can see the importance of this event in terms of development. What players learn here

cannot be taught, it can must be experienced,” Rosenfeld said.

New Zealand coach Paul Temple expects influential midfielder Annalie Longo to be fit for their next match against Canada. Longo limped off the field with just seconds remaining in the match due to cramp.

Canadian striker Tiffany Cameron is also expected to be fit for her countries next match after picking up a calf injury.

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup – New Zealand 2008

Attendance: 13,123.

NZL: 15. Victoria ESSON [gk]; 3. Rebecca BROWN (21. Yumi NGUYEN 54’); 5. Briony FISHER ©; 6. Bridgette ARMSTRONG; 7. Caitlin CAMPBELL; 8. Sarah McLAUGHLIN (16. Megan SHEA 78’); 9. Hannah WALL; 10. Annalie LONGO; 11. Rosie WHITE; 12. Claudia CRASBORN (4. Leah GALLIE 54’); 13. Nadia PEARL.

Substitutes Not Used: 1. Charlotte WOOD [rgk]; 2. Anna FULLERTON; 14. Katie BOWEN; 17. Jessica ROLLINGS; 18. Lauren MATHIS; 19. Lauren MURRAY; 20. Danielle McFADYEN.

Yellow cards: 7. Caitlin CAMPBELL (NZL).

Red cards: None

Coach: Paul TEMPLE (ENG)

CAN: 21. Genevieve RICHARD [gk]; 3. Bryanna McCARTHY ©, 6. Shelina ZADORSKY (15. Julia IGNACIO 62’); 8. Caroline SZWED, 9. Amy HARRSION, 10. Tiffany CAMERON (7. Annick MALTAIS 78’), 11. Karli HEDLUND, 12. Nkem EZURIKE (5. Alyscha MOTTERSHEAD 69’), 14. Rachel LAMARRE, 16. Alexandra SMITH, 20. Lauren GRANBERG.

Substitutes Not Used: 1. Cynthia LEBLANC [rgk], 2. Kayla AFONSO, 4. Marialye LARAMEE-TROTTIER, 13. Danica WU, 17. Nicola MITCHELL, 18 Sabrina D’ANGELO, 19. Diamond SIMPSON.

Yellow cards: None

Red cards: None

Coach: Bryan ROSENFELD (CAN).

Referee: Kirsi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)

Assistant Referee 1: Tonja PAAVOLA (FIN)

Assistant Referee 2: Anu JOKELA (FIN)

4th official: Heike ULLRICH (GER)

GROUP A

STANDINGS – 28.10.08