FIFA U-17 WOMEN&039;S WORLD CUP – CANADA AND COLOMBIA SHARE SPOILS

AUCKLAND – Canada missed out on confirming qualification for the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup – New Zealand after sharing a 1-1 draw with group rivals Colombia at North Harbour Stadium today.

It was a clash of contrasting style as Colombian flair and Canadian power cancelled each other out in an evenly contested encounter that saw Canada open the scoring after just nine minutes when a Tiffany Cameron pass found Nkem Ezurike unmarked on the edge of the Colombian penalty area with only goalkeeper Stefany Castano to beat. Castano – called in to replace Maria Echeverri after her calamitous error in the previous match with Denmark – had a near flawless game for Colombia.

Canada’s joy was short-lived when Ingrid Vidal equalised for Colombia just sixty seconds later when she poked the ball past goalkeeper Genevieve Richard after she shrugged off  defender Lauren Granberg. Granberg appeared to switch off momentarily as she allowed a through ball to bounce nonchalantly into the Canadian penalty area into the path of the grateful Vidal.

Coach Pedro Rodriguez would be pleased with his team’s silky performance with midfielders Tatiana Ariza, captain Yorley Rincon and Paola Sanchez electrifying skills posing problems for their Canadian opposites.

Ariza, in particular, was a constant threat down Canada’s left hand side and nearly put Colombia into the lead on 25 minutes when she broke clear of her marker before her near post shot forced Richard into a crucial one handed save.

Colombia’s Rincon nearly found a way through on 35 minutes with a dazzling solo run that left a group of Canadian players in her wake but her effort was thwarted by superior numbers.

The second-half saw Colombia’s dominance continue with Edna Mendez and Tatiana Ariza at the heart of their most dangerous attacking moves. Canadian captain Bryanna McCarthy picked up the only booking of the match when she was cautioned for a hefty challenge on Vidal on 56 minutes.

Canada enjoyed some measure of respite in the middle of midfield with the introduction of Danica Wu. The substitution helped give Canada some much needed craft and creativity in midfield and led to two decent scoring chances both squandered by Shelina Zadorsky.

Rachel Lamarre – Canada’s match winner in the game with New Zealand – produced her best form of the match late in the second-half and she had a hand in setting-up Zadorsky but the stocky midfielder shot high over the crossbar.

A long range shot by Vanessa Aponte after 82 minutes helped produce arguably the save of the tournament so far when Genevieve Richard’s acrobatic one handed save denied Colombia what looked a certain goal.

Colombia had a great opportunity to steal three points five minutes later when Paola Sanchez latched onto a misplaced clearance by the Canadian defence but wasted the chance when she snatched at her shot sending the ball harmlessly wide.

Colombia coach Pedro Rodriguez was delighted with his team’s performance.

"I’m very happy with the way my team played. Even when my players were very tired towards the end of game, they were still running harder than the Canadians. I remain confident that we can go through but even if we don’t, I think we have showed everyone at this tournament the kind of football we can play," Rodriguez said.

Canada assistant coach Lewis Page felt his team had set themselves up for a shot at a quarter-final berth.

"We have to see the result as a point gained rather than two dropped. It leaves us in a decent position and although you’re never too confident, we’d probably have taken four points from our first two games if you’d offered us that before the tournament," Page said.

The result means Canada stay at the top of Group A with four points while Colombia remains in second place on two points. New Zealand face Denmark in Group A’s other fixture with the host nation needing at least a draw to retain any hope of progressing to the next round.

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

Attendance:.

COL: 21. Stefany CASTANO [gk]; 2 Lina TABORDA, 3 Natalia GAITAN, 6 Edna MENDEZ , 9 Ingrid VIDAL, 10. Yorley RINCON ©, 11. Liana SALAZAR, 13. Gaby SANTOS (7. Nahiomy ORTIZ 80’), 15. Tatiana ARIZA (17. Ana Maria MONTOYA 90’), 16. Paola SANCHEZ, 20. Vanessa APONTE.

Substitutes Not Used: 1. Maria ECHEVERRI [rgk], 4. Diana VELEZ, 5. Natalia ARIZA , 8. Alejandro QUINTERO, 12. Paula FORERO [rgk], 14. Paola BAYONA, , 18. Gabriela HUERTAS, 19. Andréa HERNANDEZ.

Yellow cards: None.

Red cards: None.

Coach: Pedro RODRIGUEZ (COL)

CAN: 21. Genevieve RICHARD [gk]; 3. Bryanna McCARTHY ©, 6. Shelina ZADORSKY (19. Diamond SIMPSON 82’), 8. Caroline SZWED, 9. Amy HARRISON (5. Alyscha MOTTERSHEAD 67’), 10. Tiffany CAMERON, 11. Karli HEDLUND, 12. Nkem EZURIKE (13. Danica WU 46’), 14. Rachel LEMARRE, 16. Alexandra SMITH, 20. Lauren GRANBERG.

Substitutes Not Used:1. Cynthia LEBLANC [rgk], 2. Kayla AFONSO, 4. Marialye LARAMEE-TORTTIER, 7. Annick MALTAIS, 15. Julia IGNACIO, 17. Nicole MITCHELL, 18. Sabrina D’ANGELO [rgk].

Yellow cards: 3. Bryanna McCARTHY 56’, 20. Lauren GRANBERG 90’+3.

Red cards: None.

Coach:  Bryan ROSENFELD (CAN)

Referee: Jia WANG (CHN)

Assistant Referee 1: Lingling ZHANG (CHN)

Assistant Referee 2: Hyang KIM MI (PRK)

4th official: Sung Mi CHA (KOR)

Standings – 01.11.08