A Kadeisha Buchanan header on the stroke of half-time was enough for Canada to take all three points against Cameroon tonight. Christine Sinclair was unable to bag but she won’t mind as her team take the number one spot in Group E.
If you look at the statistics here, you’ll see that Canada had 74% possession and 16 shots, but that really doesn’t tell the whole story. Yes, Thomas Heiner-Moller’s side did most of the attacking, but Cameroon looked dangerous throughout and defended relatively well for the most part.
After a spell of good pressing from the Canadian side, they won a string of corners just before the break. On the third consecutive one, Janine Beckie whipped in a dangerous ball and Kadeisha Buchanan rose higher than anyone to bury her header in the back of the net. A goal right on the stroke of half-time, the so-called “perfect” time to score.
Canada worthy of the win
Perhaps the best chance Cameroon had to equalise in what was a pretty drab second half was almost an identical corner to the one Canada scored from. At the same end of the pitch, on the same side, the ball came flying in toward Claudine Meffometou who jumped and headed the ball down into the ground and just wide of the mark – so unlucky.
It was a hard fought win for the Canadians, but you’d have to say that on the balance of play, they deserved it. They will sit top of Group E, at least until 2pm tomorrow when New Zealand and the Netherlands face off.
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