Millie Bright’s first-half volley fired England to an opening 1-1 draw against Canada in the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium.
Millie Bright pounced on a sloppy punch from Kailen Sheridan of a 22nd minute corner and volleyed in to given England a first-half lead.
Canada however punished several wasted chances made by the hosts as Janine Beckie curled in from a Canadian counter-attack in the 55th minute to level the scoring.
Both teams thereafter traded chances but the match eventually finished in a draw, meaning that Canada top the group after the first round of matches by virtue of alphabetical order, after Germany drew with Spain in the mid-afternoon kick-off.
England made a bright start to the match with two corners cleared in the opening five minutes as Canada struggled to make any impact, until Kadeisha Buchanan headed a 11th minute corner on goal only for Bright to clear.
Lauren Hemp then intercepted Kailen Sheridan four minutes later and managed to play the ball across to Leah Williamson, who could only fire wide.
England proceeded to win successive corners six minutes later of which Sheridan punched the second corner straight to Bright’s feet, with the Chelsea defender volleying into the near-left corner to put the Lionesses in front.
A second goal nearly followed two minutes later as another corner was whipped in from the left but was ultimately blocked, following ping-pong shots in rapid succession from several England players.
Manchester United’s Alessio Russo was the next to go close to extending England’s lead as she met a 34th minute pullback, only for her and Ella Toone’s rebound shots to be blocked by a stubborn Canadian defence.
Russo then missed a 39th minute cross from Demi Stokes before Hemp clipped Williamson’s pullback pass just wide of the right corner five minutes later, as Sarina Weigman’s Lionesses ended the first half on top.
The second half began in similar fashion to the first half with England on the front foot but it was Canada who carved out the first proper chance, as Fleming rolled a shot wide in the 53rd minute.
Canada quickly began to press harder after that opportunity and were level just two minutes later after an interception led to a counter-attack, which saw Jordyn Huitema flick a pass forward for Beckie to curl into the top right corner.
England immediately responded a further two minutes later as Keira Walsh played a bent through ball for Hemp to pounce on, only for Sheridan to block her shot out with the resulting corner eventually volleyed over by Bright.
Both teams thereafter exchanged chances at opposite ends with England substitute, Beth Mead firing her 72nd minute shot just wide of the bottom left corner from 20 yards.
Canada substitute, Nichelle Prince nearly completed Canada’s comeback in the 79th minute but her shot was comfortably saved by Mary Earps.
Nikita Parris, Walsh and Georgia Stanway saw late chances denied as England ultimately finished the match on top with Canada forced to defend stubbornly in the last 14 minutes of the match, despite Bright having to make an injury time clearance to deny Victoria Pickett a headed winner.
Parris meanwhile saw a 94th minute penalty appeal denied after she was fouled by Ashley Lawrence in the penalty box, only for referee – Lina Lehtovaara to brazenly ignore her complaint.
Germany meanwhile came from behind in their 1-1 draw against Spain in the mid-afternoon kick-off, as Lea Schuller struck late to cancel out Alexia Putellas’ opener.
Canada therefore top the group ahead of England, Germany and Spain, after the inaugural round of matches in this competition all finished 1-1 apiece.
Teams
England – Mary Earps (GK), Rachel Daly (Bronze, 65), Millie Bright, Alex Greenwood (Carter, 65′), Demi Stokes, Keira Walsh, Leah Williamson (Parris, 65′), Alessia Russo (White, 75′), Ella Toone (Stanway, 45′), Lauren Hemp (Mead, 66′), Fran Kirby
Substitutes: Ellen White, Lucy Bronze, Hannah Hampton (GK), Georgia Stanway, Jess Carter, Beth Mead, Nikita Parris, Jordan Nobbs, Niamh Charles, Jill Scott, Ellie Roebuck (GK), Katie Zelem
Canada – Kailen Sheridan (GK), Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence, Jayde Riviere (Lacasse, 66′), Vanessa Gilles, Jessie Fleming, Julia Grosso (Prince, 59′), Deanne Rose (Pickett, 80′), Janine Beckie, Desiree Scott, Jordyn Huitema (Quinn, 59′)
Substitutes: Allysha Chapman, Shelina Zadorsky, Quinn, Sophie Schmidt, Gabrielle Carle, Nichelle Prince, Tanya Boychuk, Sabrina D’Angelo (GK), Marie-Yasmine Alidou, Cloe Lacasse, Sura Yekka, Victoria Pickett
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