Amy Walsh reached 100 career caps while coach Carolina Morace and her staff earned their first victory as Canada overcame the Netherlands 2:1 in the second group game for both squads at the 2009 Cyprus Cup. Christine Sinclair scored both goals in the Canadian win as she edged closer to 100 career goals, reaching 97 with her brace in the match. The Canadian victory vaulted them into first place in Group B standings with four points.

The other match in Group B saw Russia defeat New Zealand 4 : 2. The combined results mean that Canada needs a victory over Russia in their final group match on March 10 to advance to the Cyprus Cup final. The Russians and Netherlands sit in a tie for second place with three points followed by New Zealand with one.

Walsh was roundly cheered by her teammates and the Canadians in the crowd as she made her way on to pitch for Diana Matheson in the 88^th minute. Walsh becomes the fifth Canadian to reach the 100 cap plateau.

In the early stages Canada had the advantage down the Netherlands right as Brittany Timko, Rhian Wilkinson and Kaylyn Kyle were combining to good effect. In the fifth minute Kyle won a free kick just to the right of the Dutch 18 yard box. The Wilkinson free kick was driven low into the box where Christine Sinclair was unable to get enough power on her shot to trouble Dutch Keeper Loes Guerts. In the 9^th minute another free kick in a similar position resulted in a scoring chance, the dangerous cross from Wilkinson evading all the Canadian heads in the box and rolled through to the far side.

The first half settled into a pattern of Canada sitting inside its own half and closing the Dutch players down quickly. When Canada did turn the ball over, they quickly moved from defence to attack, exploiting the space in behind the Dutch midfield.

The inevitable breakthrough came in the 15^th minute as Canada’s talisman Sinclair broke the deadlock. The dynamic duo of Christina Julien and Sinclair who combined to score in Canada’s first match against New Zealand struck again. This time Julien turned provider as she worked a give-and-go with Christine Sinclair who made no mistake depositing the ball in the top left corner of the Dutch net following some good build-up play which saw the ball moved from defense through midfield and into the strikers.

Sinclair scored her second goal of the match to double the Canadian lead after 34 minutes. Wilkinson played an inch perfect ball over the top of the Dutch defense which Sinclair chested down and calmly placed in the bottom left corner of the net past a sprawling Guerts. 

At the start of the 2^nd half the Dutch came out aggressively and marked much more tightly. Their increased efforts resulted in a goal in the 53^rd minute as Sherida Spitse pulled the Dutch to within one after nodding home a loose ball in the Canadian box.

Coach Morace made a double substitution in the 63rd minute, sending on Melissa Tancredi and Shannon Woeller for Julien and the injured Martina Franko. The young Woeller was making her first appearance with the national team.

Tancredi nearly had an instant impact, latching on to a loose ball in the box following a Canadian corner only to see her shot charged down by a Dutch defender.

The Dutch came close to an equaliser in the 71st minute as a long range drive from Sylvia Smit came back off the cross bar much to the relief of Canadian goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc. Canada’s defence was exceptionally marshaled throughout the match by Emily Zurrer and Franko.

As the match wound down, Netherlands had time for one last effort as they forced an acrobatic diving save from LeBlanc in the 89th minute. When the final whistle blew, coach Morace and staff had their first victory.

Notes - three players were unavailable for selection in this match: Candace Chapman, Erin McNulty and Kelly Parker.

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Carolina Morace and her staff earned their first win with the Canadian women's national team in a 2:1 victory over Netherlandstoday.
The victory came in her second match at the 2009 Cyprus Women's Cup as the team jumped into first place in Group B standings.

Midfielder Amy Walsh, meanwhile, became the fifth player to make her 100th appearance for Canada while captain Christine Sinclair scored her 96th and 97th career goals.

Canada is in first place with four points and a +1 goal differential after two games in the round-robin action. Russia and Netherlands each have three points, but Russia sits in second with a +1 goal differential. New Zealand is in last with just one point.

The last day of round-robin action is 10 March when Canada faces Russia for first place in the group. Canada can win the group with a victory. After the group phase is complete, teams will crossover to fight for their tournament placing against Group A teams on 12 March.

In the opposite group, England is in first place with four points and a +6 goal differential. France, who drew 2:2 with England today, is in second place with four points a +2 goal differential. After South Africa’s 2:0 win over Scotland, South Africa moves into third place with three points while Scotland sits in last place with no points.

For more information on the Cyprus Women's Cup, please visit www.cypruswomenscup.com.

For more information on Cyprus, please visit www.visitcyprus.com.