By Andreas Vou
England clinched the 2015 Cyprus Cup on Wednesday with a narrow 1-0 win over Canada at the GSZ Stadium in Larnaca.
Three was the magic number for Mark Sampson’s side – it was the third year running in which the Three Lionesses had reached the final of the tournament, and their win made it their third Cyprus Cup success in their history, putting them level on record wins with Canada.
Keen to make amends for last year’s disappointment in which they lost 2-0 to France in the final, England started the brighter of the two teams. Manchester City’s Jill Scott had a snap chance in the box turned over the bar by Erin McLeod in the Canada goal early on.
Canada responded well, however, and nearly went ahead just minutes before the break as Adriana Leon’s cross found Christine Sinclair unmarked in the box but the captain, already with two goals to her name in the competition, saw her header bounce just wide of the post.
In the second half, the influence of Arsenal midfielder Jordan Nobbs grew as the game went on. The warning signs were there for Canada as she played a neat pass to Lianne Sanderson but her club colleague failed to get her shot away quick enough.
On 68 minutes, the decisive moment in the game arrived. A great ball from Nobbs was flicked on by Jodie Taylor and, this time, Sanderson would make no mistake with the finish to give England the breakthrough. It was the first goal that Canada had conceded in the tournament.
Canada pressed for an equaliser right until the death and so nearly got their reward, but a fantastic save from Siobhan Chamberlain denied them deep into injury time, as England held on for a memorable win.
The Cyprus Cup was once again carried out successfully as it has been in each of the previous eight editions of the tournament. It is hosted annually on the island between some of the top nations of the women’s game which is developing at a rapid pace, and is regarded as one of the most prestigious competitions in women’s football.
The matches were spread across four stadiums: The Ammochostos of Nea Salamina, Tasos Markou in Paralimni, the GSP Stadium in Nicosia and the GSZ Stadium, where the final was hosted, in Larnaca.
Despite being the tournament hosts, the Cyprus women’s football team has never taken part in the competition.
