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VILA REAL DE SAN ANTONIO, Portugal – Summer Clarke and Sabrina D’Angelo had an international debut to remember Friday as Canada defeated Belgium 1-0 at the Algarve Cup women’s soccer tournament.
Clarke, a 20-year-old from Richmond, B.C., scored in the 89th minute after a pinball-like sequence in the Belgian box that saw Canada hit the bar and have four attempts on goal before Clarke finally poked the ball in.
D’Angelo, a 23-year-old from Welland, Ont., had the shutout as she replaced Stephanie Labbe in goal.
“Both acquitted themselves really well,” Canadian coach John Herdman said of the newcomers.
The game was played in cold, windy conditions.
“The plan was to wear them down and we did that last 20 minutes, they just couldn’t cope with our pressure,” said Herdman. “Particularly when we added some pace on like Nichelle Prince and Janine Beckie. All in all we’re back in the tournament, it’s great.”
Canada lost its opener 1-0 Wednesday to No. 15 Denmark with Herdman lamenting missed scoring chances.
Canada, ranked 11th compared to No. 18 for Belgium, wraps up pool play Monday against No. 19 Iceland.
Herdman opted for a more experienced starting 11 against the Belgians with captain Christine Sinclair, Rhian Wilkinson, Allysha Chapman and Melissa Tancredi in the lineup.
Sinclair, who has been nursing a nagging calf injury, did not play the second half.
Herdman opted for a young lineup against Denmark with Sinclair coming on midway through the second half along with Wilkinson.
It’s the first action for the Canadian women since the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship last month in Texas. Canada, which booked its ticket to Rio by defeating Costa Rica in the semifinals, romped through the pool stages of that tournament before losing 2-0 to the top-ranked U.S. in the final.
The other Algarve Cup tournament group features No. 7 Brazil, No. 16 New Zealand, No. 22 Russia and No. 40 Portugal.
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