Captain Christine Sinclair led the way yet again with two goals and Melissa Tancredi chipped in with one of her own as Canada delighted a near-capacity crowd at BC Place with a win in the tournament’s decisive match.
Canada 2012 Highlights: Canada 3 - 1 Mexico
After a tense opening spell Christine Sinclair managed to break the deadlock with a signature goal for Canada in the 15th minute.
Melissa Tancredi laid off a clever square ball to Sinclair who set the ball onto her left foot and unleashed a firm strike which left Mexican goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago with little hope of making the save.
It was Tancredi who played a key role again the 23rd minute as this time she provided the finishing touch to a delightful Canadian move to make it two-nil. Kelly Parker and Sinclair combined well before Parker slid a sharp cross in front of where Tancredi had shrugged off her market to power home the finish.
Canada seemed to grow in confidence following the two quick goals and they controlled much of the play for the remainder of the first half.
The second half began largely the same as the first with Canada carrying most of the possession in the early stages, but as desperation set in for Mexico the visitors upped their temp and began to create their own chances.
Karina LeBlanc was sharp to deny Mexico on a number of occasions before Veronica Perez blasted a volley home to cut the deficit to 2:1 in the 67th minute. Canada had done well to scramble the incoming corner away, but Perez’s blast from just inside the 18-yard-box left LeBlanc with no chance on the play.
Canada appeared nervous in the minutes following the Mexican goal, but Big Red would eventually regain its poise.
In the 75th minute, Tancredi played a curling through-ball over the top to Sinclair who was streaking behind the Mexican back-line. Sinclair lofted a chip over Santiago which bounced and found its way into the roof of the net to restore the two-goal advantage for Canada.
There was little looking back from that point and Canada closed out the game to the delight of the home fans in Vancouver.
As the full-time whistle sounded out, Canada’s players burst into joyous celebration as the stadium rose to its feet to celebrate qualification for London 2012.
The momentous match was attended by a crowd of 22,954 at BC Place – a record for CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying. It was also the second-largest crowd for a women's international "A" match in Canada (all competitions and friendlies).
Canada are now set for a showdown with USA in the tournament final at 17.00 (local kick-off) on Sunday 29 January.
Canada 2012: Canada celebrates qualifying for London 2012
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