Manchester City attacker Janine Beckie said that she is proud to return to goalscoring form for Canada after netting in a 1-1 draw with England this evening.
The 27-year-old curled a stunning 20-yard effort beyond home keeper Mary Earps in the second half of this evening’s Arnold Clark Cup match in Middlesbrough as Canada came from behind to draw 1-1 with the Lionesses.
When speaking to the media in the post-match press conference, Beckie admitted that she was proud to net her first goal for Canada since last summer’s Olympic Games.
“I don’t really remember what happened,” Beckie said when commenting on her goal. “All I remember is receiving the pass and I was quite disappointed with my first touch because I wanted it on my right foot. A lot of work that we have been doing has been around the final third, taking opportunities when we have them and as a team, I don’t think we shoot enough in general.
“When I saw a shooting lane, I went for it. You always want to score goals and you love to score goals like that. I’m proud of myself for scoring, it has been a long time since I scored for Canada, that means a lot to me and I am just proud to have helped the team.”
Beckie went on to discuss Canada’s improved second half showing against England. She said that the big change in the second period was that Canada did not allow the hosts to have it their own way.
She said “We shifted some things defensively in our press, made it more difficult for them to do what they were doing in the first half. I felt we managed the game better and hung onto the ball a lot better, kept the ball in our half more and made quicker and smarter decisions.
“I thought that our back-line were fantastic in running the game and when you have a player like Jessie Fleming who is having a fantastic season at Chelsea come into this team and continue to step up and take control…I thought she was great and Julia Grosso did well. Everyone in our midfield – Quinn came in and really helped down the game in the midfield.
“Top to bottom, this is probably one of the most exciting teams that Canada has ever seen. There were so many positives to take from tonight.
Canada are back in action again on Sunday when they take on Germany in their second Arnold Clark Cup match in Norwich.
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