Armour: England crushes all of Canada's hopes in 3-minute span
VANCOUVER — Some dreams die hard. Others go quickly.
And then there are the worst of all. Those that get revived after all seems lost, only to wind up being crushed all the same.
"This one stings," Christine Sinclair said, her voice catching.
The stat sheet will show that Canada's hopes at the World Cup disappeared in a three-minute span early in the first half of Saturday's quarterfinal. Poor defending led to two quick England goals, a massive hole in a tournament of this magnitude.
But Sinclair's goal just before halftime breathed new life into the team. With a boisterous crowd of 54,027 urging the Canadians on, it seemed as if the equalizer was bound to materialize.
"It gave us that feeling of, `We'll get the next one and the next one and win the game,'" Kedeisha Buchanan said.
Except they didn't. When the final whistle blew on England's 2-1 win, several of the Canada players dropped to the turf. Sinclair, who has carried Canadian soccer for the better part of a decade now, stood bent at the waist for what seemed like forever before dropping to her hands and knees, forehead resting on the turf.
"Just gutted. Gutted. Gutted for all of Canada because I think we could have," Canada coach John Herdman said before pausing. "… I'm not even going to say it. Could have, should have.
"Just thanks for your support."
This was supposed to be Canada's tournament to shine. Never mind that this was a team in transition, with Herdman bringing up young talent and some of the veterans retreating into the background. With the support of adoring home crowds, the Canadians hoped to build on their bronze medal from three years ago at the London Olympics.
Instead, they seemed burdened by the weight of so many expectations. They managed only four goals, and Sinclair didn't get her first from the run of play until Saturday. As they pressed for a second goal in the second half, they were both aggressive and hesitant, squandering more than one opportunity because they didn't take an open shot.
England was forced to play its backup goalkeeper after Karen Bardsley had an allergic reaction that caused her eyes to swell shut and leave the game in the 52nd minute. Backup Siobhan Chamberlain had never started a game for England before, yet was asked to make only one save, in the 88th minute.
In the end, though, it was the defense that proved most costly to Canada.
In the 11th minute, Lauren Sesselmann scuffed a clearance, falling over in the process. Jodie Taylor pounced on the ball, and Sesselmann could only flail her legs at the England forward, who would score from the 6-yard line.
Three minutes later, Sesselmann conceded a free kick with a foul. Erin McLeod tried to tip the ensuing header over the crossbar, but it banged off the bar and Lucy Bronze was right there to knock it into the net.
Sitting on a 2-0 lead, England was happy to bunker down. Hey, a spot in the semifinals is more than the men's team has managed in the last 25 years.
"It's a historic moment for England football to be able to get to a World Cup semifinal," captain Steph Houghton said.
Even Wayne Rooney took note, congratulating the Three Lionesses on Twitter.
"In a tournament like this, against an opponent at this level, to go down 2-0, it's hard to come back," Sinclair said. "But I'm proud of the way we responded."
Three minutes before halftime, Ashley Lawrence directed a screamer at Bardsley. Though she managed to knock it down, she didn't grab the ball and it fell right to Sinclair. No way Sinclair was missing this one, and BC Place erupted as the ball shook the net.
With Sinclair and Co. pressing relentlessly in the second half, it seemed as if this was going to be Canada's Day. But, just as it struggled to do all tournament, Canada couldn't finish it off.
"The dream's over. It's not how we imagined it to end," Herdman said.
And all of Canada feels the pain.
PHOTOS: World Cup quarterfinals