SINCY SCORES GOAL 100 IN WIN VS POLAND  20th February 2010

We won our game 3 - 0 against Poland this afternoon, playing in Larnaca, Cyprus. It was a good game for us, but we were very rusty after the long lay-off. There were stretches of the match when I thought we were really playing well, but there were other moments when I think we looked terrible. However, the match was meant to be preparation and as the coach said, "In this match against Poland, we will experiment with our tactical formations. For the first phase of our camp in Cyprus, we have been working with the players on new formations and tactical strategies. This match will be a good test for us.”

This game against Poland was a friendly and not part of the Cyprus Cup tournament. However, it is great to have the chance to play and we can now see the one or two things we need to work on quickly. I should stress the good things though. We had some very good play and many chances, and I am sure Carolina and the coaches were pleased with most of the game.

Aside from the preparation, the match is an important one for a number of reasons. The most important is that our captain fantastic, Christine (Sincy) Sinclair, scored her 100th goal in this match. I am delighted for her, especially as last year we had a rough patch at the end of the season, and so she was forced to sit on her 99th goal for quite a while. Now, on her 133rd cap, which means also that she passes Andrea Neil's mark for the all-time national record,  she scored her century and we are all so pleased for her. The goal came in the 25th minute, after a couple of near misses. Britt crossed the ball in from the right hand side, after making a great run from right defence. The ball bounced round in the box for a while, then Sincy corralled it and slammed it home.

Our second goal came from Kelly Parker at 41 minutes, after Carm sent in a nice ball over the top. The goalie and the defender confused each other and Parker was able to nip in between them and chip the keeper. It was a classy goal, and coolly taken. This was Kelly Parker's first ever international goal - fantastic, and only 99 more goals to go to catch up to Sinc.

Our third tally was scored by Diana just before half time, when Jodi put her through with a great slicing ball. D took two defenders with her one way, before cutting the ball back and slamming it into the opposite side of the goal: Very nice. These were three great goals to take into the break.

We did have some other great chances to score, but our aim needs adjusting. Carm hit the crossbar on a free-kick in the second half, and a flicked header from Jodi was cleared off the line at the last minute.

However you look at the match, this was a very positive start to the year. There were some very good things to be pleased about. A few further significant milestones in this match include a first international appearance and cap at 68 minutes to Kendra Flock and a second cap at 73 minutes to Sari Raber. In addition, it was good to see the return in fine form of Cindy Walsh, at 56 minutes, and she came onto the international pitch for the first time since Canada Day 2000.

The remainder of our time in the Cyprus camp will be focused on our participations for the annual Cyprus Women’s Cup. And, of course, this is all part of our critical year-long preparation for the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup.

Final score 3 - 0

Starting team: McLeod (K LeBlanc 45 ), Timko (Gayle 25 ), Chapman, Zurrer (Walsh 56 ), Wilkinson (Zurrer 56) , Parker, Moscato (Raber 73), Matheson,. Robinson, Julien (Flock 68), Sinclair