England’s women suffered the first minor blip of the Sarina Wiegman era as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Cananda in their Arnold Clark Cup opener.
The Lionesses had won their first six games under Wiegman without conceding a goal but the Olympic champions were always expected to provide a much sterner test at the Riverside and so it proved, as a stunner from Janine Beckie cancelled out Millie Bright’s volley.
The inaugural edition of the invitational tournament - which will see the Lionesses also face Spain and Germany - has been earmarked by Wiegman as a key part of her side’s preparation for this summer’s European Championships on home soil.
The Dutch coach kept faith with the many of the players who have excelled under her so far, with returning Manchester City duo Lucy Bronze and Ellie Roebuck left on the bench and record goalscorer Ellen White also only among the substitutes as Manchester United forward Alessia Russo was handed a first international start.
Arenal’s Leah Williamson was back in as captain having missed the November internationals through injury and went close to opening the scoring inside 15 minutes with a well-struck effort from range, but it was Chelsea defender Millie Bright who would break the deadlock soon after with a magnificent volleyed finish after a corner had only been half-cleared.
England were the better side for much of the first half, with Lauren Hemp particularly impressive, but the visitors improved after the interval and equalised shortly before the hour-mark when Beckie drove a terrific strike into the top corner to leave Mary Earps no chance.
Hemp almost hit back immediately went sent through by a wonderful Keira Walsh pass but Canada were a constant threat on the counter, with Chelsea’s Jessie Fleming growing in influence and carving the hosts open on several occasions with passes from deep.
England continue their round-robin campaign against Spain at Carrow Road on Sunday afternoon before facing Germany at Molineux next Wednesday.
