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Mai 9 '17
VANCOUVER -- John Herdman says Canada is getting closer. Kawhi Leonard Jersey . After watching his team fall 2-1 to Germany in an international friendly on Wednesday night, the Canadian head coach was adamant the gap is shrinking between his side and the top teams in the womens game ahead of next summers home World Cup. Canadas starting roster included four teenagers, including 16-year-old midfielder Jessie Fleming, and while there were rough patches Herdman was buoyed by the performance against the No. 2-ranked team in the world. "A year out, 2-1 away from the European champions, a goal away?" said Herdman. "Ya Ill take that." Herdman is trying to implement a more free-flowing system ahead of the World Cup as opposed to the more direct, long-ball style of past Canadian teams. It has taken some time for the players to grasp the concepts, and fitness remains a concern, but they were right with the imposing Germans for long stretches on Wednesday. "Weve said this World Cups about two things," said Herdman. "Its about making the country proud, but also trying to inspire a generation of coaches and players at the youth level that theres another way of going about things other than the blunt instrument." Wednesdays lineup included Fleming, along with a trio of young defenders -- 17-year-old Sura Yekka, along with Kadeisha Buchanan and Rebecca Quinn, who are both 18. "These games, we said, this year will tell us what the gap is," said Herdman. "We improved. Im clear on that. "Were producing more crosses, more final acts, more final third entries than we ever did." However, the game was decided on a mistake by one of those youngsters as Simone Laudehr scored from the penalty spot in the 66th minute after Buchanan brought down Lena Lotzen. Laudehr stepped up with the score tied 1-1 and calmly blasted a shot into the roof of the past a helpless Erin McLeod for a lead the visitors would never relinquish. "Youre dealing against a different type of player," Herdman said of the German attack. "Youre not dealing against one individual player that you can mark out of a game. Youre dealing against three or four players that move with one mind at the same time, and thats a different challenge. It takes communication, it takes earlier adjustments." Lotzen had Germanys other goal on the night, while Sophie Schmidt replied for Canada. "Germany, theyre so organized," said Canadian captain Christine Sinclair. "Any little mistake you make theyre going to punish you and they punished us on a couple tonight. "Overall, just in terms of the style of play we were trying to produce, I think weve made a lot of progress. Its just cleaning those little things up." The German winner came after Schmidt woke up a sleepy crowd of 15,618 at B.C. Place Stadium in the 53rd minute with a bizarre game-tying goal. The Canadian midfielder completely scuffed her shot after taking a pass in the box from Diana Matheson, but the ball scooped up and over German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer for an unlikely equalizer. Trailing 1-0 at the half, Canada gave up two glorious chances to Germanys Anja Mittag that she couldnt finish just after the break. The striker was stopped by McLeod -- who came on for Karina LeBlanc at halftime -- in the 47th minute, and then again in the 49th after a sloppy pass by Fleming and a timid challenge from Quinn. "Theyll learn from that. If thats the biggest issue I think thats going to be cleaned up pretty quickly," said Herdman said of his teenagers. "Those mistakes are not going to happen as frequently and this is a great learning (experience) for some of those younger players." After Schmidt tied the score, McLeod stopped Alexandra Popp on another breakaway in the 58th minute as Germany continued to probe No. 7 Canada for a weakness that would eventually come in the 65th. McLeod made a number of big saves as second half wore down, keeping the score respectable in a game where Germany took a while to get going before showing its class. The Germans came close on two golden opportunities in the first half and finally struck in the 29th minute when Laudehr crossed a ball from the left that glanced off Mittag and right to Lotzen, who poked a shot home past LeBlanc. Sinclair had the games first opportunity when she was sent in alone in the 12th minute, but she was stopped Angerer. Popp then nearly caught LeBlanc off her line six minutes later, but saw her effort 40 yards out rattle off the crossbar. Canadian defender Rhian Wilkinson then nearly gifted the Germans the lead in the 24th when her ill-advised pass was intercepted by Mittag, but her shot in alone went over the bar. Buchanan scored her first goal for Canada in last months 1-1 draw with the United States, and nearly had her second in as many games two minutes later, only to be thwarted by Angerer. After Germany took the lead, the visitors almost got another goal moments later, but Bianca Schmidt missed a golden opportunity from six yards out. Canada, which has never beaten Germany, lost 1-0 to the European giants last year in a game where Herdmans team barely had the ball over the halfway line. He said that despite the scoreline and the chances surrendered in the final 30 minutes on Wednesday, the performance is reason for optimism with the start of the World Cup less than a year away. "We didnt get dominated. They didnt pen us into our half for 90 minutes," said Herdman. "I think thats a really positive performance. "The futures pretty bright." Notes: Sinclair and Angerer, who was named FIFA womens world player of the year for 2013, are teammates with the Portland Thorns of the NWSL. ... Canada will play Japan in an international friendly on Oct. 25 in Edmonton before the two teams meet again on Oct. 28 in Vancouver. ... Germany won the womens World Cup in both 2003 and 2007. ... Sinclair played her 210th game for Canada. She has 148 career goals for her country. ... The womens World Cup final will be played at B.C. Place on July 5, 2015. Pau Gasol Spurs Jersey . At 11:06 of the first period, Neal struck Marchand with his knee when Marchand was down on the ice. Marchand remained in the game. Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. Dejounte Murray Jersey . -- Kenneth Faried made a turnaround hook shot over Draymond Green with a half-second remaining, and the Denver Nuggets made Golden State wait at least one more game to secure a playoff berth with a stunning 100-99 win over the Warriors on Thursday night.MIAMI - Dwyane Wade thinks theres no one better than the Miami Heat at dealing with the mental challenge of the playoffs. In his eyes, only one other team might compare. Hes talking about the San Antonio Spurs. Thats why Wade believes these NBA Finals are just getting started. When he looks at the Spurs, he sees qualities his own team has, including an ability to break down a loss and quickly correct things. Its what Miami did before Game 2 of the finals and its what Wade expects the Spurs to do before the title series resumes with Game 3 in Miami on Tuesday night. "You never put them away," Wade said. "I think they always believe and its the same with us. You cant, you wont, put us away because were always going to believe. Thats why this is a perfect, different animal, kind of series. Theyre the other team like us. They dont lose much and when they do they come back and be better in the next game. So weve got to come out and do the same thing." That would explain why on Monday, instead of a day off, the Heat gathered to watch video of Game 2. By winning in San Antonio to even the finals at 1-1, home-court advantage now belongs to the Heat. But no one in their locker room thinks its going to get easy now. "They came out great. They played a great game," Spurs guard Tony Parker said after Miamis 98-96 win in Game 2, the 13th straight time the Heat immediately followed a post-season loss with a victory. "Now its our turn to go over there and get one. We played pretty well all season long on the road and so were going to have two great opportunities to try to come up with a win." Miami has won a franchise-record 11 straight post-season games at home. The last team to win a playoff game in Miami was the Spurs, winning Game 1 of last seasons finals. "We are in a tough situation because weve got to go to Miami and weve got to get one," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "We dont want to come back here 3-1 down. Its very hard to overcome that. Definitely going to be a great challenge for the team to play in an arena like that and having to win." A challenge, sure, but its one Heat coach Erik Spoelstra knows the Spurs can handle. Tony Parker Spurs Jersey. "Coming back here there has to be an incredible sense of focus and urgency," Spoelstra said Monday. "Theyre a veteran, poised, championship-level team thats been through a lot. The crowd wont affect them much." Neither team thought it played all that well in the game that it won so far in these finals. The Spurs turned the ball over too much for their liking in Game 1 — the game that will be remembered for the air conditioning malfunction and cramps inside a steamy building forcing LeBron James to leave in the final minutes. In Game 2, the Heat werent thrilled with a slow start and how they spent much of the game playing from behind. When James got rolling in the third quarter, things started swinging Miamis way in Game 2. When he found Chris Bosh for the 3-pointer that put Miami ahead for good with 1:18 left, it was just another example of the four-time MVP setting a teammate up for a big play. "Im going to make the right play," said James, who signalled to Bosh about what he wanted on that play. "To have that trust from my teammates, they know when Ive got the ball, Im going to make the right play. Doesnt mean its going to go in. Doesnt mean its going to result in a win, but they believe in my ability." The pressure, if Miami had not found a way to win in the final moments of Game 2, would have been enormous on the two-time defending champions. Now, it seems to have shifted to the Spurs. "It doesnt matter what weve been through before," Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. "Were here now again." The last time these teams met in Miami at this time of year, the Heat wound up spraying champagne in their locker room. Its tempting, Bosh acknowledged, to think that all Miami needs to do for a third straight championship is stay unbeaten at home. But Bosh wont let himself go there. "I can only think about Game 3," Bosh said. "Weve played well at home this post-season. 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