By Steve Keating
EDMONTON (Reuters) - An injury time goal by Christine Sinclair from the penalty spot lifted Canada to nail-biting 1-0 win over China on Saturday to get the Women's World Cup off to an electrifying start.
Canadian coach John Herdman had declared on the eve of the opener anything less than victory would be a disappointment and Sinclair, Canada's all-time leading scorer, made sure the capacity crowd of 53,058 went home happy when she coolly stepped up and slotted home a low shot to the right corner past a diving Chinese keeper.
Canada had dominated much of play but could not crack the Chinese wall until Adriana Leon was brought down heavily by Zhao Rong in the box, the referee immediately pointing to spot.