Scott set for tough test against Great Britain

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This article was published 27/07/2021 (1506 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Midfielder Desiree Scott of Winnipeg and her Canadian teammates have their toughest test of the Tokyo Summer Olympics so far today.

Canada will play for first place in Group E as it faces Great Britain in the last match of the group stage for both squads.

Canada is currently in second place of Group E with four points after posting a 1-1 draw with Japan and 2-1 victory over Chile. The British are unbeaten in two games.

“We knew that each match of this tournament was going to be a fight and it will be especially against Great Britain,” Scott told reporters in Tokyo. “We need to use all our depth in this squad, but also stay connected as a team. And we need to be ready to battle, to bring our fight and our edge, and that is what each and everyone of us is going to do.”

The showdown, to be played in Kashima at 6 a.m. CT, will be broadcast live on cbc.ca.

The top eight countries from the 12-team tournament advance to the Olympic quarterfinals on Friday.

“We absolutely want to win this match, get the points, and move on to the next round,” said Canadian head coach Bev Priestman. “Keeping the knockout stage in mind, we have to make sure our players are as rested and as fresh as possible, but we have an incredible depth within our group of players, and I believe this can give us a result against Great Britain.”

The two countries have met once before on the Olympic pitch. At the 2012 Games in London, Scott’s Canadian team eliminated the hosts with a 2-0 win in the quarterfinals en route to a bronze medal.

The British team consists of players from England, Scotland and Wales.

Mislawchuk not done yet: Despite a disappointing conclusion to the men’s triathlon race in which Oak Bluff’s Tyler Mislawchuk had an attack of cramps and faded from the lead group at the start of the run leg to a 15th-place finish, there’s more work to be done.

Mislawchuk is scheduled to join Joanna Brown of Carp, Ont., Amélie Kretz of Blainville, Que., and Victoria, B.C.’s Matt Sharpe in Saturday’s running of the mixed triathlon relay event.

So what are Canada’s chances to reach the podium? Deep teams from France, Great Britain and the U.S. are considered favourites.

“It’s extremely fast and intense and is probably one of the best races to watch,” Mislawchuk told the Free Press recently. “We’ve been up there a few times — we finished fifth at the world championships twice as a relay team… if people were betting it would probably be an outside chance (for Canada) because we have just qualified last minute but at the Olympics, anything can happen.

“We know this, especially when there’s four people involved. That just means that there’s four moving parts and makes it even more complicated.”

In the relay, each team member must complete a super-sprint triathlon, which includes a 300-metre swim, 6.8-kilometre bike and two-kilometre run.

La Roche strikes twice: Canada women’s water polo team has found the competition very tough in its first appearance at the Olympics since the Athens Games in 2004.

On Monday, the Canadians fell to 0-2 in Tokyo after losing a 14-10 decision to Spain at the Tatsumi Water Polo Centre. Former Winnipegger Shae La Roche, now of Laval, Que., scored twice for Canada.

The Spaniards and Canadians were locked in a tight battle until the fourth quarter when Spain’s Roser Tarragó scored a pair of goals to put the game out of reach.

“We were down one goal when we had a power play and we missed,” Canadian head coach David Paradelo told reporters. “They counter-attacked and scored. It made it a two-goal difference instead of a tight game. From there, it was difficult to catch up”

Elyse Lemay-Lavoie had a hat trick for the Canadians while Kyra Christmas added a pair. Monika Eggens, Axelle Crevier and Haley Mckelvey added singles.

Canada, which opened the tournament Saturday with a tight 8-5 loss to Australia, wraps up preliminary round action with a game against South Africa Wednesday and a Sunday matchup with the Netherlands.

On tap: Next up for University of Manitoba swimmer Kelsey Wog is her favourite event — the women’s 200-metre breaststroke. Wog is the Canadian champ in the discipline with heats and semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday with the final on tap for Thursday.

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The 22-year-old Winnipegger clocked a time of 1:07.73 for 23rd spot in the women’s 100-metre breaststroke preliminaries but missed qualifying for the semifinals. Later in the week, Wog will swim the breaststroke leg for the Canadian team in the women’s 4×100-metre medley relay. Heats are set for Friday with the final going on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s Leah Kirchmann is following up a 36th-place finish in the women’s cycling road race with another shot at an Olympic medal in the women’s time trial Wednesday.

The 30-year-old, currently based in Sittard, Netherlands, will race on a 22.1-kilometre course that finishes on Fuji International Speedway.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14