A late equaliser saved England from the embarrassment of losing to a Canada side ranked 20 places beneath them in the world at Bisham Abbey on Thursday.
After beating their 23rd-ranked rivals 6-1 in Monday’s other capped clash between the two sides, England came up against a strong defensive performance from Canada.
Similar to that previous performance, Canada scored early in the match, but England’s efforts to battle back were met with strong defence and they were left frustrated until captain Kate Richardson-Walsh scored from a 69th-minute penalty corner to save England’s blushes.
“We applied almost constant pressure but came up against a resilient defence, which is something we’re not used to – but it’s something that we need to overcome,” said England coach Jason Lee.
England enjoyed a bright opening spell, but it was Canada who opened their account after 16 minutes with a goal from a straight strike at a penalty corner which was hit low and to the right of Maddie Hinch in the England goal.
There were plenty of other chances on goal for England, but they were left frustrated as their finishing let them down time after time, and Canada seemed pleased to have held their lead to the half time break.
England continued to press and had several circle entries, but to their credit the Canadian defence and goalkeeper worked hard to shut out England.
With less than two minutes remaining, England pulled level from their 11th penalty corner of the game, Ellie Watton injecting into the circle for Kate Richardson-Walsh to score with a direct flick.
