NICOSIA, Cyprus -- It wasnt the result he wanted but John Herdman was pretty happy about how Canada finished the Cyprus Cup womens soccer tournament. Diana Matheson and Sophie Schmidt scored second-half goals as Canada rallied for a 2-1 win over Ireland to secure fifth place. It marked the first time in six years the Canadians hadnt reached the tournament final, but Herdman was encouraged by how his team dealt with that adversity. "The team showed a real resilience and that second-half performance was just phenomenal," he said. "This is a very unique group of women, when the chips are down they really can pull it out of the bag. "You think theyre out and then they come back and keep fighting but I thought the second half wasnt just about fight. They played just some wonderful football. The Irish were on the rocks for 45 minutes and we knew it was just a matter of time." Ireland opened the scoring early in the first half before Matheson tied it at the 56-minute mark. Schmidt highlighted a wild finish, scoring at the 90-minute mark. Canada, ranked seventh in the world, has traditionally fared well in this event. The national team won the tournament three times and was a finalist the last two years. But that streak ended with a 2-0 loss to England on Monday. And considering all the Canadians needed to advance was a draw, Herdman admitted the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow. "Absolutely," he said. "In previous tournaments we dodged the bullet of having England or France in our qualifying group and when we ended up (with England) in our group, we knew that was the game that was going to make the difference. "Getting the girls up for this one was tough because we were pretty devastated. But we tried to focus on this being a World Cup and just losing the final game in our group but still having qualified with another game to play and what strategies wed have to put in place to get things pulled around and in focus. It was a pretty good two days for our team." Despite the fifth-place finish, Herdman said the Canadian team learned many valuable lessons at the tournament. "We struggled, and Ill tell you why we did against the English and Irish defensive tactics," Herdman said. "The English held a really deep defensive block and hit us on the counter-attack, they just preyed on our sloppy play and within seconds were firing shots or crosses and I think that was the real learning this year. "Against a zone or 4-4-2 we did well, we did well against Italys 3-5-2 but against that deep 4-5-1 block, which is also what the Irish did, we struggled. But what was exciting about that last game was we were able to get hold of a tactic and the players really made a big push." The 2014 and 15 seasons are big ones for Canadian womens soccer. In August, the world under-20 tournament will be held in four cities -- Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal and Toronto. Then in 2015, Canada will host the womens World Cup with games in Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg. And following Canadas stirring bronze medal victory at the 2012 London Summer Games, there will be plenty of expectations on the national teams shoulders in 2015. That fact certainly isnt lost on Herdman, who said the squad has a definite plan in place. "Its always been said Canadians are great in the power phase, theyre good at defending and theyre good at the counter-attack," he said. "But the ability to control and develop possession through the thirds of the pitch, thats the strand thats been missing. "Weve put a massive amount of focus in that and at times it has been to our detriment. We couldve went into the England game and said, Look, well drop a deep block, well launch it from the keeper every time we get it because the only focus is about winning the tournament, but we didnt. We played our way." Herdman said playing their way meant a definite eye to the future and not just another solid Cyprus Cup showing. "If we were going to win the tournament, we were going to win it a certain way that would also help us be more successful against teams in the womens World Cup playing a brand these girls wanted to be recognized for," Herdman said. "Even after we went up 2-1 against the Irish, the girls were still doing things trying to play a certain style of football where normally youd try to kill a game off. "At this stage of our development I think thats OK but when it comes down to the World Cup, well be in a stage where we know how to play those games like we did at the Olympics." So for Herdman, his measurement for success at the Cyprus Cup goes way beyond wins and losses. "I think we definitely got better, our statistics were way better than theyve ever been," he said. "There are things we wanted to work on post-Olympics to get the team ready for 2015 and those have improved. "Its just now chemistry and understanding when we play our way how that fits against the models of other teams. Weve got a year-and-a-half to figure all that out and get the plans ready." Cheap Real Air Max . "Im not even that added up," the 39-year-old Australian replied. And to the Hall of Famers surprise, when all the math was done Sunday in the JTBC Founders Cup, she was the one posing for pictures with the big trophy. Wholesale Air Max . "I have had no discussions with Chad Johnson or his representation," Popp said Friday in an email. However, he appeared to confirm a report on Twitter from TSN this week that Johnson was on Montreals negotiation list. https://www.airmaxchina.us/. More importantly, he is trying to show his young teammates the Colorado are still post-season contenders. He hopes winning a series at home was a fresh start. Air Max Sale . Hemsky left the Oilers Tuesday night loss to the Dallas Stars in the second period and did not return. Through 48 games this season, Hemsky has seven goals and a total of 24 points. Discount Air Max . Beanballs were the theme Friday night as the Red Sox and Rays had another AL East rumble, with Boston earning a 3-2 victory on A.CALGARY -- The unbeaten Calgary Stampeders appear to have a favourable matchup this Friday when they host a winless Hamilton Tiger-Cats team missing its starting quarterback, but middle linebacker Juwan Simpson is taking nothing for granted. Watch the Stampeders vs. Tiger-Cats live tonight on TSN and TSN GO at 10pm et/7pm pt. "Everybody asks us if were going to take this game lightly and we cant because its the field of unknown," said Simpson in regards to the Ticats (0-2), who will be without several key starters including quarterback Zach Collaros. Jeremiah Masoli will make his first career CFL start at quarterback for the Ticats in place of Collaros, whos out of the lineup with head and back injuries after being flattened by a helmet hit to the chin by Eskimos linebacker Odell Willis in the second quarter of Hamiltons 28-24 road loss to Edmonton on July 4. "I dont feel like Im just being thrown in there," said Masoli, whos in his second CFL season. "Ive been preparing for this for a while now. I feel prepared and confident." Hamilton coach Kent Austin has confidence that Masoli can get the job done. "Hes excited," Austin said. "We have really high expectations for our quarterbacks like other teams do, and Jeremiah knows that and understands that and he embraces that. Its not like he hasnt been in big situations before. Hes a pretty laid back player and has a great perspective. Hes very endearing to his teammates." Masoli took over for Collaros in Edmonton and completed 5-of-15 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown to go with three turnovers -- an interception and two fumbles. "He had a tough outing, but hes a very accurate thrower, can move in the pocket, has good vision down the field, can extend plays - all the things you want in a quarterback," said Calgary coach and general manager John Hufnagel. "They do have changes especially at the quarterback position, but they have done creative things with their quarterbacks in the past and theyve substituted in and out." Hufnagel praised his defensive co-ordinator Rich Stubler for doing his homework to prepare the Stamps (2-0) for whatever the Ticats will throw at them. "Hes tried to prepare the football team defensively to see all kinds of things," Hufnagel said. "You just have to play your scheme and react to what they present to you." Both teams have key injuries as Hamiltton will be without linebackers Simoni Lawrence and Rico Murray along with left tackle Joel Figueroa (all lower body), while running back Jon Cornish is still out of Calgarys lineup with a concussion along with linebacker Deron Mayo (groin strain), defensive back Keon Raymond (thigh bruise) and receiver Maurice Price (broken hand).dddddddddddd "You just fill in and reload," Simpson said. "When you get to this level, everybodys capable no matter how deep you go on the depth chart. Its not like high school where if one player goes down, thats it for the team. Were very fortunate to have depth." Due to the injuries to Raymond and Mayo, Lin-J Shell and Glenn Love will be elevated to starter status for the Stamps. "I expect good things from both of them," Simpson said. "Theyre both smart guys and good football players." Receiver Jeff Fuller is coming off his best outing with Stamps during Calgarys 34-15 win over the Argonauts in Toronto and hes looking forward to continuing his progress against Hamilton. "It was a good win, but weve just got to keep building on it," said Fuller, who hauled in a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell against the Argos. "Im looking forward to a big game this week. I felt like we had a good week of preparation, even though it was a short week." Mitchell commended offensive co-ordinator Dave Dickenson for getting the Stamps ready to take on the Ticats. "Dicky is one of those guys whos not going to hold anything back," said Mitchell, who had an impressive outing in Toronto when he threw four TD passes. "He makes sure that were all ready to do anything that we can do on offence. We have a lot of things that we can do - a lot of misdirection. We have a lot of guys to throw to. We dont ever focus on one person." For the Ticats to be successful against the Stamps, theyll have to concentrate on stopping Mitchell, who completed 16-of-24 passes for 267 yards against the Argos. "Bo definitely brings some energy to the field," said Hamilton nose tackle Brian Bulcke, who played two years for the Stamps before signing with the Ticats prior to last season. "Thats something I noted my years here. As a defensive line, having guys like (Eric) Norwood and (Brandon) Boudreaux on the edge to chase him down I think is really important, so were just trying to get those guys fired up." ' ' '