England strike late to topple Canada

Ellen White's last-gasp header secured UEFA Women's EURO 2013 hopefuls England a 1-0 victory against Canada in Rotherham and extended their unbeaten run to ten matches.

Hope Powell's team prevailed by the same scoreline to pip Canada to the Cyprus Cup last month, and the confidence harnessed from that triumph sowed the seeds for an enterprising display which bore fruit a minute into added time.

Alex Scott's penchant for lung-bursting forays forward almost paid dividends on the half-hour mark. Collecting White's intelligent pass, the full-back's skewed effort was blocked on the line and Eniola Aluko drove the rebound straight at goalkeeper Erin McLeod. Tiffany Cameron came closest for the visitors, meanwhile, taking receipt of Christine Sinclair's through ball and stinging the palms of Karen Bardsley.

England resumed with the same authority after the break. Substitute Jordan Nobbs fired narrowly over from Aluoko's tee-up, and Fara Williams was expertly denied when one-on-one with McLeod after White had skewered the Canada back line. Undeterred, the hosts continued to probe and finally shattered the away team's resistance when White turned in Williams' sliced shot at the death.

"We cancelled each other out," said England stalwart Rachel Yankey, who equalled Peter Shilton's England appearance record of 125 caps. "I'd wanted a more attacking game from both sides with loads of goals, but it was good. To get a last-minute winner, we can't complain. We have to remember Canada are one of the top ten teams in the world, and to beat them twice consecutively shows the consistency of the team – and that's what we want going into a major tournament."