It was a good result, even if it wasn't a good result.
A good result would have been a point (or, as some foolishly dared to dream, three) against the reigning World Cup champions in Canada's Olympic opener. On the other hand, a bad result would have been a blowout, the sort of physical and psychological dissection Canada underwent at the hands of France at last summer's World Cup.
In the end, there was no shame in a one-goal loss to a technically gifted team such as Japan, especially considering how important goal differential could be in the coming week.
Still, the final score line presents an eerie parallel to the 2011 World Cup. Back then, Canada gave it their all in a valiant 2-1 loss to the host Germans -- but had nothing left for their subsequent games. Can we expect a similar fate to befall Big Red in this tournament?
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The dreamers would give a resounding "no!", while the cynics will surely snap back with an unrepentant "of course". And both sides would have a leg to stand on, after Wednesday's loss to Japan.
The health of Candace Chapman will have a huge part to play in determining which side is proven correct. The veteran centreback had to be helped off the field late in the match after going down on her own. As of this writing, there's no official word on the nature or severity of Chapman's injury. But losing Chapman's poise and experience on the back line would be a massive blow, particularly with fellow centreback Emily Zurrer also nursing an injury.
Head coach John Herdman also has a big decision to make in goal, after Erin McLeod got the somewhat-surprising nod against Japan, ahead of Herdman's presumed #1 Karina LeBlanc. A disastrous decision by McLeod -- needlessly coming off her line to play a cross, but missing it -- just before the half gifted Japan with its second goal. A third nearly followed shortly after the break; had Lauren Sesselmann not swooped in to clear off the goal line, we could indeed have seen a repeat of Canada's complete unraveling against France in 2011.
Instead, we saw some fight from the Canadians. Decent strings of early possession descended into a lot of boot-and-chase once Japan took the lead, but one of the rare exceptions was a bursting run down the right side from Rhian Wilkinson, deftly finished by Melissa Tancredi. With teams knowing to triple-team Christine Sinclair the moment she's near the ball, Tancredi's form will be another massive determinant of Canada's fate, so her finish against Japan should serve as a boost for her and her teammates.
Canada, unsurprisingly, demonstrated its size and strength advantage on Wednesday, as well as some good defensive organization and awareness, routinely breaking up potential Japanese attacks. Desiree Scott and Sophie Schmidt were, equally unsurprisingly, heavily involved here, while Kaylyn Kyle also put in a good performance. It was just that other part of the game -- y'know, actually getting the ball forward -- where Canada fell flat, either due to a lack of options or poorly played passes.
Herdman could be forgiven, on the day, if he'd borrowed a well-worn instruction from his men's national team counterpart, Stephen Hart: "Ideas! Ideas!"
Presumably, Canada will get the chance to showcase a bit more forward-moving flair against the lowly South African side on Saturday. At least, they'd better. If this tournament indeed mirrors last year's World Cup, and Big Red loses its second group-stage game 4-0, then it might be time to ban the sport of soccer in Canada entirely.
Alright, that's a bit harsh. Maybe.
But at some point, if this generation of Canadian players is to finally fully prove what they are capable of, good results must become good results. The likes of Sinclair, Tancredi, Wilkinson and Diana Matheson have only a few more years as the core of this squad. While a narrow loss to the world champs may count as a moral victory, moral victories don't win trophies (or medals). The overuse of the phrase "must-win" is a real irritant, but Saturday's showdown with South Africa sure feels like one.
We believe, of course, that can could win. They can win. They should win. We've felt that way for years.
By Saturday afternoon, let's hope we're saying they did win.
And let's, for now, not even consider the alternative.
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