It was windy, and at times it was sloppy and chippy, but Canada came out a 1-0 winner against New Zealand in an international friendly in Murcia, Spain, on Saturday.
The match was John Herdman's debut as head coach of the men's side after he took over the role from Octavio Zambrano at the start of the year.
With both Canada and New Zealand rebuilding under new coaches, Saturday's contest looked very much the part of a new start for both sides. It was the Kiwis who started off on the front foot, however, with New Zealand putting pressure on the Canadians for much of the opening 15 minutes.
After dealing with high winds and an enthusiastic Kiwi squad during the opening stages, Canada started to assert itself. Led by standout play from Jonathan Osorio and 18-year-old debutant Liam Millar, the Canadians began to look more composed in possession as the half wore on.
Even with the Canadians combining well, it took a "Route 1" play in the second half to give them a payoff for their improved play. A long ball launched from the defence was corralled by forward Tosaint Ricketts behind the Kiwi back line, and the veteran made no mistake in blasting his shot past the onrushing New Zealand goalkeeper.
Ricketts' 54th-minute strike would be the only scoring of the day as both sides came close on several other occasions but couldn't find the back of the net.
Canada will have to wait until the fall for its next action, with the Concacaf Nations League looming for Herdman's squad.