Friendly match | The Canadians win 5-1 against the South Koreans

(Murcia) Marie-Yasmine Alidou and Olivia Smith scored and the Canadian women’s Soccer team capped a tumultuous year by crushing South Korea 5-1 in a friendly match on Tuesday.

The Canadians, ranked sixth in the world, led 1-0 at halftime after an own goal from South Korea. Alidou then doubled his team’s lead with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area which landed just under the crossbar, in the 52nd^e minute. It was the second goal in five appearances (and three starts) for Alidou, who plays for Portuguese club Benfica.

Smith made it 3-0 six minutes later, after weaving around two defenders before firing a sharp low shot into the opposite corner of the South Korean net.

South Korea closed the gap to 3-1 in the 76th^e minute, when Lee Hyok-yeong skillfully redirected a header behind the Canadian goalkeeper.

Vanessa Gilles gave the Maple Leaf representatives a three-goal cushion with a header from a corner kick two minutes later, then reserve Adriana Leon scored her 41^e career goal for Canada in stoppage time.

Canada ended the year with a 9-0-7 record on the international stage, and three of those ties turned into shootout losses – to Germany in the quarterfinals of the Games tournament. Olympic Games in Paris, and against the United States in the final of the SheBelieves Cup and in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup.

Tuesday’s match marked the end of a tumultuous year in which reigning Olympic champions Canada was caught spying at the Paris Olympics, landing Soccer Canada in hot water once again.

Under-20 coach Cindy Tye took over as interim coach during the November international window, which Canada began Friday with a 0-0 draw against No. 13 Iceland.

“We set a goal to finish the year strong, and I’m very pleased with how they responded,” Tye said.

Soccer Canada is looking for its next head coach after Bev Priestman was fired following the spying revelations at the Paris Olympics. Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi are currently serving one-year suspensions imposed by FIFA-Lombardi has already resigned from her position with Soccer Canada.