SYDNEY, Australia – Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz earned a historic draw against powerhouses France but lost captain and main striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, after the Manchester City superstar was sent off in the dying moments of the nil-draw at Allianz Stadium here Sunday.
In their opening Group F game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Jamaica rode their luck throughout, watching as Kadidiatou Diani rattled the crossbar in the final minute in the 90th minute.
Seconds later, Shaw picked up her second yellow card for a lunging tackle on captain and center back Wendie Renard, leaving Jamaica without their best player for next Saturday’s fixture against Panama in Perth.
“Bunny’s massive for us. She’s our captain, she’s our leader,” said Reggae Girl midfielder Drew Spence, who plays for Tottenham Hotspurs in England’s Super League.
“I know she’s probably feeling down right now but this is football and sometimes these things happen. Most importantly, we need to step up and win for her against Panama.
“Without her, we wouldn’t have got this result against France. She’s an incredible player but we have other great players in our team and people can come in and do a job. We’ll give everything to win for Bunny on Saturday.”
Diani troubled Jamaica throughout the first half, forcing a low save from goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer in the 36th minute, Renard coming close to scoring from the resulting corner from Amel Majri.
Jamaica’s best chance of the game came in the 41st minute courtesy of Shaw, the 26-year-old blasting a well-directed free kick from nearly 30 yards out which goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin did well to parry around the upright, diving at full stretch.
And on the stroke of half-time, Diani nearly broke the deadlock, her shot deflecting from the leg of center back Chantelle Swaby and going wide of goal.
With France pinning back the Caribbean side, Diani was once again guilty of spurning another chance, this time heading wide from substitute Kenza Dali’s pinpoint cross in the 67th minute.
With time ticking away, Diani could only find the woodwork with her header, under pressure from the sister center back pair of Chantelle and Allyson Swaby, before Shaw got her marching orders soon after.
