Women’s UEFA Nations League Group B1: Republic of Ireland 3 Northern Ireland 0
NORTHERN Ireland’s new manager Tanya Oxtoby got a ruthless snapshot of just how far her players must travel to reach the level of Saturday’s conquerors Republic of Ireland.
Dwarfed by the sheer awesomeness of the Aviva Stadium, not to mention their hosts’ superior athleticism and quality in most areas of the pitch, the affable Aussie knows that not every UEFA Nations League exam will be as tough as this one.
Albania at Seaview on Tuesday night holds out the hope of a better, more encouraging outcome for the north while their southern counterparts travel to Hungary with a spring in their step in the inaugural Nations League.
The 3-0 score-line didn’t flatter the Republic one bit with the impressive Lucy Quinn breaking the visitors’ resistance in the 31st minute following a deflected effort from the edge of the penalty area.
They had to wait until the 70th minute for their second goal through American-born Kyra Carusa who took full advantage of a terrible defensive mix-up between ‘keeper Shannon Turner and Rebecca Holloway.
It was Carusa’s third goal in 16 appearances for Ireland.
And with five minutes remaining, substitute Lily Agg headed home from Katie McCabe’s corner to put more justifiable daylight between the sides.
In a landmark clash between the two ‘Irelands’, a record crowd of 35,944 turned up in the capital to welcome their World Cup heroes.
Up until Saturday’s tie, the Republic women’s team had been playing their home games at the much smaller Tallaght Stadium – but given the huge and decidedly noisy turn-out, the Aviva Stadium seems to suit Eileen Gleeson’s team just fine.
After all the World Cup hoo-ha, the mud-slinging, the pointed emojis, Vera Pauw’s controversial departure and Diane Caldwell’s incendiary press conference earlier in the week that picked apart the Dutch coach’s shortcomings, this turned out to be the perfect fixture for the Republic.
On paper, there was a yawning gap in quality and so it proved on the pitch on Saturday.
Full of honest endeavour, the visitors never really laid a glove on their hosts as McCabe, debutant Caitlan Hayes of Celtic, Lucy Quinn and Tyler Toland all caught the eye for the home side.
“They’re a good team,” Oxtoby acknowledged in the mixed zone afterwards.
“They’ve got amazing players in their team – you plug one hole and another one pops up. But when we kept giving the ball away in the first half, it made it very difficult…”
In fairness to Northern Ireland’s new manager, the team’s preparations probably felt a little bit microwaved.
“I saw enough that the girls can take things on in a short space of time and try and apply them,” Oxtoby said.
“I’m happy with where we’re at but we’ve a long way to go – the players know that and the staff know that, but this is just the first step in that process.
“It’s hard when you’ve only four sessions to try and get everything in… I think in the second half we looked to try and retain possession [better] once we got it back – it’s something we spoke about all week – I don’t think we did that well enough in the first half.
“I thought we looked a bit nervous, and I asked them to be a bit braver and we had some really good spells of possession in the second half.”
Abbie Magee, Rachel Furness, Sarah McFadden and Demi Vance had good spells for the north – but they were fighting fires all over the pitch.
Everything that McCabe did at left wing-back for Ireland had quality written all over it. And Carusa selfless running eventually had a demoralising effect on Northern Ireland’s central defenders which resulted in that second goal for the home side.
As she walked behind the goal after being substituted late in the game, Carusa thumped her chest and applauded the Irish fans.
The connection the Irish players share with the ever expanding Green Army is as authentic as any relationship between the pitch and the stands.
“Playing at home is like playing with a 12th player on the pitch – and I don’t mean showing up and having a ticket for the game - they are as much part of it as we are. And to celebrate that moment with everyone in the stadium, I just couldn’t keep it in. It was momentous, it’s historic.”
Player ratings
Republic of Ireland
Courtney Brosnan: Ireland’s best player at the World Cup, she was a virtual spectator at the Aviva. 6
Heather Payne: Solid shift down Ireland’s right side before making way in the second half. 6
Katie McCabe: Quality written over her display down Ireland’s left side. Two of her set pieces led to goals. 7
Louise Quinn: Had very little to do but kept a good high line. 6
Diane Caldwell: Competent without being stretched at any time. 6
Caitlan Hayes: An encouraging debut and looks a certain starter. 7
Tyler Toland: Player of the match and never put a foot wrong on the left side of midfield. 7.5
Denise O’Sullivan: Ireland’s answer to Iniesta. Full of invention. 7
Lucy Quinn: Got one goal and unlucky with another effort before the break. 7
Kyra Carusa: Did brilliantly for her goal. Led the line well. 7
Subs:
Abbie Larkin: A couple of good moments. 6
Amber Barrett: Made some good runs but didn’t receive the final pass. 5
Lily Agg: Headed in Ireland’s third. 6
Emily Whelan: Not on long enough to be rated.
Izzy Atkinson: Not on long enough to be rated.
Northern Ireland
Shannon Turner: Culpable for Ireland’s second goal. Stranded and it cost the north. 6
Abbie Magee: Typically solid display with plenty of trouble coming down her flank. 6.5
Demi Vance: Showed quality in possession and defended well. 6
Rebecca Halloway: Worked hard but Carusa edged their duel. 5
Sarah McFadden: Cleared one effort off the line and had plenty of defending to do. 6.5
Rachel Furness: Showed a few glimpses in possession but was outmuscled in the middle. 6
Caragh Hamilton: Her GPS stats must be off the scale. Plenty of perspiration. 6
Marissa Callaghan: One of the few Northern players who was brave on the ball. 6
Emily Wilson: Never effected the game as she tried to contain Ireland’s right side. 5
Joely Andrews: Battled gamely with little reward. 5
Simone Magill: A quality operator but not supported well enough in attack. 6
Subs:
Lauren Wade: Never saw much of the ball. 5
Nadene Caldwell: Gave the north fresh legs. 5
Chloe McCarron: Not on long enough to be rated.
Laura Rafferty: Not on long enough to be rated.
