Ireland strike positive tone despite heavy opening World Cup defeat to the Netherlands

Netherlands 5 Ireland 1

Trying to find some positives from a 5-1 defeat might seem like a tough ask, but a typically upbeat Irish camp was insistent after their World Cup opener against the Netherlands on Saturday that they’d produced enough in the game to put them in good spirits going in to Tuesday’s critical pool meeting with Chile.

“The scoreline doesn’t necessarily tell the tale of the game,” said captain Katie Mullan. “We had them at 2-1 and were under their skin. We dominated in patches and I am extremely proud of the defensive effort out there, there are so many positives for us to take from it into the next one.”

While Mullan was stretching it to claim that Ireland dominated in patches, they did manage to frustrate the Dutch until their second-half goal-burst saw them score three in five minutes to end the game as a contest.

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Before then, though, the tournament favourites, who beat Ireland 6-0 in the 2018 final, had struggled to break down the Irish defence, failing to convert any of their seven first-half penalty corners. That was thanks in part to Ayeisha McFerran’s goalkeeping and gutsy defending at set-pieces by Sarah Torrans and Sarah McAuley, among others.

By upending Maria Verschoor in the circle, though, McFerran conceded the 16th-minute penalty stroke that Frédérique Matla converted to break the deadlock.

Still, it was only 1-0 at half-time, and against the reigning Olympic champions, who are seeking their third World Cup in a row, in front of a 9,000 crowd at Amsterdam’s Wagener Stadium, that was no mean feat.

Not least because four Irish players – Caoimhe Perdue, who started, and Charlotte Beggs, Katie McKee and Christina Hamill, who came off the bench – were making their official debuts, just five of the team surviving from the 2018 World Cup adventure.

Combined, they put up a gutsy defensive display while offering little in attack, Torrans’s reverse strike, which went wide of the left post, their only first half effort on goal.

The Dutch finally found their penalty-corner range early in the third quarter when Yibbi Jansen fired home, but a classic Róisín Upton drag halved the 2-0 deficit in the 36th minute, Michelle Carey earning what proved to Ireland’s only penalty corner of the game. It was Ireland’s first goal against the Netherlands in eight meetings.

But that’s when the home side stepped it up, Sabine Plonissen converting a penalty corner (40th minute), Matla putting away her second stroke of the game (43rd) after McFerran felled Felice Albers, before Maria Verschoor scored their first goal from play with a bullet of a reverse strike (45th).

Like Mullan, though, coach Sean Dancer took heart from the performance, the Australian especially enthusiastic about the efforts of the debutantes in what could only be described as the mother of all baptisms of fire.

“It’s really special for the four girls to get their first cap against the Olympic and world champions,” he said. “What an opportunity. I was really proud of them. They stood up and showed they can handle themselves on the big stage. It’s great when you can see young kids come in and make an impact from the start against world-class players. I am really excited about the future ahead for them.”

Ireland must finish in the top three of the four-team pool if they are to progress in the tournament, so Tuesday’s meeting with Chile, the lowest ranked team in the tournament, is key. Germany, who Ireland play in their final pool game on Wednesday, beat Chile 4-1 on Saturday.

IRELAND: A McFerran, H McLoughlin, R Upton, L Tice, E Curran, S Hawkshaw, C Perdue, M Carey, S Torrans, K Mullan (capt), D Duke.

Subs: E Murphy, S McAuley, Z Malseed, N Carroll, C Beggs, K McKee, C Hamill.

NETHERLANDS: A Veenendaal, P Sanders, L Nunnink, S Koolen, R Van Laarhoven, M Van Geffen, X de Waard (capt), F Albers, L Welten, L Leurink, F Matla.

Subs: F Moes, M Keetels, M Verschoor, J Koning, E De Goede, S Plonissen, Y Jansen.

Umpires: H Y Kang (Korea) and M Giddens (USA).