Katie McCabe was understandably devastated following the Republic of Ireland’s 2-1 loss to France at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday night.
“It is a defeat. We didn’t get any points. That’s what it’s all about.”
The captain was both right and wrong in her assessment of the opening World Cup qualifier.
Ireland visibly faded after a monumental effort for 70 minutes when McCabe’s 32nd international goal gave them an early lead before Melvine Malard struck twice in quick succession.
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In response, Carla Ward’s team found the energy reserves to bombard their opponents’ goal until deep into injury time when the ball fell for Denise O’Sullivan. The Liverpool midfielder got her shot away only to see it hit Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s forehead on the French goal line.
A defeat and no points from the opening qualifier is not how this game will be remembered. Ireland were disciplined and well organised, with Emily Murphy and Kyra Carusa continually offering an out ball for the defensive eight to turn clearances into counter-attacking opportunities against a France outfit full of Champions League quality.
“If you remember my first press conference, the one thing I said is that I like my teams to be exciting,” said Ward. “I think we’ve shown that.”
[ Ireland’s bright start dimmed by second-half France braceOpens in new window ]
The English coach had to temper designs to play exciting football after the 4-0 defeat in Slovenia last year when Ward, admittedly, got her tactics and selection wrong.
Against France, the team looked settled, with Murphy’s presence prompting McCabe to make her trademark overlapping runs from left back.
“In that last 10 minutes, we chucked everything at them,” Ward continued. “We really did. You could see that they dropped off there. You saw their reaction at the end. That was huge for them. They didn’t get that easy.
“I said it straight away in the huddle. Don’t be disappointed. That hurts. It stings, it does. But they’ve left everything out there. I actually think that they’ve done the nation proud, I really do.
“And I think that we have to hold on to that,” she added. “We’re not here to make up the numbers, we want to achieve something. I believe that in 14 months, we’ve come an awfully long way on the ball and off the ball. I think we’ve shown that and the players have to hold on to that, because we have to go now and compete again against another top nation.”
Ireland travel to the Netherlands expecting a repeat performance, albeit with a different result, on Saturday night in Utrecht. Also on Tuesday, Poland disrupted the form guide in Nations League Group A2 by drawing 2-2 with the Dutch in Gdansk to heap pressure on Arjan Veurink’s side to overwhelm an Ireland team that drew 0-0 in Nijmegen six years ago.
Five players remain in the squad from that famous World Cup qualifier, with Tyler Toland, McCabe, O’Sullivan and Amber Barrett starting and Leanne Kiernan coming off the bench.
Both Barrett and Kiernan are pushing for a recall up front, but it is unlikely as Murphy has been a revelation for Ireland under Ward. The English-born attacker came through the Chelsea system before four years studying and playing NCAA soccer in America led her to Newcastle United.
“Before the Greece camp [last year] I went to Newcastle to watch Emily play against Sunderland,” said Ward. “I went there to tell her I was leaving her out, but that day she was absolutely superb.
“So she came to see me upstairs thinking that the message would be she’d be left out. So I said to her, ‘I was going to leave you out of the camp because I need to see more. But what I’ve just seen out there today is what we need’. I got on a flight back to Dublin, named her in the squad the next morning and left someone else out.
“She’s been different level since then. She’s come in, got her head down and has been top. She’s 23. Every time she puts on an Ireland shirt, she performs like that.”
There were other notable displays. Caitlin Hayes returned to the centre of defence where she was unflappable against bigger French forwards, while Marissa Sheva covered every blade of grass.
Some concern remains around O’Sullivan’s fitness for Saturday, due to a recurring knee issue, with Ruesha Littlejohn or Toland ready replacements if the vice-captain does not recover in time.
Also, McCabe picked up a yellow card for swiping through Elisa De Almeida, which puts her under the threat of suspension for back-to-back ties against Poland in April that could decide if Ireland are seeded come the World Cup playoffs in October.
“We are sitting bottom at the minute, but there’s a long way to go,” said McCabe. “There’s five more games. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off. I know this team and know the mentality we have. We’ve got every belief that we can go again.”
[ McCabe and O’Sullivan injuries compound France defeatOpens in new window ]
