Steph Catley’s penalty on 53 minutes was enough to give the hosts a nervy win, as Ireland pressed right up to the final whistle for an equaliser
Ireland’s World Cup kicked off with a heartbreaking defeat - but with a performance that can give Vera Pauw’s side great hope heading into their remaining Group B games against Canada and Nigeria.Megan Connolly came the closest to earning the Girls in Green a point with a free-kick that deflected narrowly over the bar.But the hosts did just about enough to kick off their campaign with a win, despite a pre-match shock to their team selection.
This included a First Nations display and the unfurling on-field of an endless supply of flags and banners, a light show and loud music that tried, but failed, to drown out the ‘Ole, Ole, Ole’ chant that went up behind the goal defended in the first-half by Courtney Brosnan. The teams finally emerged and stood shoulder-to-shoulder on either side of the halfway line, and then it was time for the anthems.
And as expected, they went at the right-hand-side of the Irish defence. The plan was to get Cortnee Vine one-on-one with Heather Payne and they managed it on a couple of occasions.And when they did find Vine, Payne stood up to the challenge. She blocked an early cross and moments later, when Vine’s excellent first-touch got her inside the wing-back, Niamh Fahey was alert to clear the danger.
While the Aussies dominated play, when Ireland got their foot on the ball they weren’t afraid to advance.At one point late in the first-half, she helped Payne dispossess Caitlin Foord and then, under pressure from the Arsenal forward, backheeled the ball to Payne, who cleared. Foord’s 20-yard shot was blocked by Quinn on 35 minutes and Katrina Gorry, with the hosts’ first shot on target, deep in first-half injury-time, aimed straight at Brosnan.
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