Our senior women, with Vera Pauw at the helm, suffered a significant setback and bitter disappointment as they conceded an equaliser in the third minute of added time in their 2021 European Championship qualifier against Greece at the Nea Smyrna Stadium in Panionios on Tuesday afternoon. Ireland were totally dominant throughout the first half and took the lead on 13 minutes through Amber Barrett. However, despite creating several opportunities, we were unable to add a second goal. Further opportunities were created in the second half but again we failed to capitalise on any of them. The inability to take even a few of the chances created is something that seems to haunt Irish teams across the board. This was a match which should have been won and the failure to do so may prove detrimental to our chances of first time qualification for the Championship finals.
Team:
Marie Hourihane; Julie-Ann Russell, Diane Caldwell, Louise Quinn, Katie McCabe(C); Jamie Finn, Niamh Fahey; Leanne Kiernan, Denise O’Sullivan, Emily Whelan; Amber Barrett
Substitutes:
Keeva Keena for Russell 46′
Stephanie Roche for Barrett 83′
P W D L F A Pts
Germany 4 4 0 0 31 0 12
Ireland 3 2 1 0 6 3 7
Greece 3 1 1 1 5 6 4
Montenegro 3 0 0 3 0 16 0
Ukraine 3 0 0 3 2 19 0
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Marie Hourihane(SC Brags), Grace Moloney(Reading), Niamh Reid-Burke(Peamount United)
Defenders: Diane Caldwell(SC Sand), Keeva Keena(Glasgow Celtic), Chloe Mustaki(Shelbourne), Eabha O’Mahoney(Cork City), Claire O’Riordan(MSV Duisberg), Louise Quinn(Arsenal), Claire Walsh(Peamount United)[injury withdrawal]
Midfielders: Niamh Fahey(Liverpool), Jamie Finn(Shelbourne), Hayley Nolan(University of Hartford), Denise O’Sullivan(North Carolina Courage), Stephanie Roche(CF Florentia), Tyler Toland(Manchester City), Jessica Ziu(Shelbourne)
Forwards: Amber Barrett(FC Koln), Rianna Jarrett(Wexford WFC), Leanne Kiernan(West Ham United), Katie McCabe(Arsenal), Julie-Ann Russell(Sydney University), Clare Shine(Glasgow City), Emily Whelan(Shelbourne)