Heartache for Ireland as two late goals and an incredible goal-line clearance rob them of a result against France
IRELAND 1 (McCabe 12) - 2 FRANCE (Malard 71, 79)It took France 71 minutes to finally quack Ireland open - as super-sub Melvine Malard led a Tallaght Stadium comeback.And a sensational goalline clearance from Marie-Antoinette Katoto denied Denise O’Sullivan a last-gasp equaliser as the Girls in Green pushed desperately for a deserved share of the spoils.The celebrations at the end from the French bench and players told the story of this one.They knew they got away with a win they scarcely merited, but secured thanks to two moments of clinical magic by their Manchester United star.Trailing to Katie McCabe’s early opener, the visitors turned to the bench and brought on Malard, who needed just two minutes to find the net.She followed that up eight minutes later with a goal to break Irish hearts, and condemn Carla Ward’s side to a cruel defeat.This was a wonderfully bright performance by the Girls in Green against one of the best teams on the planet right now, regardless of the injuries that robbed France of some star names.The depth of quality within the French set-up ensured that head coach Laurent Bonadei still had 11 top-class players in his starting line-up.Yet they were on the back-foot early on, penned in by a surprisingly aggressive Irish opening.Emily Murphy’s pace will be the subject of nightmares for the French defenders for nights to come, while Denise O’Sullivan looked as sharp as ever.She said after moving from North Carolina Courage to Liverpool recently that her international form would benefit from the lack of jetlag.And she covered every blade of grass last night, shrugging off an early knee injury that required some strapping.But it was McCabe - who else - with the moment that mattered after just 12 minutes, as she fired Ireland into a deserved lead in front of 8,376 fans, a record Tallaght Stadium attendance for a women’s international.The Gunners ace, just inside the French half, sent the ball down the left flank towards Murphy, and continued her run as the Newcastle forward cut inside.With a delightful reverse pass, Murphy found McCabe, who didn’t have to break stride as she shot first time across Picaud and inside the far post for her 32nd senior Ireland goal.Two minutes later, McCabe found herself joining De Almeida in the referee’s notebook for a foul on the French full-back.De Almeida had picked up a third minute booking for a foul on Murphy, who was barrelling towards the area courtesy of an O’Sullivan through ball.The resulting free-kick was well struck by Megan Connolly, but equally impressive was replacement goalkeeper Constance Picaud’s save.In for injured Juventus net-minder Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, she pushed the ball wide of goal.The French stopper did well again on 11 minutes to deny Murphy, who controlled Patten’s pass and took aim for the bottom right-hand corner.While the visitors began to dominate possession midway through the first-half, they rarely threatened Courtney Brosnan’s goal.It was a similar story in the second-half, and only for a full-stretch Picaud save on 58 minutes they would have been two-behind. She did well to palm Caitlin Hayes’ header away.But then came Malard and Melween N’Dongala as a double-substitution, and within minutes of her introduction the Red Devils forward found the net.She picked up possession just outside the area and slalomed her way past a couple of challenges, before she slotted the ball low inside the right-hand post.Her second was into the same corner, this time after some pinball inside the Irish area.The reaction of Ward’s players was impressive, as they piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser.McCabe appealed in vain for a handball inside the box and O’Sullivan was somehow robbed by that most remarkable goalline clearance.Heartache for the Irish, but they have little time to lick their wounds, as it’s onto the Netherlands for their next qualifier on Saturday.Ireland: Courtney Brosnan; Anna Patten, Caitlin Hayes, Chloe Mustaki; Aoife Mannion, Denise O’Sullivan, Megan Connolly (Amber Barrett 85), Marissa Sheva, Katie McCabe; Emily Murphy, Kyra Carusa (Abbie Larkin 70).France: Constance Picaud; Elisa De Almeida (Melween N’Dongala 69), Thiniba Samoura, Maelle Lakrar, Perle Morroni (Melvine Malard 69); Grace Geyoro, Oriane Jean-Francois, Sakina Karchaoui; Kadidiatou Diani, Clara Mateo (Marie-Antoinette Katoto 46), Sandy Baltimore.Referee: Tess Olofsson (Sweden)ENDS
