IRELAND claimed a whopping 4-0 win in the first part of their Nations League header against Greece.
Away at Greece’s Stadio Thódoros Vardinoyánnis, Ireland were looking to emerge victorious following their last international fixture where they succumbed to a defeat against Slovenia in February.
The starting lineup was one of stark contrast to who normally occupy a place on the roster. For one, captain Katie McCabe started on the bench due to a calf strain she had picked up while playing in Arsenal’s Champions League fixture against Real Madrid. Similarly, Liverpool’s Leanne Kiernan, who is usually someone who comes on the pitch later on in international games, was also included to start.
While Ireland would eventually go on to command control of the game, Greece dominated possession at the start of the first half, with Ioanna Papatheodorou in particular, giving goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan a lot to work with.
Things turned around for the girls in green mere minutes into the second half when Sunderland’s Marissa Sheva came off the bench and took a shot on goal that was double deflected by the Greek defence before landing in the net.
Captain McCabe also made her mark on the pitch when she came off the bench floating the ball into Kiernan whose shot was deflected by the Greek keeper. Kyra Carusa then capitalised on the rebound, making it 2-0 for the visitors.
Twenty-year-old Jessie Stapleton was able to prove her place in Ireland’s starting lineup when she took advantage of a corner by McCabe, scoring the third goal of the game for her country.
Head Coach, Carla Ward spoke to RTÉ Sport about the players' role in the match result.
“I think they’re some players that deserve credit”, she said on Sheva and McCabe in particular.
“I keep saying it, we’ve not had long on the grass, they’re implementing the amount of things that we did in the week that have come to life today, particularly in the second half was great to see.
“But they’ve come on, they’ve made a huge difference and you know, just being able to stretch and play with a little bit more intensity allowed us to dominate the game and I thought the second half was superb.”
As the clock approached 90 minutes, Ireland were sure they would be crowned victors, but in three minutes of overtime things only got better when Amber Barrett, who came on for her 50th cap drove the ball home into the Greek net with 1 more minute of play to spare.
It’s fair to say this is a win Ireland will hope to replicate as they take on Greece once again at Tallaght Stadium on April 8th.
