Ireland claim a 2-1 win in the second edition of their Nations League fixtures against Greece at Tallaght Stadium.
THE overarching question was how the Irish team would fare without skipper Katie McCabe who received a second yellow card in a recent match in Crete. Additionally, Kyra Carusa who scored one of Ireland’s 4 goals against Green previously, was not included in the squad due to a quad injury.
The opening goal for the home side came mere minutes into the game. After just seven minutes of play, Aoife Mannion kicked the ball to Leanne Kiernan who, in her quest to find an opening in the Greek defence, was fouled. It was then that a penalty was awarded Ireland’s way and was taken by none other than Amber Barrett fresh off of her 50th international cap last week. With Barrett finishing it off in the bottom corner, Ireland were in the lead.
Even though Ireland dominated much of the first half, Greece still produced formidable opponents such as Veatriki Sarri, who made several runs down the pitch.
As the second half kicked off, Ireland were hungry for another goal and much like their opener, a goal would come early. Four minutes in, a corner by Meghan Campbell was headed into the net by Anna Patten, solidifying the Irish lead.
With Ireland seemingly having the advantage, many were keen for a win on the scale of last week’s 4-0 triumph. However, Greece were able to come back from obscurity when Sarri kicked the ball through Tyler Toland’s legs, getting it past Irish keeper and her fellow Everton teammate, Courtney Brosnan.
Even though it was a win by fewer goals than their previous clash, in doing so, Ireland were able to claim three points allowing them to progress further in their Nations League campaign before once again taking on Slovenia in June.
Mannion, named player of the match, told RTE Sport about how her team could improve going forward. “We got the job done, we got the three points and that’s the most important thing for the next round of games."
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