Russia 3-0 Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland's hopes of qualification to the FIFA 2011 World Cup finals suffered a blow in Krasnoarmeysk on Sunday with a 3-0 defeat to a powerful Russian side.

Russia's goals came from Elena Morozova, Valentina Savchenkova and Olga Petrova at the Rossiyanka Stadium.

Russia, currently ranked 17th place in the FIFA World Rankings, got off to an incredible start.

They almost scored the game's opening goal seconds after the kick-off but to the relief of Irish keeper, Emma Byrne, the ball went over the bar for a goal-kick.

The home team settled quickly and they continued to attack Noel King's side frantically in the opening quarter.

Russia opened the scoring after 12 minutes when midfielder Elena Morozova ran on to a cross-field ball on the right hand side and she powerfully whipped in a cross-come shot which hit the top corner of the net, giving Byrne no chance of keeping it out.

Russia should have doubled their advantage in the 20th minute when a clever through-ball found striker Elena Danilova and as she raced clear on goal.

But Byrne shot off her line and bravely plucked the ball from the lightening-fast attackers feet.

Conceding an early goal to the hosts gave the Irish an added impetus going forward and Aine O'Gorman almost grabbed a stunning goal against the run of play when Katie Taylor picked up the ball in midfield and the Bray native played a pin-point pass to O'Gorman on the right wing.

But as she chased down on goal, her angle narrowed and the shot was just inches over the Russian bar.

Russia doubled their advantage in the 51st minute with a stunning move from the front players.

Elena Fomina gathered the ball just outside the box and she linked up with Savchenkova who evaded the defence and she made no mistake against Byrne from eight yards out as she drilled into the net.

Ireland almost grabbed a goal back in the 66th minute when Meabh de Burca on the right wing, played a cutting pass to Irish striker, Fiona O'Sullivan who beat the offside trap but as she raced through on goal, the keeper managed to dive at her feet and avert the danger.

Minutes later, O'Sullivan was testing the Russian defence once again as she burst into the box, surrounded by the Russian defence.

She was hauled down by her marker but the referee wrongfully awarded Russia a free-out and booked O'Sullivan for diving which now means that she will miss the game in Kazakhstan after picking up her second yellow of the campaign.

Throughout the game, the Irish were under heavy bombard from the Russian attackers, but the defence of Meabh de Burca, Niamh Fahey, Yvonne Tracy and Mary Therese McDonnell were outstanding under the circumstances.

As Ireland searched for a way back into the game in the final moments, Russia ended the contest in the 91st minute with a sublime individual effort from Olga Petrova.

She picked the ball up 30 yards from Ireland's goal and ran at the Irish defence before slotting past Byrne from 10 yards out.

Noel King's side will be keen to get their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track as they travel to Taldykorgan where they will face Kazakhstan on Thursday, 29 October.

Speaking after the game, King said, 'Obviously we are disappointed with the result but Russia are one of the top teams in Europe and they are the number one seed in our group.

'We have been making continuous progress as a team but I feel that the gap between the first and second seeded teams is a difficult one to close.

'While we have been making massive strides with the side, there is no doubt that the top teams in Europe are also improving with experience of their participation in major UEFA and FIFA tournaments.

'I thought that the team performed brilliantly today with their effort and spirit but were just not able to close that gap against a top class side like Russia. That being said, we have an incredibly resilient bunch of girls in the squad who will not be giving up on World Cup qualification until the final kick of the ball in this group,' said King.


Republic of Ireland: Emma Byrne, Meabh de Burca (Shannon McDonnell 73), Mary Therese McDonnell, Niamh Fahey, Yvonne Tracy (Marie Curtin 81), Jemma Connor (Michele O'Brien 73), Ciara Grant, Aine O'Gorman, Kate Taylor, Fiona O'Sullivan, Stefanie Curtis.

Substitutes: Lynn Bradley, Sonya Hughes, Stephanie Roche, Julie Ann Russell.