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Four-goal Ireland ease past Morocco in Marbella

Updated / Monday, 14 Nov 2022 19:02
Megan Campbell celebrates scoring the opening goal against Morocco
Megan Campbell celebrates scoring the opening goal against Morocco

Morocco 0-4 Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland begun their World Cup preparation with a 4-0 friendly win over Morocco in Marbella on Monday evening.

A bright start and finish bookended what was at times a scrappy encounter, but it was the Girls in Green who always possessed that extra bit of quality to ease to victory.

Two goals up in the opening seven minutes, Vera Pauw's side looked on course to open the floodgates, but the energy and tempo that marked the opening 10 minutes soon faded.

For 20 minutes either side of the break the play was a little more laboured, but Ireland's strength told, with Louise Quinn on her 100th international appearance getting on the scoresheet before substitute Kyra Carusa rounded off the scoring in the 79th minute.

Pauw signalled her intent to treat the fixture with one eye firmly fixed on next year's World Cup by starting the strongest team available to her

Hampden Park match-winner Amber Barrett got the nod in the absence of Heather Payne - unavailable due to college commitments in the US - in a formidable looking Irish starting XI.

However Morocco's own line-up was far from full strength, due to the involvement of most of their frontliners in the African Champions League final as AS FAR beat Mamelodi Sundowns 4-0 on Sunday.

Ranked 76th in the world - 52 places below the Girls in Green - Morocco were always going to be up against it and they conceded from Ireland's first attack of the game

Not even two minutes had elapsed before the underdogs found themselves in arrears in a phase of play that started and finished with Campbell.

The Liverpool player launched the first of her trademark long-throw deliveries and from the attempted clearance, Denise O'Sullivan regained possession and slid the ball back outside for Campbell to run onto and curl past Zouhair Assia.

Just six minutes later and the Moroccan goalkeeper was picking the ball out of the net again.

Under all kinds of pressure, Atiq Maryem tripped up McCabe in the box and the Ireland captain dusted herself down to dispatch her penalty.

Ireland were threatening to run riot, but that was to prove the end of the first-half scoring.

Morocco continued to absorb pressure, and in the 18th minute pieced together their first meaningful foray into Irish territory. Salma Amani was at the end of an enterprising counter-attack and should have done much better from the pull-back, dragging her effort wide.

From there, the team in red took much more of a foothold in the contest. Penalty claims for an Irish handball in the area were waived away, while there were jittery moments from a series of corner kicks with Ireland pegged back in their own half and lacking the earlier energy and offensive verve.

Lily Agg attempted to reignite Ireland just after the half hour mark, jinking around three players before her shot was gathered by Assia.

The half petered out somewhat, aside from a crunching challenge on Jamie Finn that earned Sakina Ouzraoui a yellow card.

The Swords woman didn't reappear after the interval, replaced by Abbie Larkin.

Aside from a rasping McCabe free-kick, Ireland struggled to cut open the Moroccan defence, turning the ball over repeatedly against a team that appeared far more assured of itself out of possession.

Management and players alike stressed all week the need for players to lay a World Cup marker down, but a triple substitution by Pauw on the hour mark suggested she was not impressed by the lack of tempo and penetration.

Fittingly, on the day she became a centurion, Quinn got her name on the scoresheet, even if there was a strong element of fortune to it.

The Birmingham City defender got a boot to Salma Amani's attempted clearance and it bounced into the net.

Shortly after an the scoreline had a much more favourable look to it from an Irish perspective as birthday girl Carusa glanced home Aine O'Gorman’s delivery as Ireland ran out comfortable winners.

Republic of Ireland: Brosnan; Finn (Abbie Larkin half-time), Fahey, Quinn, Caldwell (Hayley Nolan 79), Campbell (Chloe Mustaki 62) ; O’Gorman, Agg, O’Sullivan (Aoibheann Clancy 62), McCabe (capt), Barrett (Kyra Carusa 62).

Morocco: Assia Zouhair; Sabbah Seghir, Maryem Atiq, Mrabet Yasmin, Rkia Mazrouai, Nahla Elodie Nakkach (capt) (Ibtissam Bouharat), Sana Daoudi, Sakina Diki Ouzraoui, Sofia Bouftini (Imane Saoud 62), Salma Amani, Anissa Belkasmi.

Referee: Jason Lee Barcelo (Gibraltar)

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