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France rain on Ireland's farewell parade in Tallaght

Updated / Friday, 7 Jul 2023 10:11
Maelle Lakrar (C) wheels away in celbration after scoring her side's third goal
Maelle Lakrar (C) wheels away in celbration after scoring her side's third goal

Republic of Ireland 0-3 France

France rained on the Republic of Ireland's farewell parade at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday night as they swept to a comprehensive 3-0 victory.

The Girls in Green will fly out to Australia for the World Cup in two groups on Friday and Saturday.

They'd hoped to depart on a high. However, having initially acquitted themselves well, they were sucker-punched by three first-half setbacks.

First, Katie McCabe departed with an ankle injury on the half-hour mark; then Maelle Lakrar knocked home a 45th-minute opener after some pinball in the box; and Eugenie Le Sommer rubbed salt into the wounds with a well-taken second goal in stoppage time.

The 7,633 crowd were desperate for an Irish repsonse but it never really came, Lakrar nodding in a third goal in the 61st minute to completely kill the game as a contest.

On a disappointing night, the news that McCabe’s injury is not believed to be serious was the biggest positive.

France - ranked fifth in the world - will go into the tournament as one of the favourites, while Ireland head Down Under with a few things to iron out ahead of their huge group opener against Australia in Sydney on 20 July.

Pauw's preference of playing quality opposition as often as possible has served them well before; they'll hope some harsh lessons from tonight will ultimately benefit the mission to Oz.

Pauw went strong from the off as McCabe, Denise O'Sullivan and Sinead Farrelly all returned to the fold. Marissa Sheva got the nod to play off lone striker Kyra Carusa, while Megan Connolly dropped back to the heart of the defence alongside Louise Quinn and Niamh Fahey.

With a strong wind blowing down from the Dublin Mountains, Ireland started with purpose and aggression.

Payne’s crunching tackle earned Farrelly some space to pick out Carusa with a smart ball, the offside flag letting the visitors off the hook. Pauw’s team looked well balanced; Sheva and Farrelly took turns to offer Carusa support, while McCabe and Payne were good out-balls in the wing-back positions.

Little happened in a needly opening ten minutes before Courtney Brosnan’s long kickout was flicked on by Farrelly, with Carusa racing clear and firing past Pauline Peyraud-Magin. The flag was raised again – and if it looked tight in real time, replays proved the decision was an incorrect one. Carusa was half a yard onside.

Moments later Ireland stitched together a good move down the right. Payne flashed in a low cross but O’Sullivan swiped a shot was off target.

Momentum was building – but it took a major hit when McCabe went down with an ankle injury on 16 minutes. She soldiered on until the half-hour mark before making way for Izzy Atkinson, though the withdrawal was precautionary and Ireland are not overly concerned.

France were gifted a chance in the 25th minute when Brosnan came racing out from her goal to clear – Bacha beat her to it but could only slam her effort from a tight angle into the sidenetting.

The game was drifting towards half-time when Ireland were hit with a devastating one-two.

First, Lakrar skated past Atkinson and lashed in a low cross that bounced off Payne’s instep and fell perfectly for Lakrar to volley home from three yards out.

Then, Karchaoui picked out Le Sommer with a clever pass, and the Lyon forward bent a good finish beyond Brosnan. Those two goals in first-half injury time sucked the energy out of Pauw’s charges, and were compounded by McCabe's withdrawal.

Ireland struggled to rally on the turnaround while Herve Renard’s side increasingly showed just why they’re rated as one of the best teams in the world.

They took the game by the scruff of the neck, the imperious Wendie Renard and Estelle Cascarino locking up Carusa and Sheva to nip any Irish attacks in the bud.

Seven minutes into the second period Kenza Dali slipped in Le Sommer who drove her attempt wide; then Quinn had to bravely head away Bacha’s left-wing cross as Ireland became ragged.

The third goal, when it arrived in the 61st minute, will have hurt Pauw the most. Lakrar - free as a bird in the box - nodded home unchallenged from a corner.

Belief drained from the Girls in Green who looked increasingly disjointed, sorely lacking the power and drive McCabe provides. France on the other hand were fully in the groove and should have notched a fourth when Cascarino slipped in substitute Clara Mateo, who dragged a low effort well wide.

Pauw unloaded her bench in the last 20 minutes as Claire O’Riordan Abbie Larkin, Diane Caldwell, Lily Agg and Aine O’Gorman all got a runout.

But it was one-way traffic. The impressive Bacha prodded a tame attempt into Brosnan’s arms in closing stages and Viviane Asseyi drew a good save from the home stopper just before full-time.

Ireland failed to make a chance of note in a disjointed second-half showing. The quality of the opponents must be acknowledged, but so too should the fact that Ireland lacked cohesion. With the clock ticking, Pauw will be burning the midnight oil to ensure things click when it really matters.

Republic of Ireland: Courtney Brosnan; Heather Payne (Aine O’Gorman 70), Niamh Fahey (Claire O’Riordan 70), Louise Quinn, Megan Connolly (Diane Caldwell 80), Katie McCabe (capt, Izzy Atkinson 31); Denise O’Sullivan, Ruesha Littlejohn (Lily Agg 70), Sinead Farrelly (Abbie Larkin 80), Marissa Sheva; Kyra Carusa

France: Pauline Peyraud-Magnin; Maelle Lakrar (Eve Perisset 75), Estelle Cascarino, Wendie Renard (capt), Sakina Karchaoui (Viviane Asseyi 87); Grace Geyoro (Amel Majri 87), Sandie Toletti, Kenza Dali (Clara Mateo 62; Kadidiatou Diani (Elisa De Almeida 62) , Eugenie Le Sommer (Naomie Feller 75), Selma Bacha

Referee: Kirsty Dowle (England)

Attendance: 7,633

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