Courtney Brosnan put in an impressive player of the match performance, however, she still ended up on the losing side as Ireland went down 1-0 in France.
The goalkeeper made a string of vital saves throughout the 90-minute contest in Metz as Ireland opened their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign with a narrow loss.
And having conceded an early goal to the world number three-ranked side, Brosnan knew the onus was on her to keep her side in the game throughout the remainder of the contest.
As the game entered the latter stages, Brosnan's heroics ensured that Ireland were in a position to go after the home side and attempt to snatch an unlikely draw in the final ten minutes.
A positive finish to the game for Ireland, aided by Megan Campbell’s incredible throw-taking ability, which finally saw the France defence having to deal with some sustained pressure, however, the home side would hold on and Ireland left emptyhanded.
"We were disappointed to concede early but we’re really proud of the performance, especially in the second half," said Brosnan, speaking to RTE Sport after the game.
"We came out and we were better on the ball and created loads of chances, so we have to take those positive things into Tuesday and be ready to go against another top side, England."
Courney Brosnan post-match interview
"I’m always disappointed when we concede, because that is what we are good at," she added, in relation to the early Marie-Antoinette Katoto goal, which proved to be the matchwinner.
"We keep clean sheets and we are hard to break down, so it was tough to concede so early, but I’m really proud of how the girls responded and how we stayed in it and we were pushing to get something at the end."
Brosnan attracted the ire of the crowd throughout for apparent timewasting, which was eventually punished by referee, who brandished the keeper with a yellow card midway through the second half.
"I don’t think so," she laughed, when asked about the timewasting charge. "I don’t think you can timewaste when you are losing, that’s what I said to the ref.
"But we’re trying to get results, it’s a competitive game so I’m doing everything I can to help us get points, get results, so yeah, I’ll take the yellow card."
"I always talk about it, just fulfilling my role for the team, whether it’s one save or twenty saves, I want to keep us in games, and I know we are good enough to get results against these teams, so we’ll take that into Tuesday and be ready to go against England."
