Republic of Ireland head coach Eileen Gleeson took the positives from her team's gutsy second-half showing against England on Tuesday night, and admitted they are having to learn quickly against elite opposition.
The Lionesses came away from Dublin with a 2-0 win in an entertaining Euro 2025 qualifier. Sarina Wiegman's world No 2-ranked team are the reigning European champions; a star-studded outfit that reached the final of the World Cup last summer.
They looked a class apart in the fist period, but the Girls in Green stuck to their task and created some good chances in a rousing final 20 minutes. A more direct approach, sparked by a few big Megan Campbell throw-ins and the pace of substitute Leanne Kiernan, asked questions of England, who had looked very comfortable for the first hour.
Gleeson was pleased with how her players finished the contest, and outlined the issues Ireland are facing as they try to compete with the likes of England and France in a nightmare qualification group.
"Do we start like that and then we can’t sustain it in the second half when your legs are gone a bit?" she said when reflecting on the improved display on the turnaround.
"Leanne comes off the bench and she gives us a good running option. We try to affect the changes like that - really energetic, really aggressive.
"We had a few chances there where you think, 'oh, go on', and it doesn’t happen. But, yeah, we’re learning all the time and we’re learning against the best in the world."
Ireland didn't create a chance of note in last Friday's 1-0 loss to France in Metz. Against the English, they at least fashioned a few good moments that were sound-tracked by a passionate Lansdowne roar.
They have a double-header against Sweden next, in late May/early June - and Gleeson's thoughts were already turning towards that window after an exhausting week.
"We've played second and third in the world in three days," she said. "It is tough physically but tough mentally. We've been trying to manage that in the camp, managing the cognitive load as well as the physical load.
"In terms of preparing for Sweden, we do a lot with individuals. We will do a debrief in between the camps and then we will have our approach ready for Sweden when the squad is finalised. It is using the in-between time without overloading them at their clubs.
"It is difficult. You get ten days and four training sessions where everyone is involved and have to embed a lot. You have to face the toughest opposition in the world but the girls are up for it. It is learning. We see different players and characteristics and we see again the impact of the bench.
"You learn a lot about players. I thought Aoife Mannion was great tonight, Patsy (Anna Patten), Louise, that whole back line. They were tough."
In the wake of Vera Pauw's departure several players expressed their desire to play a more possession-based game, even against the top sides.
On the evidence of their opening two qualifiers, perhaps a compromise is required to avoid being porous while also posing a threat in the final third.
Gleeson conceded they are trying to get the balance right, but it's not straightforward.
"There's consequences to everything that you do," added Gleeson. "We dropped off, as you saw in the first half, and we had 5-4-1, but even in that phase we need to be better with the crosses.
"Even if they were opening us up a bit, particularly more in the first half, the right side we wanted to be wider than Heather (Payne) and to engage earlier and then for Caitlin (Hayes) to be more assertive and pick up that player coming in.
"We can do better in defending the ball in and then we're not a goal down to begin with. Then in the build-up, we can be better in the build.
"We can be better in all the phases, but like you said, if you drop off there's consequences. You're under a lot of pressure. If you push up, the ball in behind you might get you. It's a game of cat and mouse."
