Head coach Carla Ward said the Republic of Ireland produced a "completely unacceptable" first-half performance against Slovenia, but insists a chastening evening in Koper will will not change her footballing philosophy.
Ward has aired her desire to liberate the Girls in Green when it comes to keeping hold of the ball and creating more chances. An attacking 4-4-2 setup against the Slovenians signalled that intent, however it spectacularly backfired as the hosts picked Ireland apart on the break.
They were 3-0 up by half-time, forcing Ward into a tactical rethink. Her side improved on the turnaround, but a comeback never looked likely and Slovenia plundered a fourth goal late on.
"The first half was horrible," Ward told RTÉ Sport. "That's on me. I've tried something different, I've tried to get us in positions to create more, and it's not paid off.
"At half-time we had to readjust and in the second half I thought we were much, much better but you can't have a half of football like that and expect to win the game.
"We can take mistakes, but then the reaction to those mistakes is what I'm looking at. That was probably the biggest message at half-time, we had to tactically adjust as well. It's a horrible night but what I would say is, it's a huge learning curve at the minute.
"I'm asking them to do different things. It's my job to get that right and I think it's important that I take that pressure off the players because, yes they go out there, but I'm giving them the message."
Asked whether she might consider amending her approach after Ireland also laboured to a 1-0 win over Turkey last Friday, Ward replied: "No. I think you could see across both games what we're trying to do. My philosophy has been the same, and it's served me well at all three clubs [Sheffield United, Birmingham and Aston Villa] with very little resources.
"It's about adapting. It's a new era for this group. There are some leaders that have gone too; when you lose leaders that takes its toll on other players as well.
"There's a lot to consider, but like I said, we know it's an unacceptable half of football. We can't let that happen again."
🇸🇮 4-0 🇮🇪
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 25, 2025
Ireland manager Carla Ward. "The first half was horrible. That's on me. I've tried something different, tried to get us in positions to create more, and it's not paid off."#UWNL pic.twitter.com/CpGg8rKjFP
Ireland suddenly have work to do if they're to win Group 2 and gain promotion back to League A of the UEFA Women's Nations League. They will realistically have to win their remaining four games and hope Slovenia slip up elsewhere. Second place would earn a play-off against one of the third-placed teams in League A.
"The tough times make you stronger, the tough times make you look at things in a different way," added Ward.
"We're chasing the group now, we've got to beat Slovenia at home, got to win all our games and hope Turkey can do us a favour against Slovenia.
"I think you saw in the second half actually, when we got some rhythm and fluidity I thought we looked really good but then the first half... like I said it's not the system, it was probably a couple of players in different positions and trying something a little bit different. But look... we won't just rip it up.
"We have to own it, we have to take responsibility, we have to look at it, we have to make sure that that half of football never happens again because it's completely unacceptable."
🇸🇮 4-0 🇮🇪
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 25, 2025
"I knew we could win but I had no idea we could win with that margin. I'm sure he's going to be happy for me!" - Slovenia manager and friend of Jim McGuiness Sasa Kolman after his side's dominant display#UWNL pic.twitter.com/INSDLFgzyI
Slovenia manager Sasa Kolman was understandably delighted with such a comprehensive win over opponents ranked 14 places higher (25th) in the world.
"I knew we could win, I felt it, but I had no idea we could win with that margin," he told RTÉ Sport.
"The plan wasn't to sit back, absolutely not. The plan was to press on their centre-backs and the defensive midfielder, so don't let them play.
"We knew we were going to have a lot of space. But then second half we started too deep, we were just defending.
"But it's normal because we had a hard trip back [from Greece]. We had some injuries. We had some sickness in the team and the girls probably just couldn't do it anymore. But we got to the end which is fantastic."
After a 2-1 win in Greece on Friday, Slovenia are now in pole position to win the group and promotion to League A for 2027 World Cup qualifying.
"We started with six points. Even in the craziest dreams, I didn't think it's going to be like that, but we believe that we belong to the big category and we want to make a step forward.
"This game against your fantastic team is that step forward and we're going to build on that."
Kolman, who revealed a friendship with Jim McGuinness on Monday, said he hoped the Donegal Gaelic football boss would appreciate his team's impressive performance.
"I texted him and we were speaking yesterday. He's a fantastic man. I'm sure he's going to be happy for me."
