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Malard sinks the Girls in Green on night of high drama

Updated / Wednesday, 4 Mar 2026 11:28
Melvine Malard of France celebrates after scoring her side's first goal during the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and France at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin
Melvine Malard of France celebrates

The Republic of Ireland suffered an agonising defeat to France in their opening World Cup qualifier at Tallaght Stadium tonight, cursing the gods after a remarkable climax.

Katie McCabe put the hosts ahead early on, sliding home a lovely goal after carving the French open with the help of Emily Murphy.

In front of 8,376 - a record Tallaght crowd for a women's international - Carla Ward's charges strained every sinew to keep the world's No 7-ranked team at bay. But the visitors' bench - gilded with class - denied the Girls in Green a famous victory.

Manchester United's Melvine Malard came on in the 69th minute; by the 80th, her brace had turned the contest on its head. And yet Ireland will be stung by how this finished.

In stoppage time they had a penalty shout when Amber Barrett's shot appeared to be blocked by the arm of Sakina Karchaoui. From the resulting corner, a manic scramble ended with Denise O'Sullivan's effort from point-blank range cannoning off the head of Marie-Antoinette Katoto, stationed right on the line.

Breathless. Heartbreaking. But there are many positives for Ireland to take from this performance as they head for Utrecht to face the Netherlands on Saturday night.

It was an electric start at the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, a 'Worm Moon' blazing in the night sky. Ireland were never going to lean back on the ropes completely, but the fury with which they counter-punched in the first 15 minutes caught France out.

The tone was set when Elisa De Almeida lunged in to Murphy 30 yards from goal as the Newcastle United forward threatened to race through on goal. Free-kick, yellow card, and a chance for Megan Connolly to test back-up keeper Constance Picaud from 25 yards out.

Connolly's bending effort cleared the wall but not Picaud, who fisted wide for a corner.

It was frantic stuff. Perle Morront blazed an effort into the stands when she had time and space to do better; then Patten pinged a terrific diagonal ball towards Murphy, who chested her way into space before drawing a good save from Picaud.

Something had to give. In the 12th minute, something did.

It was a brilliant Irish move, defined by the sort of pace and movement we expected from the visitors. McCabe fed a ball down the left for Murphy to gallop on to, the 23-year-old driving at the French rearguard only to dip inside and play a quality no-look reverse ball to her left, where McCabe was arriving like a steam train. Once the captain burst into the box, there only one outcome: a cool, first-time finish left Picaud clutching at air.

McCabe picked up a booking soon after for a reckless clatter into De Almeida, and then momentum shifted.

De Almeida (a menace from full-back), Clara Mateo and Kadidiatou Diani probed Ireland’s left side, Sakina Karchaoui got a grip of the ball, and the French began to orchestrate.

Ward’s side were pinned in and falling into the trap of hacking the ball back to French feet whenever they won it. It took some daring play from Marissa Sheva, tiptoeing out of trouble with three players around her, to remind the Girls in Green they are capable of keeping hold of the ball, even against opponents of this calibre.

Level at the break, Les Bleus boss Laurent Bonadei summoned Lyon attacker Marie-Antoinette Katoto.

Ireland had kicked the hornets’ nest; now they had to buckle up for a swarm of second-half attacks. The French tried to unravel Ireland at the seams with clever triangles and third player running. The harder they pulled at the seams, the tighter Ireland seemed to get.

Hayes kept Picaud’s gloves warm with a decent downward header off a deep Connolly free-kick; then O’Sullivan animated the crowd with an opportunistic volleyed back-flick that had the visiting keeper backtracking.

The Girls in Green had somewhat weathered the storm when France dipped into this bench again – and this time it was pivotal. Manchester United’s Melvine Malard was brought on in the 69th minute; two minutes later, she skated past McCabe, glided inside Chloe Mustaki and steered the equaliser into the bottom right corner.

As the lactic acid gripped Irish limbs, France turned the screw. With ten minutes to go, a Sandy Baltimore shot cannoned into a sea of bodies, with Diani's effort breaking kibdly for Malard to feed another precise finish beyond the outstretched Brosnan.

It's a credit to Ireland that they rallied so gallantly in the closing stages, and can count themselves extremely unlucky not to have nicked a point. Ultimately, Katoto was in the right place at the right time to head away O'Sullivan's last-gasp attempt, the Tallaght crowd incredulously watching the ball loop wide rather than into the net.

Republic of Ireland: Courtney Brosnan; Aoife Mannion, Anna Patten, Caitlin Hayes, Chloe Mustaki, Katie McCabe (capt); Megan Connolly (Amber Barrett 85), Denise O'Sullivan, Marissa Sheva; Emily Murphy; Kyra Carusa (Abbie Larkin 70)

France: Constance Picaud; Maelle Lakrar, Thiniba Samoura, Elisa De Almeida (Melween N'dongala 69) , Perle Morroni (Melvine Malard 69); Grace Geyoro (capt), Oriane Jean-Francois, Sakina Karchaoui; Sandy Baltimore, Kadidiatou Diani, Clara Mateo (Marie-Antoinette Katoto HT)

Referee: Tess Olofsson (Swe)

Attendance: 8,376

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