Republic of Ireland Mark Women’s World Cup Debut With Narrow Loss To Australia

The Republic of Ireland marked their Women’s World Cup debut with a narrow loss to co-hosts Australia. A second-half penalty was enough for Australia to kick-off their tournament with a deserved win in front of a raucous 75,784 crowd at the Stadium Australia in Sydney.

Moment Of Silence Held After Auckland Shooting

Ahead of the game, a moment of silence was held after a shooting in Auckland’s central business district on Thursday morning left three people dead and at least 10 injured.

Australia Dealt Huge Blow With Star Player Sam Kerr Out

Australia are one of the tournament favourites but were dealt a huge blow in the build-up when it was announced that their star player and captain Sam Kerr would miss their opening two matches with a calf injury.

Australia Control Possession But Ireland Keep Them At Bay

As expected, the home side controlled possession with a stubborn and well-drilled Ireland keeping their opponents at bay while countering when they could, though they were fortunate not to concede when Hayley Raso headed just wide from a corner.

Australia Awarded Penalty Early In Second Half

With co-hosts New Zealand stunning Norway in the curtain raiser earlier on Thursday, another upset looked to be on the cards but Australia had other ideas as they continued to pressure Ireland’s goal. And they were rewarded early into the second-half when Raso was fouled in the box allowing Steph Catley to power her spot-kick past Courtney Brosnan.

Ireland Threaten With Dangerous Crosses Into The Box

From there, the game thankfully opened up, with both sides throwing caution to the wind though Australia remained on top, seeing several chances blocked. Ireland continued to threaten with dangerous looking crosses into the box, with set-piece situations appearing to be their best route to goal, but keeper Mackenzie Arnold dealt with each one comfortably, including tipping one just wide from a corner routine.

Though their first shot on target only came in the final minute of injury time, it was still a positive performance for Ireland against easily their toughest opponent of Group B, with clashes against Canada and Nigeria to come.

Conclusion

Australia’s victory over Ireland marked a successful start to the Women’s World Cup for the co-hosts. Despite missing their star player Sam Kerr, Australia controlled possession and were rewarded with a penalty early in the second half which proved to be the difference between the two sides. Ireland put up a brave fight and showed they can compete against some of the best teams in the world, and will be looking to build on this performance as they take on Canada and Nigeria in their remaining Group B fixtures.