Republic of Ireland battle hard but France take all three points thanks to two second half goals

Republic of Ireland 1 

France 2 

There was no famous result to kickstart World Cup qualifying for the Republic of Ireland as the Girls in Green were downed 2-1 by France at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday night.

Denise O’Sullivan and Megan Connolly starred on a night that began with Katie McCabe scoring and ended with a quickfire brace from Melvine Malard to win France all three points.

Carla Ward’s side will attempt to bounce back when they face the Netherlands on Saturday in Utrecht.

This wasn’t about the bigger picture but the idea of space, and to restrict a France side that reached the quarter finals of Euro 2025. 

This went as far as making the pitch as small as possible within the existing rules set by the game’s governing body.

It continued with Ward’s selection as a defence was prioritised to the point where Connolly, usually a member of a back three or four, was stationed in midfield.

O’Sullivan had the most important job; running in between the lines and linking everything together.

This almost paid off in just the 2nd minute as she was able to play Emily Murphy through, for a counter attacking move ended by an Elisa De Almeida foul. 

A free-kick was awarded and taken by Connolly, who forced Constance Picaud into an excellent diving save at the near post.

The Girls in Green retreated and broke again in the 12th minute with an Anna Patten pass, and Murphy was able to lay this one off. 

McCabe hit it first time passed the France goalkeeper, to give Ireland a deserved early lead.

The immediate reaction was euphoria, before taking a step back as France pushed for an equaliser. 

The defensive unit marshalled by Hayes did their job to stop any real intrusion during this stretch, with Patten doing the dirty work by getting in the way of almost every cross.

Oriane Jean-Francois eventually tried her luck from distance, only to see her shot calmly stopped by Courtney Brosnan in the 37th minute.

The reward was a half-time lead, something Hayes almost doubled with a header shortly after the restart. 

It wasn’t to be as Picaud dived low to catch the ball on the goal-line, just as the management team started thinking of ways to inject fresh legs into the forward line.

This led to the introduction of Abbie Larkin in place of Carusa, a straight swap just as France started to go up a gear in the final third, a process that would produce 71st minute equaliser for Malard.

Sandy Baltimore set that up with a neat pass to the forward, who was able to fire after getting around McCabe.

A second followed, from a scramble in front of the posts that Mallard was able to capitalise on.

Ireland chased the equaliser, with Amber Barrett brought on to aid the mission. 

It came down to a blistering O’Sullivan strike that was taken off the goal-line in the dying seconds of three minutes added on.

Republic of Ireland: Courtney Brosnan; Aoife Mannion, Anna Patten, Caitlin Hayes, Chloe Mustaki, Katie McCabe; Megan Connolly, Denise O'Sullivan, Marissa Sheva; Emily Murphy; Kyra Carusa.

Subs: Abbie Larkin for Carusa (70); Amber Barrett for Connolly (85).

France: Constance Picaud; Maelle Lakrar, Thiniba Samoura, Elisa De Almeida, Perle Morroni; Grace Geyoro, Oriane Jean-Francois, Sakina Karchaoui; Sandy Baltimore, Kadidiatou Diani, Clara Mateo.

Subs: Marie Antoinette Katoto for Mateo (HT); Melween N’Dongala for De Almeida (69), Melvine Malard for Morroni (69), Anais Ebayillin for Jean-Francois (86), Alice Sombath for Diani (86).

Referee: Tess Olofsson (Sweden).