Republic of Ireland women win away against Poland to reignite their World Cup qualifying campaign

Poland 2 

Republic of Ireland 3 

Cork's Denise O’Sullivan and Megan Connolly starred as the Republic of Ireland reignited their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-2 victory over Poland in Gdansk on Tuesday night.

Emily Murphy and Katie McCabe grabbed first half goals, and Marissa Sheva got the third after Tanja Pawollek pulled one back before the break.

A tense finish was set up late on when Barcelona superstar Ewa Pajor scored against the run of play and McCabe missed a penalty, and a tooth and nail performance sealed the three points for Carla Ward and her players.

Attention is now on Saturday and the return game with Poland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Ward and her players will carry serious momentum back home after surviving a late push for an equaliser by the home side in Gdansk.

O’Sullivan, who missed the last game in the group against the Netherlands in Utrecht, was the conductor in the middle of the park, a role she thrived in under the lights.

The centurion was positioned as the playmaker in a 5-3-2 formation that had a back three of Anna Patten, Caitlin Hayes, and Chloe Mustaki. Connolly stood beside O’Sullivan in midfield, along with Sheva, and the forward line consisted of Murphy and Abbie Larkin.

It is a system long favoured by Ward and out of the familiarity came an aggressive open that included a shot from Larkin in just the first minute.

Ireland’s next advance involved McCabe running in from the left wing and playing a neat pass to O’Sullivan. 

The midfielder worked with Sheva to release Murphy, and a right legged strike by the forward snuck in at the near post for the opening goal in the 11th minute.

A Connolly corner followed in the 20th minute and Oliwia Wos cleared this to an unmarked McCabe, who made it 2-0 with a volley from the edge of the area.

Poland pushed up on the restart, leading to attempts from Ewelina Kamczyk and Pajor. Ireland held their own, often with the likes of Patten and Hayes scrambling to cover ground, as the home side pushed for a goal in a bid to ignite a comeback.

It arrived in the 43rd minute from a Paulna Tomasiak cross that was flicked in by Pawollek, and Ireland’s lead was halved at the break.

Ireland were braced for a fight that never came, despite Natalia Padilla stinging the palms of Brosnan in the 54th minute.

The Girls in Green were able to assert some level of control, leading to efforts from O’Sullivan and Larkin as the hour mark approached.

This emboldened Ireland to keep getting forward, a way of thinking O’Sullivan almost personally embodied in the 59th minute as she dug in to keep possession by the byline on the right wing.

Pawollek got in and cleared to Mannion, who set up Murphy for a pass to Sheva that was side footed in for the third goal.

The home side retaliated in the 78th minute from seemingly nothing as Kamczyk picked out Pajor with a defence splitting pass, and the strike chipped the ball in over Brosnan.

Ireland picked themselves up and got a chance to kill the game off when Murphy was brought down inside the area. 

McCabe stepped up to take the penalty and hit it over the bar in the 82nd minute, as she chased a fourth goal in three games.

Poland gave it their all near the end, with their bench emptied by the 86th minute, but nothing came together as Ireland dug in and secured the win in Gdansk with a defensive shift that included Connolly working alongside the back-line.

Poland: Kinga Szemik; Aleksandra Zaremba, Oliwia Wos, Paulina Dudek, Martyna Wiankowska; Adriana Achcinska, Ewelina Kamczyk, Tanja Pawollek; Paulna Tomasiak, Ewa Pajor, Natalia Padilla.

Subs: Gabriela Grzybowska for Pawollek (66); Patrycja Sarapata for Padilla (66), Wiktoria Zieniewicz for Wiankowska (69), Klaudia Jedlinska for Tomasiak (86), Milena Kokosz for Achcinska (86).

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

Subs: Amber Barrett for Larkin (69); Jess Ziu for Sheva (86).

Referee: Hristiyana Guteva (Bulgaria)