/”On first leg of the Euro 2025 playoff’s first round, the Republic of Ireland overpowered Georgia with a dominating 6-0 win. Although it wasn’t as easy a victory as the previous 11-0 and 9-0 humiliations during the 2023 World Cup qualifying games, the Irish team’s triumph in Tbilisi on Friday moves them one step nearer to their debut in the European Championships.
Two goals netted by Katie McCabe, a gorgeous shot by Kyra Carusa, and inaugural international goals for Jessie Stapleton, Marissa Sheva and Aoife Mannion, should guarantee a smooth run to Tuesday’s return leg in Tallaght, unless Georgia mounts an epic fightback.
Post that, the team’s manager, Eileen Gleeson will gear up for another twofold playoff against Slovakia or Wales slated for November 29th and December 3rd. A victory in that drawn-out match would secure their place in the next summer’s Euros in Switzerland.
Despite their 6-0 win, the Republic of Ireland only managed to secure a palpable lead in the final thirty minutes of the game against a team positioned 94 spots lower on the Fifa list. Prior to this, play was marked by disappointment.
With Courtney Brosnan suspended, Grace Moloney of London City Lionesses received her first start for Ireland since June 2021. This marked her seventh match since her debut eight years ago, with most of her time devoted to backing up Emma Byrne and Brosnan.
Gleeson picked Abbie Larkin and McCabe as wing backs, however, given the three central defenders in the team – Caitlin Hayes, Anna Patten and Mannion – the greater share of their effort was put in offense rather than defense. Tyler Toland handled midfield responsibilities, while Lily Agg and Denise O’Sullivan supported the forwards – Carusa and Julie-Ann Russell.
Right off the bat, O’Sullivan grazed the left post with a shot from outside the box. This was quickly followed by a near miss from Larkin on a McCabe corner. The Irish team proved unyielding with its relentless offensive play, particularly Russell whose aggressive play down the left was a constant nuisance for Georgia – a fact underscored when Gvantsa Kadagishvili saw a yellow card for tripping her up within the first six minutes.”/
In a show of remarkable tenacity and coordination, the host team exhibited more will than in their previous encounters. In Georgia, the last match had Ireland ahead by three within the first 18 minutes. However, on this current occasion, their first goal appeared at the 37-minute mark of the game. The increased gusto of Georgia was personified by Ana Cheminava’s shot at Moloney from a left-sided free-kick.
Ireland regained strength in the match via attempts made by O’Sullivan and Larkin but some of their advantageous positions were squandered. A turn of events occurred when both Nino Chkhartishvili and Natia Danelia inadvertently assisted Ireland by handling Larkin’s right-side cross. Coming through for Ireland was McCabe who subsequently scored a spot-kick into the bottom left corner. This marked McCabe’s 27th goal out of ninety games, an impressive record considering a considerable amount of these games had her in a left-back position.
Ireland’s first half was less dazzling than expected, though. Despite their adversaries considerably enhancing their game since previous games, Ireland seemed less hands-on in their finishing. A powerful performance by Carusa saw her just missing ensnared her attempting but missing a double lead only seven minutes into the second half. Nevertheless, the San Diego Wave striker pulled off a fantastic backheel shot from a cross by Larkin, making it 2-0.
McCabe’s lengthy strike after 67 minutes solidified Ireland’s lead to 3-0, with Georgian goalkeeper Gabunia misjudging the situation. Stapleton’s goal from McCabe’s corner was declared, despite undergoing a prolonged VAR scan, eight minutes from the finish. By this point, Georgia had crumbled under the pressure. Come the final stretch, Sheva scored from the left side of the box and Mannion finished a free-kick from McCabe, wrapping up the game at 6-0 in favour of Ireland.
Meanwhile, in Poprad, Wales had a disappointing game, finding themselves lagging two goals behind the lower-ranked Slovakia with only one minute remaining. Ffion Morgan tried salvaging the game with a late goal and making Tuesday’s game in Cardiff more competitive. The competition anticipated to be more fierce than the one in Tallaght.
The game line-up for the Republic of Ireland was as follows: Moloney from London City Lionesses, Larkin of Crystal Palace, Mannion from Manchester United, Patten of Aston Villa, Hayes from Celtic, McCabe of Arsenal who also served as captain, Toland of Blackburn Rovers, and Agg of Birmingham City. O’Sullivan from North Carolina Courage, Carusa from San Diego Wave, and Russell from Galway United also took part. Substitutes were Sheva from Portland Thorns who replaced Agg at 56 minutes, Stapleton from Sunderland and Kiernan from Liverpool who replaced Toland and Carusa respectively at 75 minutes, and Atkinson from Crystal Palace who replaced Russell at 90+4 minutes.
The Georgian team included Gabunia, Narisa, Chkhartishvili, and Kalandadze all from Lanchkhuti; Gasviani from Kvartali; Bebia from Nike-Lusso and Danelia and Pasikashvili both from Kvartali. Cheminava, the captain from Hapoel Tel Aviv, Khaburzania from Lanchkhuti, and Kadagishvili also from Lanchkhuti were also in the line-up. The game was overseen by Emanuela Rusta of Albania who acted as the referee.