Tony O’Donoghue shared with us that when the female teams of England and the Republic of Ireland first squared off in Exeter in an international match in 1978, a mere crowd of slightly over 600 had assembled to see the game in action. Leap forward 46 years later, here we are, with the two nations going toe to toe at the Aviva stadium with a staggering 32,742 spectators in attendance. As a result, even the giants, Real Madrid and Manchester City, found themselves demoted to the RTÉ News channel. Quite the shift, indeed.
An ominous fact that Tony had seamlessly omitted, probably to keep the atmosphere light, was that the Irish netminder back in Exeter was declared the player of the match, despite having six goals scored against her, which suggested a harrowing day for our team.
About twenty minutes into the game, one couldn’t shake off the worrying feeling that history was about to repeat itself as England was already leading the Irish 2-0. Goal scorer Lauren James hardly showed any signs of jubilation, possibly anticipating it as the beginning of many more to come. As England prepared for their second penalty kick of the night before even the first half hour had passed, George Hamilton and Áine O’Gorman’s broadcast adopted a somewhat somber tone.
However, Alex Greenwood, managed to miss her second penalty, keeping the score at 2-0, offering the Irish team a glimmer of hope.
Prior to kickoff, the Irish side looked ready and eager to take on their opponents. Captain Katie McCabe showcased an intense focus, avoiding any social interaction with her Arsenal teammate and England captain Leah Williamson, who was left chatting with the mascot. Katie remained fixated on the exit at the end of the tunnel with a resolute glare.
During the national anthems, the crowd remained respectful during the British anthem, “God Save the King”, while the harmonic rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann induced goosebumps in the audience, according to Áine. However, one couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for the times when the hymns were wholeheartedly sung by the crowd in peaceful unison.
Ireland introduced two new additions, Ruesha Littlejohn and Lucy Quinn, to their line-up courtesy of Eileen Gleeson. Meanwhile, Sarina Wiegman demonstrated her dissatisfaction with England’s draw against Sweden, making a total of five swaps to her team. The international action commenced, and following losses to France, the situation for the Group of Death was rising into a tense climax as England managed to secure a goal and two penalties. Ireland’s right became the funnel for all the discord, with Aoife Mannion possibly wishing for the relative peace in the supporters’ stands.
Upon reaching the half-time with the score at 0-2, our commentator, Marie Crowe noted, “A difficult evening indeed,” referring to the lack of enthusiasm in the arena. On such a challenging night, one can either brood over the losses or simply tip their hat to how brilliantly the opponents played. Karen Duggan chose to do the latter. She admitted, “We often just need to step back and appreciate the skills of the opposition,” a sentiment that Stephanie Roche agreed with. Ireland were struggling against the formidable competitors, however, they were not quick to concede goals. They managed to hold off the English onslaught for a majority of the match, scoring none in the following 72 minutes.
Despite their fighting spirit, Ireland walked away without any points from the first two games in the group, but that was not entirely unexpected. Post-match, Williamson received a consolatory hug from McCabe who was deeply disappointed. Karen spoke the hard truth that they were about a decade behind England in their progression, but still determined to advance. As she aptly put it, “A lot done, more to do.”