U19 Womens UEFA 2nd (Elite) qualifying phase match
Scotland 2 Rep of Ireland 0
Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the European Championships were dealt a severe blow when Scotland scored a goal in each half in the Elite phase match at the Krizevci Stadium in Slovenia on Thursday.
The Republic went into the second game of the week buoyed by their 2-0 win over Slovenia on Tuesday and made a good start to the match.
Diane Caldwell, Aine O’Gorman and Niamh Fahey were instrumental in creating chances from the amount of possession Ireland had but they couldn’t put the ball away and Scotland hit them on the counter-attack ten minutes before the break to take the lead.
Ireland dominated the play again after the break, operating with an attacking 3-4-3 formation in search of an equaliser. However, further opportunities that fell to substitutes Stephanie Roche and Susan Donovan were not put away and Ireland paid the penalty.
The Scots struck a second goal with 15 minutes of the game remaining and Ireland were left to rue a succession of missed chances. Even a draw would have been enough to set up a ‘winner-takes-all’ encounter against group favourites Germany in the final match of the qualifying series on Saturday.
Manager Sue Ronan was stunned by the result: “I’ve never been involved with a team who had so much possession and so many chances but failed to score.
“We had plenty of chances to score and although their ‘keeper played very well, a lot of our shots went off-target when it seemed easier to score.
The Irish will have to defeat Germany in the final game of the group and hope that Scotland fail to defeat Slovenia if they are to qualify for the Finals in Switzerland.
Republic of Ireland: Lynn Dowling (Raheny Utd), Seana Cooke (Raheny Utd), Lisa Toohey (Aisling Annacotty), Eilis Nevin (Dundalk), Grace Murray (Dundalk), Niamh Fahey (Salthill Devon), Meabh De Burca (Salthill Devon), Diane Caldwell (Raheny Utd), Tara Mac Mahon (Toulouse), Aine O’Gorman (Stella Maris), Sarah McGrath (Arsenal). |
