Republic of Ireland 1 - 1 Slovakia | 2023 - FIFA Women's World Cup | 999947158

FIFA Women's World Cup

25 Nov 2021 19:00

Republic of Ireland 1 - 1 Slovakia

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REPORT | WNT 1-1 Slovakia

An enthusiastic crowd of 5,164 witnessed a tough competition between the Republic of Ireland and Slovakia who drew 1-1 on a cold Thursday evening in Tallaght Stadium.

26th Nov 2021

Vera Pauw’s team began their Group A campaign with a narrow 1-0 loss against Tokyo Olympics runners-up Sweden and followed it up with a much deserved 2-1 victory away to Finland. In this game, however, Ireland were unable to get into their rhythm.

It was a difficult first half for the Girls in Green and frustrations were high as neither team could get a hold in the game. Ireland’s chances came from counter attacks as both Lucy Quinn and Heather Payne used their pace and agility to cause trouble for the Slovakian defence, but it was scoreless going into half-time.

Early in the second half, Slovakia’s Martina Surnovska finished a wonderful ball into the box and the visitors took the lead in the 46th minute. A real test for Ireland to get themselves back into the game.

The well deserved equaliser came in the 65th minute after great work at the edge of the box by Denise O’Sullivan released Katie McCabe coming in from the left side and Captain McCabe coolly struck the ball across the Slovakian goalkeeper and into the bottom right corner.

The experience of Louise Quinn definitely came in handy for Ireland as in the 75th minute she saved a certain goal, clearing the ball off the goal line, keeping the score level.

The introductions of Ruesha Littlejohn and Kyra Carusa in the second half certainly gave Ireland more of a composed attacking threat, but Slovakia fought just as hard and in the end the points were shared.

Next up is their fourth game of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying campaign against Georgia, Tuesday November 30th, where another big performance is needed.

Republic of Ireland: Brosnan; Fahey, Louise Quinn, McCarthy; O’Gorman (Littlejohn 70), McCabe; Finn, Connolly, O’Sullivan; Lucy Quinn (Carusa 83), Payne.

Slovakia: Korenciova; Horvathova, Biroova, Fischerova, Bartovicova, Vojtekova; Skorvankova, Mikolajova, Surnovska, Hmirova; Mat’avkova.

Referee: Jelena Cvetkovic (Serbia).

PREVIEW | WNT v Slovakia

The Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team return to Tallaght Stadium on Thursday to continue their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying campaign.

24th Nov 2021

Slovakia will provide the opposition for Vera Pauw’s team in what will be the sixth meeting overall between the two nations. This will be Ireland’s third game in Group A following a narrow loss to Sweden and a win away to Finland.

Ireland are hoping to play in front of a large crowd with record ticket sales in advance of this fixture, which will go some way to determining whether either team can remain in the hunt for a place at the next World Cup.

TEAM NEWS
All players are fit and available for selection.

QUOTES
Republic of Ireland Manager Vera Pauw
“We are currently preparing for our next two challenges, against Slovakia and Georgia, and we cannot underestimate them. We need to be sharp and on our toes, ready to attack, just like a tiger. We have so much faith in what we are trying to achieve - players & staff - but we have to build on the win against Finland in October and find a way to take maximum points from these two games.

“Thanks to the friendly games that we have played against higher-ranked opponents, we have learned how to raise our level of performance. The players learned what it means to take on any opponent without fear.

“If we manage to get into the game with the same will to sacrifice ourselves for the team, then we have a chance to make the next step in our qualification process. Only then will we have a chance to collect these points.

“It is exciting to be back at Tallaght Stadium again and we are hoping to have another big crowd. There is no experience like it, playing in front of our passionate supporters. And with the backing of fantastic sponsors like Sky and Cadbury, we know that so many people are behind us, willing us forward. For us, that kind of backing inspires us to be brave in what we do as we chase our dream of qualification for the World Cup.”

SQUAD LISTS
Republic of Ireland Squad
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Reading), Megan Walsh (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Defenders: Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Diane Caldwell (North Carolina Courage), Jessie Stapleton (Shelbourne), Savannah McCarthy (Galway WFC), Éabha O'Mahony (Boston College), Áine O'Gorman (Peamount United), Isibeal Atkinson (Celtic)
Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O'Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ruesha Littlejohn (Aston Villa), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), Niamh Farrelly (Glasgow City), Ciara Grant (Shelbourne), Aoibheann Clancy (Wexford Youths), Roma McLaughlin (Central Connecticut State University), Jess Ziu (Shelbourne)
Forwards: Heather Payne (Florida State University), Amber Barrett (FC Koln), Kyra Carusa (HB Koge), Emily Whelan (Birmingham City), Saoirse Noonan (Shelbourne), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City)

Slovakia Squad
Goalkeepers: Mária Korenčiová (AC Milan), Patrícia Chládeková (Wacker Innsbruck), Dominika Rezeková (SKV Altenmarkt)
Defenders: Jana Vojteková (SC Freiburg), Andrea Horváthová (Czarni Sosnowiec), Patrícia Fischerová (Czarni Sosnowiec), Diana Bartovičová (Slavia Prague), Monika Bytčánková (Slovan Bratislava), Viktória Čeriová (Slovan Bratislava), Kristína Košíková (FC Slovan Liberec), Nikol Mazúchová (Lokomotíva Brno H.H.)
Midfielders: Lucia Ondrušová (Sparta Prague), Alexandra Bíróová (SKN St. Pölten), Mária Mikolajová (SKN St. Pölten), Dominika Škorvánková (Montpellier), Kristína Panáková (Spartak Myjava), Diana Lemešová (Wacker Innsbruck), Ľudmila Maťavková (Club Brugge)
Forwards: Martina Šurnovská (Slavia Prague), Patrícia Hmírová (Apollon Ladies), Laura Žemberyová (UaB Blazers), Klaudia Fabová (KKPK Medyk Konin)

PREVIOUS MEETINGS
P5 W5 D0 L0 GF8 GA1

2023 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP QUALIFYING – GROUP A
RESULTS
21 October 2021: Republic of Ireland 0-1 Sweden
26 October 2021: Finland 1-2 Republic of Ireland

FIXTURES
25 November 2021: Republic of Ireland v Slovakia
30 November 2021: Republic of Ireland v Georgia
12 April 2022: Sweden v Republic of Ireland
27 June 2022: Georgia v Republic of Ireland
1 September 2022: Republic of Ireland v Finland
6 September 2022: Slovakia v Republic of Ireland

NOTES

Over 6,000 tickets have been sold for the Ireland v Slovakia game, which surpasses the record attendance of 5,238 set at home to Ukraine in October 2019
This will be the 25th game that the Ireland WNT will have played at Tallaght Stadium since 2011, where the combined overall attendance has been 49,687
Slovakia will set a new record as the most frequent visitors to Tallaght Stadium as opponents for the Ireland WNT with this being their fourth trip overall
There are seven SSE Airtricity Women’s National League players, including 16-year-old Jessie Stapleton from Shelbourne, in the Ireland squad, while another 11 previously played in the League
There is a wide spread of players in the Ireland squad who have connections to different counties: Antrim (1), Cork (4), Donegal (3), Dublin (8), Galway (1), Kerry (1), Laois (1), Limerick (1), Roscommon (2), Sligo (1), Tipperary (1), Wexford (1), Wicklow (2)

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifying Round - Group A
Republic of Ireland v Slovakia
Thursday, November 25th
Tallaght Stadium
KO 19:00
LIVE on RTÉ2
Worldwide on RTÉ Player
Referee: Jelena Cvetković (Serbia)
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