My First World Cup: Ireland edge past Zambia in pre-tournament warm up
Katie McCabe gives in. She was always going to. The first selfie-hunter of the evening has spotted her sat amongst the other Republic of Ireland players not selected for this friendly against Zambia and pounced. There is a mesh cordon between McCabe and the punters who have sold out Tallaght Stadium for the first of two matches before Ireland travel to Australia to take part in their first Women’s World Cup, but it is the sort of thing that excitement can overlook.
If there is anyone who is more bothered by McCabe than the opponents she comes up against then perhaps it is the security team for the Ireland Women’s National Team. One broad-shouldered gentlemen, smartly dressed with greying hair, approaches the Arsenal superstar and asks her to protect the sanctity of the meshing for the sake of her and her team-mates.
By the time he has returned to his initial station of authority, a group twice the size of the original baying mob had appeared. Eventually McCabe is escorted to sit in the dugout. Ireland is excited, and it has every right to be. This come-from-behind win against an opponent that posed plenty of problems will do little to dampen the mood.
Vera Pauw, who could be seen momentarily bobbing along to the pre-match playlist at Tallaght as she watched her team warm up, said beforehand that this game would help her decide the final 23 players who will represent the country Down Under. Her favoured 5-4-1 formation was still persisted with, and it seemed to hand the initiative to Zambia as they played out of defence unchallenged time after time in a flat first half.
With captain McCabe left out after only joining up with the squad this week, several players still nursing injuries and a trio of US-based players yet to arrive in Dublin, the team that takes to the field for the Group B opener against Australia in four weeks’ time will look somewhat different. A friendly match should never dampen the achievement of this momentous qualification, but maybe there were still inklings of concern.
Barbra Banda could well establish herself as one of the World’s top forwards at the upcoming World Cup, and she constantly caused problems for an unfamiliar Irish backline in Dublin.
She first excited a small patch of Zambia fans in the far corner of the ground with a rasping shot into the side netting on five minutes, but it was her willingness to race into channels and ability to hold up the ball while holding off challengers that most frightened the home crowd.
Although the opener was given as a Courtney Brosnan own goal, it was only made possible by Banda. After the forward had chased another lost cause to the corner flag, she saw off two defenders before sending a ball into the box that deflected more than once before hitting the unfortunate Brosnan and crossing the line.
Banda continued to be the game’s outstanding player after Zambia had taken the lead in what was potentially a worrying sign ahead of Ireland’s meetings with both Sam Kerr and Christine Sinclair at the World Cup.
Their supporters remained defiant though, and after being given false hope before the interval when a Leanne Kiernan strike was disallowed for offside, five half-time changes changed lifted the mood on the field.
Just three minutes into the second half, Heather Payne struck a shot against the arm of Evarine Katongo, allowing substitute Amber Barrett, scorer of the goal that earned Ireland their place at the World Cup, to slot home from the penalty spot.
The fresh legs of the Irish gained them territory and subsequently possession that they sorely lacked in the first half, yet it was another set-piece that gave them the lead and turned the game around.
No one picked up Claire O’Riordan from a free-kick, allowing the defender to head in unmarked from all of six yards. The lead was extended not long after from another set piece as Barrett turned home expertly after Zambia had failed to fully clear a corner.
There was never a sense that Ireland could relax though. It was not the vibrancy of the home crowd that energised them either, rather the ever-present threat of Banda.
Brosnan saved well from both her and Racheal Kundananji, only to be beaten by the latter with ten minutes to play after the winger had brilliantly turned away from her marker.
Whether the result mattered or not, Ireland saw the game out and were rewarded with delighted screams at the final whistle.
McCabe will be back and the return of other regulars will surely provide some of the structure that the manager craves. But winning rarely does anything to lessen expectations, particularly winning just a month before a World Cup gets underway.
Ireland is excited, and it deserves to be.
