Republic of Ireland 3 Zambia 2
Barrett pen 48, 71, O’Riordan 63; Brosnan OG 17, Banda 80
Amber Barrett to the rescue. Again. And again.
Standard Liege’s newly signed centre forward came off the Irish bench to score twice, firstly from the penalty spot after Abbie Larkin’s shot early in the second-half hit the hand of Evarine Katongo. Barrett finished low to her left, giving Zambia goalkeeper Hazel Nali no chance.
Claire O’Riordan’s diving header on 63 minutes made it 2-1 as the Zambians tired. That two of the three Irish goals came off Megan Connolly set pieces will raise confidence levels as it translates training ground work on to the main stage.
Barrett’s second goal, from another Connolly delivery and cushioned header by Ciara Grant prompted the Donegal woman to do her roly poly celebration.
Courtney Brosnan’s brilliance in the Irish nets took the sting out of Rachel Kundananji scoring Zambia’s second.
Other second half substitutes caught the eye. Particularly Grant’s passing range and Erin McLaughlin’s energy on debut but the opening 45 minutes might convince Ireland manager Vera Pauw to revert to type.
Batten down the hatches. The refreshing sight of an attacking 4-3-3 Irish line-up backfired almost as spectacularly as Stephen Kenny’s tactics for the men in Athens last week.
During Pauw’s 30-game watch, the Dutch coach has been accused of employing the lowest of low blocks. So low that Connolly was press-ganged into defence not so long ago. Even Katie McCabe has done a few shifts at full-back.
Pauw strongly disagrees with this characterisation but perhaps she had a point all along. Ireland lacked the cohesiveness, speed of thought and first touch to hurt the Zambians. That is until they went to 5-4-1.
If Zambia are justifiably ranked 77 in the world then Ireland have serious problems ahead. Welcomed to Tallaght to launch preparations for the World Cup opener against Australia on July 20th, the Copper Queens technical skills exposed the host’s nervousness without stars turns McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan.
Add Sinead Farrelly to that absentee list and Ireland have enough time to make huge improvements between now and judgment day.
Nonetheless, this was a sluggish opening gambit.
And to think it was supposed to be a lesser version of the Nigerian side Ireland face in Brisbane on July 31st.
Irish squad numbers also caught the eye. It may be nothing but there was no number 10 listed as O’Sullivan does not arrive in camp until Wednesday. No number 11 either as McCabe is recovering from her magnificent club season at Arsenal.
Izzy Atkinson (29) and McLaughlin (28) already knew their work was cut out to make the final cut, when Pauw announces the 23-woman World Cup panel next Thursday, but they gave themselves a chance.
Up front Leanne Kiernan has been missed. The Liverpool striker required surgery last year after an ankle injury threatened to deny her this opportunity. Inside 100 seconds she ghosted on to Atkinson’s cross but her lack of game time was apparent.
Despite no McCabe nor O’Sullivan, there was the reliable sight of Connolly seeking to push the tempo while keeping tabs on Grace Chanda.
[ Ireland v Zambia as it happenedOpens in new window ]
Zambia coach Bruce Mwape had done his homework, flooding every attack down the right in an effort to expose O’Riordan and Atkinson as twice Siomara Mapepa found the wrong side of Brosnan’s side netting.
So, Brosnan’s own goal on 17 minutes had been coming. Chanda turned away from Connolly to send a lovely ball over the Irish rearguard and when Lou Quinn hesitated to shut down Banda, the winger glided past the Irish skipper before shooting from a tight angle. The ball clipped Atkinson’s toe, hitting the near post before crossing the line off Brosnan’s left hand.
Even the scoreboard was slow to react as the young crowd struggled to understand why the African girls were embracing.
Initially, Ireland seemed lost in whatever tactical plan had been hatched, neither pressing high nor sitting deep. It meant that the Zambian midfield had the run of Tallaght.
The crowd went wild when Kiernan appeared to poke an equaliser beyond Nali but the lineswoman’s flag had been waving for some time. Kiernan did more than enough to banish concerns about her fitness, forcing a save from Nali when Connolly spotted her lateral run.
Next, Lou Quinn came up for a corner and amid the toing and froing she nodded on to the roof of the net.
Until they tired, Zambia looked the better outfit with Brosnan forced into action before the break when Kundananji let fly from distance.
The Irish players were desperate to reach half-time in one piece, especially Niamh Fahey who was blessed to avoid a second yellow card for upending Banda.
They reappeared in a tight 5-4-1 with Barrett intent on hustling something out of the Zambian back three. She was helped by Larkin bursting down the right. The 18-year-old was the brightest spark on this night. So much more to come.
Ireland: Brosnan (Everton); O’Riordan (Celtic), Lou Quinn (Birmingham City), Fahey (Liverpool); Payne (unattached), Connolly (unattached), Littlejohn (unattached), Atkinson (West Ham United); Noonan (Durham), Larkin (Shamrock Rovers), Kiernan (Liverpool).
Substitutes: McLaughlin (Peamount United) for Kiernan, Barrett (Standard Liege) for Noonan, Mustaki (Bristol City) for Atkinson, Grant (Hearts) for Littlejohn, Scott (Birmingham City) for Fahey (all half-time), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City) for Larkin (64).
Zambia: Nali; Soko, Lushomo, Mapepa, Kundananji; S Banda, Belemu, Katongo, Musesa; Chanda, B Banda.
Substitutes: Phiri for Lushomo, Lunbanji for Mapepa, Chileshe for S Banda (all 67).
Referee: Caroline Lanssens (Belgium).
