Heartbreak: Wonderous McCabe opener ultimately not enough for Girls in Green

A WONDEROUS Katie McCabe goal gave the nation hope, but it was ultimately not enough as Ireland succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against Canada in their second game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Perth, Australia on Wednesday.

Ireland captain, McCabe, scored a memorable goal directly from a corner and Blessington’s Lucy Quinn lead the defence but the loss means the team cannot qualify out of the Group B.

Former Peamount United captain Aine O’Gorman was given the nod to start on the right wing, replacing Heather Payne who started in Ireland’s 0-1 loss at the hands of co-hosts Australia in the first game.

And the Girls in Green carved some great opportunities down the right wing throughout the game, one of which lead to Katie McCabe’s wonderous strike after four-minutes.

Lucy Quinn got down the right wing and delivered an excellent ball to the edge of the six-yard box which was met by Kyra Carusa, but Kailen Sheridan got down well to push it out for a corner.

As Canada looked to set themselves, McCabe whipped the ball in and it carried the whole way into the far top right corner, with Sheridan back peddling but ultimately could not stop it going in.

It was the Kilnamanagh native’s 19th goal for the nation, and it gave Ireland the impetuous to go for the kill, with McCabe and Sinead Farrelly drawing near.

There was also a shout for a penalty after McCabe drove at the heart of the Canadian backline and was seemingly tripped in the box, but it wasn’t given.

Canada lacked precision with their final ball, but perhaps it was a consequence of the immense pressure that Vera Pauw’s team applied with their press – which was lead by Carusa.

It summarised Canada’s nervy start when they put together a string of passes to give Adriana Leon a yard of space down the right, but her cross was kicked directly out for a goalkick.

Vanessa Gilles did come very close though midway through the first half after ghosting inside the box, but her effort went over Courtney Brosnan’s bar.

Carusa was excellent up top, and gave Canadian defender Kadeisha Buchanan a torrid time as Ireland pushed for more goals over the course of the 90-minutes.

However, just before half-time, Canada equalised after Julia Grosso’s cross skipped across the greasy surface and nicked off Ireland centre-half Megan Connolly’s boot.

The pacey Abbie Larkin replaced Lucy Quinn after the break, and offered a new point of attack as Ireland pursued the game.

Jordyn Huitema started to come into it more for Canada though, her excellent shot from outside the box which forced a top-drawer save from Brosnan a sign of things to come.

Canada would not be going away quietly, and things went from bad to worse when Sophie Schmidt delivered with expert precision into the Ireland box and Leon tucked it away to take a 2-1 lead.

Shortly after heading over, Carusa was replaced by former Peamount striker Amber Barrett but she struggled to find any clearcut chances as Canada asserted control.

With Canada on top, Pauw made a few tactical changes, with Izzy Atkinson slotting in at left wing back to free up McCabe around the middle of the park.

All throughout the second half, McCabe could be heard urging her teammates to push forward and put more pressure on the ball – and they did.

Delivering a captain’s performance, the former Kilnamanagh AFC player had the best chance of the second-half when she went on a mazing run in off the right wing to get a shot away.

However, with time against them and Canada battling well, luck ran dry for Ireland and the game fizzled out.

Ireland face Nigeria at 11am on Monday morning, but there is no hope of the team progressing any further, mathematically.