11.06.2021 at 18:00 Laugardalsvollur
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Attendance: |
Referee: Rebecca Welch (England) |
Friendly-match |
Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir 10 mins; Agla María Albertsdóttir 13 mins Dagný Brynjarsdóttir 39 mins; |
Heather Payne (50)
Amber Barrett (92)
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Svava Rós Guðmundsdóttir for Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir; Karitas Tómsdóttir for Dagný Brynjarsdóttir; Berglind Björg Þorvaldsdóttir for Elín Metta Jensen; Kristín Dís Árnadóttir for Agla María Albertsdóttir |
Eabha O Mahony -> Niamh Farrelly (46)
Amber Barrett -> Aoife Colville (46)
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Debut for Aoife Colville; First senior goal for Heather Payne
Republic of Ireland Women's National Team Manager Vera Pauw wanted to test her side against quality opposition before the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers start and that is exactly what happened in Reykjavik.
11th Jun 2021
Iceland landed two early blows as they broke through Ireland's defence with goals inside the opening 15 minutes with Agla María Albertsdóttir controlling the ball beautifully before chipping into the net before Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir scored from close range.
This was not the start that Pauw had imagined. And with a strong wind blowing in, Ireland were pinned inside their own penalty area for the bulk of the first half - unable to get their passing game going.
There were some bright passages of play, with Heather Payne and debutant Aoife Colvill making runs off the ball, while captain Katie McCabe dragged a shot wide.
However, Iceland took full advantage of the conditions and connected play superbly. They got a third goal when Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir drilled a shot against the post and it bounced back to Dagný Brynjarsdóttir to fire in.
Pauw made changes the interval - bringing on Éabha O'Mahony and Amber Barrett while moving McCabe further forward - and it brought them back into the game (aided by the strong wind).
Payne got the goal that she deserved on 50 minutes when O'Mahony's cross from the left was helped on by Barrett and the Roscommon native was in the right place to slot in for her first senior goal.
Barrett also got on the scoresheet with time running out when she latched onto a pass from Niamh Fahey and provided a neat left-footed finish. But it was too late to inspire a comeback.
Afterwards Pauw said: "You can never start the way that we did and everyone is aware of that. It's not that we are not aware of that, it's not that it has not been highlighted but because of the circumstances it cost us a couple of goals and that cannot happen any more.
"During the first half we rearranged the midfield to stop more goals from going in, which helped, but at half-time we decided to have more pressure on the wings so we brought on Éabha (O'Mahony) so that Katie (McCabe) could go forward and that helped us.
"We need to be more clinical (in front of goal) but what I liked is that we put a lot of pressure forward after the first half that we came through. We are capable of jumping up to that level and we will face these difficult circumstances again against Sweden and Finland so it's good that we are experiencing it now and learning how to deal with it."
The two teams meet again on Tuesday, June 15, where Ireland will be keen to get off to a better start and build on the positives of their second-half display.
Iceland: Sandra Sigurðardóttir; Elísa Viðarsdóttir, Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir (Svava Rós Guðmundsdóttir), Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir (Karitas Tómsdóttir), Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir, Elín Metta Jensen (Berglind Björg Þorvaldsdóttir), Agla María Albertsdóttir (Kristín Dís Árnadóttir), Áslaug Munda Gunnlaugsdóttir.
Republic of Ireland: Moloney; Finn, Fahey, Caldwell, Quinn, McCabe; Farrelly (O'Mahony 46), Connolly; Colvill (Barrett 46), O'Sullivan, Payne.
Referee: Rebecca Welch (England). |
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