France 1-0 Ireland: Dismal vote in Grenoble — but Ireland's play-off hopes still alive
Despite being beaten 1-0 by France in Grenoble, the Republic of Ireland women's team showed their maturity to finish third in the group. Carla Ward praised the hard work of the players and said that the country is ready for the seeded play-offs to be held in August.
France beat the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in Grenoble but the rout left Ireland with high hopes. Despite being the base seeds in League A and facing overwhelming conditions, Ward's Ireland finished the meeting with pride — three wins, three wickets to finish third in the group.
As for the playing, a fine goal by Melvin Mallard gave France victory in the final qualifier. Despite Ireland's poor start to the match and conceding an early goal, the team came back strongly in the second half and tempted France hard.
A key turning point for Ireland was the red card worn by Thiniba Samoura. The Roja card was possible for Samoura after he blocked Emily Murray as she raced through the goal — which immediately looked set to be a factor for Ireland. But that profit could not be fully utilized; Abbie Larkin misses a great chance and misses out on a balanced goal.
Despite this result, Ireland also has strong achievements. They also became the first promoted side to win not just two but three, having missed out on Ligue A in last season's promotion/relegation play-off with a last-minute goal in Belgium. Notable among them was the sensational win over the Netherlands in Cork — which gave the team a bold mentality.
Third place will see Ireland seeded for the play-offs in the autumn — the play-off draw will take place on June 18, when many teams will want to avoid Ireland as they upset France, the Netherlands and Poland.
In comments to RTE, manager Carla Ward expressed sadness with pride. "I'm extremely proud of this group," she said. She hailed the team as "a very special, fantastically hard-working group" and noted that the progress showed their level despite the disappointment of the clash with France. As another department, she said the team has improved and transitioned this campaign and thinks they will go into October in a strong position.
While France started their celebrations at the Stade des Alpes, the Irish team came out strong and challenged the match. A small traditional group of traveling Ireland fans recognized the players' efforts with their anthems.
Ireland now have a path to the play-offs — they also had experience navigating the play-offs effectively in their last World Cup entry, but this time the path is tougher: a semifinal and a final are required. All Ward was saying was clear: "The goal is the World Cup — that's what we want to achieve. It's a different route for us but tonight's defeat shows that the best teams are in it."