Rep. Of Ireland… 0
Australia… 1
There’s a thin line from acknowledging achievement in context, to patronising to downright ignorance. In regard to the first part of that, there’s no overstating the monumental accomplishment it has been for Vera Pauw’s side to even qualify for World Cup 2023.
Bravery has been intrinsically interwoven into everything they’ve done. Remember, it was only days after unspeakable tragedy had befallen the Creeslough community in Donegal when a daughter of the Hills, Amber Barrett sculpted the shot which carved their niche in Irish sporting history for Pauw’s peerless warriors.
I have no problem admitting to by no means beimg properly attuned to the goings on in Ladies Soccer but even with a limited grasp thereof it was clear that the Girls In Green had certainly been thrown in at the deep end. Being domiciled in a group with hosts Australia, Nigeria and Canada.
To the best of my knowledge there hasn’t been much patronising but they sure as hell have had to endure some slurry lagoon full of ignorance. The worst part of which was that the vast majority of the dung is being slung by their own.
Between the woke do-gooders kicking up a kerfuffle about them singing an Irish song in an Irish dressing room. That which in itself led to some condescending Neanderthal of an English ‘journalist’ asking the Irish player (disgracefully) sent out to “apologise” if she and her colleagues needed to “Educate themselves on history”.
That gutter reporter was let off far too handy with the incident but, if we thought that was as low as it was going to get, unfortunately our own have managed to take things down several pegs further.
On one hand, you had the fact that the (awful looking) Irish rugby gear for the forthcoming World Cup in that sport is on front and centre in outlets – even though it doesn’t start for more than a month – yet in a lot of cases there’s not a sign of replica gear for Pauw’s powerhouses.
However, the worst insult of the lot – and the one which grinded my gears the most – arrived via supposedly the most reputable publication in the country. But then, can anybody who fields the bespeckled champion of imperialism in their lineup really be taken seriously?
The horrendous abomination began as follows “Oh Marissa, how could you? Ireland were doing so well until Marissa Sheva’s UNFORGIVABLE lapse in concentration…ruined all Ireland’s good work up til then”. Not content with sensationalising the facts as a means of shaming the poor unfortunate who conceded the penalty, Malachy Clerkin went on: “Stupid has no comeback though. Stupid kills you every time”.
How do you even begin to analyse such horse manure? The last time I checked, the only thing deemed unforgivable was murder and there are even strong, brave souls willing to break that barricade down too.
From the mere viewpoint of respect, how anybody could consciously write such bile – not to mention how any Editor worth their salt would allow such scour into the public domain is beyond me. I wouldn’t dare print anything of the sort on this site and there’s no way my editor in my other place of work would let it go either. And rightly so.
At a more basic level though, why he chose to overload on the negative narrative is beyond me. Especially given the historic achievement it has been for Ireland to qualify for the World Cup in the the first place. Plus, as was referred to earlier, the calibre of opponent they would be confronting in the group stages.
After all that necessary venting, it’s probably high time a bit of actual football was discussed here. At a minimum, for a team in their maiden voyage at the highest level, first pit stops don’t come much more arduous than taking on the host nation.
Yet for the vast majority of the contest, a first time viewer wouldn’t know there was a disparity in status and experience between the sides. Niamh Fahy, Denise O’Sullivan, Louise Quinn and, especially, the irrepressible Katie McCabe were well on top of their individual to-do lists.
Obviously, there’s never a good time to concede a goal, but, give me a choice of just before half time or just after it, and after wins every time. Thus, after Steph Catley dispatched the spot kick seven minutes into the second half, Ireland had ample to work themselves back into the match.
They did more than that. They laid siege to the locals’ goal but could never get one to reside in the onion bag. The luck of the Irish was nowhere to be found when needed most.
Still, to again place things in context while straining muscles in an effort not to be patronising, this was a gargantuan effort from Pauw’s players and one which should imbue them with hope and confidence about their remaining fixtures.
Particularly in view of the fact that Canada and Nigeria took points off each other. Ireland are sponsored by Sky (don’t even get me started on that) but, as it happens, their advertising tag line is: “Believe In Better“. Our girls in green deserved better on Thursday. On and off the pitch.
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