3 days ago
Ireland come from behind in Turkey to clinch battling win
Women's Uefa Nations League B TURKEY…1 (Kader Hancar 49 IRELAND… 2 (Busem Seker OG 79, Emily Murphy 89)
Substitute Emily Murphy plundered a late winner against Turkey to afford Ireland the slender chance of leapfrogging Slovenia at Pairc Uí Chaoímh on Tuesday for top spot.
With the Slovenians maintaining their perfect record by beating Greece 2-0 in Ljubljana, three points were a must in Istanbul.
They were fortunate to take any after Kader Hancar gave the Turks a deserved lead early in the second half, forcing Carla Ward to rely on reinforcements such as throw-in specialist Megan Campbell from the substitutes' bench.
Campbell's deep catapult from the sideline into a crowded penalty area with 11 minutes left met the head of the back-peddling Busem Seker, who glanced the ball over the head of her goalkeeper Selda Akgoz.
Ireland chased the essential winner against the side situated 35 places behind them in Fifa's rankings and they were gifted with a minute remaining.
Circumstance decreed that managing Katie McCabe gametime in the aftermath of her exertions with Arsenal's Champions League victory was ditched and her long punt proved fruitful.
Inexplicably, Sejde Abrahamson slipped when attempting to clear, steering her header into the path of Murphy to smash her first international goal high into the net.
The results mean Ireland must beat the table-toppers by at least four goals to usurp them for promotion to League A and guarantee entry into the playoff series for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
More to follow…
TURKEY: S Akgoz; B Seker, G Hiz, S Abrahamson, I Civelek; E Topcu, M Cal, E Turkoglu; Miray Cin, K Hancar (M Ozturk 75). M Pekel.
IRELAND: C Brosnan; A Mannion (C Hayes 46), A Patten, J Stapleton, K McCabe: M Connolly; A Larkin (S Noonan 60), D O'Sullivan, M Sheeva (K Carusa 60), Lucy Quinn (M Campbell 75); A Barrett (E Murphy 60).
Referee: Kristina Georgieva (Bulgaria)
