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The 42
03-06-2025
- General
- The 42
Ireland beat Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh but fall short of four-goal win needed for top spot
Republic of Ireland 1 Slovenia 0 AT THE FINAL whistle, Slovenia celebrated wildly. Ireland won the game, but not the war. A frst-half goal from Cork history-maker Saoirse Noonan wasn't enough at Páirc Uí Chaoimh as the hosts fell short of the four-goal win needed to steal top spot and secure Nations League promotion. Carla Ward's side went for it, but instead navigate the play-offs in October as they chase promotion to League A. They'll learn their fate in Friday's draw, a third-place League A team lying in wait. As Saša Kolman and his players revelled in their incredible achievement — thanks to a 4-0 win in Koper in February — the Irish squad huddled quietly and paid tribute to the retiring Louise Quinn. Much of the 9,433 fans stayed around on a windy night on Leeside to do so too. They hailed their home heroes Noonan, Denise O'Sullivan and Megan Connolly as they circled the pitch, the GAA markings still visible, and points covered on the scoreboard. Ward said Ireland would go gung-ho, and that they did. She made four changes from Friday's 2-1 comeback win over Türkiye, three of them attacking, and gave Katie McCabe full licence to go forward. One addition, Cork's own Noonan broke the deadlock in the 19th minute. The first sportsperson to play a competitive inter-county Gaelic football match and soccer international in the Páirc, Noonan headed home her second international goal after a superb delivery from Jessie Stapleton, moved out to right-back on the night. Ireland had been piling on the pressure through an encouraging start against a stiff breeze; Noonan's first chance cleared off the line amidst a raft of early corners. Anna Patten was among the others to go close, but Slovenia still held a threat on the counter. Abbie Larkin and Emily Murphy danced out wide, the former and Megan Connolly testing Zala Meršnik and finding their range from distance, while McCabe sent in some delicious deliveries, before Ireland hit the front. Slovenia looked rattled as the one-way traffic continued, and did their utmost to frustrate. Maja Sternad was booked for a cynical foul on the clearly-targetted McCabe, while manager Saša Kolman also saw yellow on the line. Advertisement Kyra Carusa, Murphy and Patten probably should have done better with chances from corners — Connolly and McCabe on song from the set-piece — and the returning centre-forward saw a penalty shout waved away for a clear push from Meršnik. But the Slovenian transitional threat remained; Courtney Brosnan stepping up with a huge save to deny Lara Prasnikar on the cusp of half time. The Eintracht Frankfurt star really should have done better one-on-one, having exposed the Irish defence, not for the first time. Caitlin Hayes, making her first start under Ward, did bring further solidity, however. Ireland would have liked to have been more than one goal to the better at the break, but they will have been encouraged by their efforts through the chaos. Hometown hero Denise O'Sullivan grew into the game more and more on the restart, but Ireland struggled to string together as many chances. That wasn't helped by the stop-start nature of the contest, Slovenia doing their utmost to slow matters down with cynical challenges and unnecessary bookings. Just after the hour-mark, the Megan Campbell siren sounded. The long-throw specialist was introduced alongside Amber Barrett, and both looked to impact quickly. Hayes headed a Campbell slingshot over the bar, and the lively Murphy skied a golden chance after being played through by Barrett. The Newcastle United forward later drew a good save after cutting in from the left. Slovenia were living off scraps, but fired warning shots here and there. Brosnan dealt with all sent her way. With 10 minutes to play, the retiring Louise Quinn was thrown into the action alongside Marissa Sheva. It was anticipated the towering centurion would be sent up top as Ireland chased more goals, but she went centre-back. They kept knocking — and kept Meršnik on her toes — but couldn't add to Noonan's early effort. And amidst handbags down the stretch, Patten picked up her second yellow of the campaign, meaning she is suspended for the first leg of the play-offs. IRELAND: Courtney Brosnan; Jessie Stapleton (Megan Campbell 62), Anna Patten, Caitlin Hayes, Katie McCabe; Emily Murphy, Megan Connolly, Denise O'Sullivan, Abbie Larkin (Louise Quinn 80); Saoirse Noonan (Amber Barrett 62), Kyra Carusa (Marissa Sheva 80). SLOVENIA: Zala Meršnik; Lana Golob, Sara Agrež; Kaja Korošec, Dominika Čonč; Lara Prašnikar; Špela Kolbl, Sara Makovec, Kaja Eržen; Zara Kramžar, Maja Sternad (Nina Kajzba, 68) Referee: Miriama Bockova (Slovakia).
Belfast Telegraph
03-06-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
Northern Ireland lead Bosnia in decisive Nations League clash
Live | The equation for Tanya Oxtoby's side is simple. If they win or draw with Bosnia in Zenica they will finish second in the group and qualify for the Promotion Play-Off for a place in League A. If they lose, they will finish third and drop into the Relegation Play-Off where they must fight to avoid the drop into League C.
Belfast Telegraph
03-06-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
Updates from Zenica as Northern Ireland face Bosnia in decisive Nations League clash
Live | The equation for Tanya Oxtoby's side is simple. If they win or draw with Bosnia in Zenica they will finish second in the group and qualify for the Promotion Play-Off for a place in League A. If they lose, they will finish third and drop into the Relegation Play-Off where they must fight to avoid the drop into League C.
RTÉ News
03-06-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Team news: Saoirse Noonan set to make some Páirc history
Saoirse Noonan will create a bit of sporting history this evening after being named to start for the Republic of Ireland in their Nations League showdown with Slovenia at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Noonan will become the first sportsperson to play a competitive inter-county Gaelic football match and a full soccer international at the Leeside venue, having previously represented the Rebels at the Páirc in a league game against Westmeath. She'll partner Kyra Carusa up front as the Girls in Green go for broke against a side who hammered them 4-0 back in February. Ireland must win by four clear goals to top the group and go up to League A. If they fail to do that, Carla Ward's side will head for a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off in the autumn against one of the League A third-placed teams. Emily Murphy - the matchwinner against Turkey on Friday - comes into midfield in what looks like a 3-5-2 formation. Megan Connolly stays in the engine room with Denise O'Sullivan, while Abbie Larkin retains her place after a sprightly showing in Istanbul. Caitlin Hayes gets his first start under Ward, replacing Aoife Mannion who was withdrawn at half-time in Istanbul. Mannion is managing a slight quad injury. Louise Quinn is on the bench for the final time. The towering defender will retire after this evening's game. Republic of Ireland: Courtney Brosnan; Anna Patten, Caitlin Hayes, Jessie Stapleton; Abbie Larkin, Denise O'Sullivan, Megan Connolly, Emily Murphy, Katie McCabe (Capt); Kyra Carusa, Saoirse Noonan
The 42
02-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Quinn and Mannion "a doubt" for Ireland's crunch Nations League game against Slovenia
LUCY QUINN AND Aoife Mannion have emerged as 'a doubt' for Republic of Ireland's crunch Nations League clash with Slovenia in Páirc Uí Chaoimh tomorrow. Quinn has a bug while Mannion's issue is related to playing overload. Neither have been ruled out with Mannion participating in today's training session, while Quinn's situation continues to be monitored. Ireland manager Carla Ward says she is 'hopeful' that Mannion will be available to play but admits that she is less confident about Quinn's fitness. The pair started in Ireland's 2-1 victory over Türkiye last Friday with Mannion coming off at half-time for Caitlin Hayes while Quinn played 74 minutes before she was replaced by Megan Campbell. Ireland host Group B2 toppers Slovenia at the Cork venue tomorrow night where Ward's outfit must must win by four goals or more to usurp them and secure automatic promotion to League A. The runners-up will go to the play-offs in October. 'It's an overload more than anything,' Ward replied when asked about the nature of Mannion's injury today. Advertisement 'She's had a really long season. If you look at the last couple of years, she's played more minutes this season than probably the last few seasons. She's finished a season and gone straight out to Portugal to play in the Sevens [World Sevens Tournament] and it's managing her load. Sometimes people maybe don't understand that part of it. 'We're hopeful that she'll be fit. We'll see today how she gets on but she's massively important for what we want to do and the way we want to play.' Commenting on Quinn's condition, Ward added: 'Maybe less so [hopeful] just because she's had a bug for a couple of days and we all know how that feels. We'll see. She's in good hands with the medical team. We'll have a look at her tonight and tomorrow and see how she feels.' Ireland were forced to rally from 1-0 down in Istanbul last Friday, ultimately coming away with a 2-1 victory through an own goal, and a late Emily Murphy effort. The result keeps their Nations League promotion hopes alive, but Ward said after the game that Ireland need a better performance against Slovenia, if they are to reach that four-goal target. After reflecting on their performance over the last few days, Ward says she still feels the same. 'I think the gaps at times were too big. I think we needed to start better. I think we were sloppy at times, but I think that we all felt that, and on reflection [we had] similar thoughts. 'We know where we need to tidy up. Like I said to you, we've got an ambitious group of players, players that constantly want to be better. Those conversations become easy because they answer the questions for you.' Ward declined to divulge if her side will have a different tactical set-up for Slovenia. Their previous meeting in February ended in a 4-0 drubbing for Ireland, where Slovenia manager Sasa Kolman alluded that he knew how Ireland were going to set up. 'I's not hard to look at a Carla Ward team over the last eight years and work out how I like to play the game,' she responded when she was reminded of his remarks. 'So, yeah, I think it was… he can comment all he likes. It just shows that he's probably had a look at my career, which I can take a little bit of confidence from.'
