Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan have emerged as injury doubts ahead of the Republic of Ireland’s second World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands in Utrecht on Saturday.
Ireland’s leading players both completed the full 90 minutes in Tallaght Stadium as France secured all three points after Manchester United striker Melvine Malard came off the bench to score twice in a 2-1 victory.
McCabe profited from player of the match Emily Murphy’s assist to score her 32nd international goal in the first-half, while O’Sullivan’s late shot was cleared off the goal line as Carla Ward’s side were denied a point.
“Gutted is an understatement,” said Ward after the defeat. “We knew we would suffer at times without the ball, but we still wanted to play and attack them.
“There is a lot of pride in that performance. We left everything out there. It hurts but we pushed for the goal late on. It really hurts but we were up against one of the best teams in the world.
“We don’t want to sit behind the ball. We had 11 shots to their seven. If we show that fight and energy we will be just fine. We will get where we want to go.”
McCabe was switched to centre back late on, having picked up an injury, while O’Sullivan has been managing a knee issue.
“Katie got a knock,” said Ward. “She slipped into a tackle. That’s why we switched her with Chloe Mustaki. She was at about 70, 80 per cent.
“Denise has an ongoing niggle that we will assess. She is so important to the country. We will try to get them right for Saturday.”
On Murphy’s outstanding performance, Ward added: “You can play Emily Murphy anywhere. She has been terrific in an Ireland shirt. They all were terrific tonight.
“The message late on was ‘let’s be a little direct’.”
It almost paid off. There is no VAR in the Nations League until the World Cup playoffs in October, so Ireland had to accept three late calls for penalties being dismissed by referee Tess Olofsson.
“Haven’t seen it back,” said Ward. “First hand, you saw me – I was screaming and shouting. It wasn’t to be. We will take a lot of heart and confidence from that performance.
“The group is wide open. Poland [who drew 2-2 with the Netherlands] are a really good side. But we just showed we are a good team too. I said to them earlier today, nobody is going to give us a chance outside this room.”