World Cup playoff, first leg: Kazakhstan 0 Republic of Ireland 8 (Carusa 7, 28, Mustaki 16, Murphy 44, Larkin 45+3, Finn 58, Hopcroft 73, Stapleton 90)
The concern for this Republic of Ireland group has always centred around how they would cope without Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan.
Especially in a World Cup playoff over 5,000 kilometres from their adopted home patch of Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork.
Turns out, Abbie Larkin and others like Chloe Mustaki were ready to carry the load in the absence of the nation’s two world class players.
Larkin, the 21-year-old Crystal Palace winger, who hails from Ringsend, was outstanding as Carla Ward’s side scored eight goals – five from headers – at the Astana Arena in Kazakhstan.
An 8-0 victory in the first leg of a World Cup semi-final playoff keeps Ireland on course to face the winners of Belgium and Poland in a decider next month to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
“We want to be front-footed and play with personality in the final third,” said Ward. “We are showing we are a good side, and good teams can win in different ways.”
Larkin and Mustaki, in particular, ensured that Ward’s understrength starting XI did not miss the rested O’Sullivan, injured Jess Ziu or the suspended McCabe and Marissa Sheva.
Kyra Carusa brought her international tally to 15 goals, up alongside Troy Parrott, with two headed finishes from Mustaki deliveries into the box.
Mustaki, now 31, and finally living up to the potential she showed as a younger player before she had to step away from the game to receive treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma. She scored her first international goal after Nazym Ismailova fumbled Larkin’s shot before Emily Murphy hit the rebound off the post for the Nottingham Forest defender to finish from an acute angle.
Emily Murphy scores Ireland’s fourth goal in Astana. Photograph: Inpho
“I was a bit nervous stepping into Katie McCabe’s shoes tonight,” Mustaki, the player of the match, told RTÉ. “The girls made it easy for me. We had actually practised early deliveries from out wide throughout the week.
“We want to qualify for Brazil,” she added. “If we make it through Tuesday we got a big opponent in Belgium or Poland in November. We need to turn the screw again. Three cup finals to get through”
Any chance of the home team keeping in touch with Ireland was ended by the sending off of Yulia Myasnikova for a foul on Larkin in the 30th minute. Controversially, VAR intervened before Norwegian referee Karoline Marie Jensen showed the Kazakhstan captain a straight red card.
Ismailova, who was at fault for Ireland’s opening three goals, was replaced with an injury after an innocuous fall 10 minutes before half-time. Kazyna Norbayeva was not much better; she was unable to deny Murphy scoring after Larkin took on four defenders before stinging the reserve goalkeeper’s hands with a shot, that her strike partner followed up.
Larkin made it 5-0 in first-half injury time.
The game lacked intensity in the second half as an attack versus defence, training ground feel developed between the Irish professionals and local part-timers. Ward took the opportunity to replace Carusa, Lazio’s Megan Connolly and Murphy with Amber Barrett, Leanne Kiernan and Tyler Toland.
It made little difference. Kazakhstan crowded the middle, which invited Aoife Mannion and Mustaki to raid down the flanks and cross at will.
Mannion assisted two second-half goals; her clever crossing invited Jamie Finn to make it 6-0 before Shanade Hopcroft, on debut, made it 7-0 with a nice touch at the front post. Jess Stapleton claimed an eighth in the 90th minute.
Ward can run her squad for the second leg next Tuesday in Cork when O’Sullivan, McCabe and Sheva are expected to return.
KAZAKHSTAN: Ismailova (Portnova, 39); Burova, Myasnikova (capt), Nurusheva, Vlassova; Babshuk, Nizamutdinova (Norbayeva, 62), Zhumabaikyzy (Popova, 75); Gaistenova, Bibossynova (Osipova, 75), Turlybekova (Sadykova, 75).
Red Card: Myasnikova (33).
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Brosnan; Patten (Hopcroft, 70), Hayes (Nolan, 70), Stapleton; Mannion, Connolly (Toland, 46), Finn, Mustaki; Murphy (Kiernan, 46), Larkin; Carusa (Barrett, 46).
Referee: Karoline Marie Jensen (Norway).