World Cup qualifiers: Poland 2 (Pawollek 43, Pajor 78) Republic of Ireland 3 (Murphy 12, McCabe 20, Sheva 59)
Five goals and a missed penalty by Katie McCabe sounds like the Republic of Ireland were embroiled in a thriller in Gdansk.
Really, the visitors controlled large swathes of a World Cup qualifier that will be repeated at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).
Early Irish goals from Emily Murphy and an unforgettable McCabe volley were not enough to see off Poland. Marissa Sheva’s neat finish on the hour mark was needed to secure all three points.
If Ireland can bottle the opening 20 minutes at the Gdansk Stadium then qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil should be achieved at a canter.
Some concerns remain around Carla Ward’s team temporarily losing concentration when in control of games. Last month, strong French and Dutch sides were able to recalibrate and cancel out McCabe goals to leave Ireland with zero points.
But this was addressed in impressive fashion here. McCabe brought her tally to three goals in three outings this year, almost as a reminder to Arsenal’s Champions League rivals that the 30-year-old wing back is out of contract this summer. She is playing better than ever.
Before the Irish skipper’s strike made it 2-0, Murphy’s goal after 11 minutes showed why the Newcastle United forward has become a key figure under Ward.
Ireland’s Emily Murphy in action against Poland’s Aleksandra Zaremba. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
The attack started as it usually does, with McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan linking down the left before Murphy swerved past Tanja Pawollek and finished off Kinga Szemik’s flailing glove.
It was poor from the Polish goalkeeper but Ireland confirmed their dominance when McCabe leathered Oliwa Wos’s clearance of Megan Connolly’s corner from the edge of a crowded box.
“Serious world class technique,” said Ward. “I keep saying it: we’ve the best left back in the world.”
Poland upped the intensity, with O’Sullivan repeatedly targeted off the ball, but Irish errors opened the door. Successive duffed clearances by Courtney Brosnan and Aoife Mannion invited Ewa Pajor to storm into the area, where Chloe Mustaki’s slide tackle denied the Barcelona striker a shot on target.
Poland got plenty of joy down Ireland’s left flank for the remainder of the first half, and that’s how Pawollek scored two minutes before the break.
It came from a succession of avoidable errors. First, McCabe conceded a corner when trying to dribble from her end line and repeated failures to clear their lines invited Paula Tomasiak to curl the cross for Pawollek’s powerful header past Brosnan.
The Union Berlin midfielder was yellow carded moments later for roughing up O’Sullivan. Remarkably, Bulgarian referee Hristiyana Guteva also booked the Cork woman.
Tanja Pawollek celebrates scoring Poland’s opening goal. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
Ireland, in any other era, would have battened down the hatches in the second half. Under Ward’s cajoling they were rewarded for continually turning the Poles.
Sheva has been a study in incremental improvement since breaking into the Ireland team at the 2023 World Cup. The Pennsylvanian’s fourth international goal came from the subplot of the evening as O’Sullivan and Pawollek were locked in a battle near the Polish corner flag.
Pawollek stubbornly refused to put boot to ball and Murphy punished her by sending the half clearance towards Sheva, who finished in style.
“I just said to her: ‘you love this system, don’t you?’” said Ward of Sheva. “This group want to improve all the time.”
Plenty of Irish players showed up. Abbie Larkin made an impression in place of Kyra Carusa after the veteran centre forward withdrew sick before kick-off.
Larkin has been impressive for Crystal Palace this season and off the bench for Ireland. The 20-year-old emerged here as genuine competition for Carusa before being replaced by Amber Barrett.
Megan Connolly was quietly efficient in midfield, while the back five turned Pajor into a peripheral figure until she controlled Ewelina Kanczyk’s pass and produced a deft lob over Brosnan to make it 3-2 with 12 minutes remaining.
Back came Ireland with Murphy earning a penalty off Wos that McCabe blasted over the crossbar. Despite the captain’s annoyance at herself afterwards, it proved to be a score Ireland could survive without.
POLAND: Szemik; Zaremba, Wos, Dudek, Wiankowska (Zieniewicz 69); Achcinka (Kokosz 86), Kamczyk, Pawollek (Grzybowska 66); Tomasiak (Jedlińska 86), Pajor, Padilla (Sarapata 66).
REP OF IRELAND: Brosnan; Mannion, Patten, Hayes, Mustaki, McCabe; Sheva (Ziu 86), O’Sullivan, Connolly; Murphy, Larkin (Barrett 69).
Referee: H Guteva (Bulgaria).