A view from the couch: 'And that, basically, is that' for Ireland's history-makers
Republic of Ireland players celebrate after Katie McCabe scores their first goal during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 group B match at the Perth Rectangular Stadium, Western Australia. Pictures: PA
A minute in, the first could be heard from the Irish crowd in Perth. It wasn’t long before Kyra Carusa went so close, forcing a corner from the Canadian keeper to give us our first heart-stopping moment.
And then, as Katie McCabe struck that vicious, curling corner that whipped into the net, the hearts of the nation leapt as one.
“It’s in,” yelled George Hamilton on RTÉ.
“Katie McCabe has put Ireland in front straight from a corner kick. What about that? What a start for the Irish.”
After the unfortunate mishap with un-synced audio on RTÉ last week, the Irish public watching in offices, in pubs and at home across the country got to enjoy that momentous moment in full technicolour as McCabe held her arms aloft.
Just a few minutes later, we heard the first bars of 'Fields of Athenry' from the Irish men and women packed into the Rectangular Stadium. Ireland’s women were in dreamland at the World Cup.
Hamilton invoked memories of Irish football gone by putting the goalscorer in that pantheon of those who’ve delivered the Big Moments.
“Ray Houghton in Stuttgart, Ronnie Whelan in Hanover, Ray Houghton in the Giant’s Stadium and Katie McCabe in Perth,” he said.
Co-commentator Stephanie Roche said it’s "exactly what we wanted” to start the game as she counselled how important it was to now keep our shape and not to give anything away.
Having listened to the pre-game coverage, this certainly came as a very welcome surprise.
Carrying on their excellent analysis so far, Karen Duggan and Megan Campbell mixed feelings of hope and positivity with some healthy realism about the challenge ahead.
“It’ll be tough for us against a strong Canada side,” said Campbell. “Don’t concede early and stay in the game as long as you can.”
In that, they more than delivered from the start.
But then the gut punch.
And then not long into the second half, the hammer blow. And Ireland was in the position the panel had feared: behind and chasing the game.
As the clock ticked on, Roche remarked how Ireland “lacked composure on the ball” as the need for an equalizer became ever more urgent.
At the top of the programme, host Peter Collins said: “Defeat today is unthinkable”.
And yet that’s where we found ourselves at full-time.
“And hopes of progress evaporate in the rain in Perth,” Hamilton said sorrowfully.
“Why did we fall off the cliff in the second half,” asked Duggan in studio, remarking that “this will hurt tonight”.
In defeat, however, there was no shame, however heartbreaking it was.
As Hamilton glumly concluded “and that, basically, is that”, and RTÉ cut to a break, you could still hear the Fields of Athenry belting out around the stadium as the Ireland fans cheered off the historymakers at their first World Cup.
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