Battling for hearts and minds... and points

Our household’s resident young footballer found some rewarding consolation in defeat after the Irish women’s team lost 2-0 to the Netherlands in Tallaght last Tuesday night.

The additional practical benefit of being lucky enough to get Louise Quinn’s hairband after the final whistle is that it can actually be proudly worn (indeed, by the looks of things, will only be removed from our daughter’s head through a process of surgical intervention), in contrast to the equally prized possession of a pair of Emma Byrne’s gloves which, no less gratefully received after a qualifier during the last campaign, now reside in a frame on our 10-year-old’s bedroom wall.

To add to the ineffable post-match excitement in Tallaght, there were also high fives exchanged with Fifa world player of the year, Barcelona’s Lieke Martens, and striker supreme Vivianne Mediema of Arsenal, an unused sub on the night, before the Oranje superstars disappeared down the tunnel.