Brave Ireland see Euro dream end as they fall just short against Germany
Ireland's Ruesha Littlejohn dejected are the game. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Hope flickered for longer than anticipated in Tallaght last night but the end result met expectations with the Republic of Ireland's feint hopes of a shot at the Euro 2022 finals extinguished by Group I's runaway leaders and tournament favourites.
The impossible was still possible with just 15 minutes to go as Montenegro held Ukraine to a draw in Kiev and Ireland trailed Germany by just two goals to one. A goal for the away side over there, or one for the home side here, and Ireland were runners-up and in the playoffs.
In the end, both tides turned against the Girls in Green, Ukraine claiming a 2-1 win and Germany tacking on a third of their own. Third place it is and a campaign that had promised so much for so long ended with a familiar feeling of emptiness.
It was the concession of an injury-time equaliser away to Greece and the countless misfortunes that befell them in a 1-0 loss in Ukraine that proved to be the ultimate barriers to that runners-up place in Group I and a possible maiden berth in a major finals.
Louise Quinn, for one, chooses to believe instead that the measure of this Irish team is not be found in those gut checks but in their efforts against the Germans who found Vera Pauw's side a tougher nut to crack than any of the others.
Ukraine conceded 16 goals to the bluebloods, Ireland just six and last night's 44th-minute penalty from Katie McCabe was the only goal Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's team coughed up at any point throughout their eight fixtures.
Defeated 3-0 in Essen in September, Ireland got hit by the first after just 20 minutes last night when Svenja Huth wrapped a trailing leg around McCabe's calf and won a penalty which was unmerited but converted coolly by Lina Magull.
The impressive Tabea Waßmuth made it 2-0 nine minutes later and then wrapped it up with another clinical strike five minutes from full-time when Quinn had been repurposed from central defender to emergency striker as the home side chased the game and their fading dreams.
“We went out there with the intention to beat the Germans,” said Quinn. “It was the only way and we knew we had to put it all out there. It didn't happen tonight. We tried our best to keep them out but we had to start opening up the game as well, and take those chances.
“That's where the regrets will come from: if you don't throw the kitchen sink at it. I think that's really what we did. Now the game is done and the campaign is done we'll reflect but I thought how we approached the Germans was fantastic.
“We've got to think of the campaign as a whole and just build. We experienced things that maybe we haven't done before and now we've got to learn from that. We're going to be disappointed for a while but to say that we didn't give it our everything would be a lie.
“We emptied the tank each and every game.” The mood was defiant after last night's game, the talk turning towards a bright future where the likes of Ellen Molloy, Jessica Ziu, Isibeal Atkinson and Emily Whelan – all of them teenagers involved in this squad – will be brought through.
Older heads will be required too. Quinn was one of five thirtysomethings who started here and the Fiorentina defender insists she has no intention of stepping away now.
“Plenty more caps, hopefully,” she said. “That's my intention. They're big legs and I still think there's a lot in them.”
: G Moloney; A O'Gorman, N Fahey, L Quinn, D Caldwell; D O'Sullivan, J Finn, R Littlejohn, K McCabe; R Jarrett, H Payne. Substitutes: A Barrett for Jarrett (55); E Molloy for Finn (80).
AK Berger; KJ Hendrich, M Hegering, L Oberdorf, S Lohmann; L Magull, L Dallmann, M Leupolz; T Waßmuth, S Huth, K Buhl. Substitutes: D Marozsan for Dallmann (HT); PS Wolter for Hendrich (61); L Schuller for Buhl and L Lattwein for Magull (both 75).
P Quintero Siles (Spain).
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