Flashback: When Katie Taylor took on the Swedes

25 June 2008; Johanna Almgren, Sweden, in action against Katie Taylor, Republic of Ireland . UEFA Women's European Championship Qualifier, Group 2, Republic of Ireland v Sweden, Carlisle Grounds, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE

June 25, 2008: Euro 2009 Group 2 qualifier: Ireland 0 Sweden 5

Ireland blazed into contention for a first-ever qualification by winning four of their opening six fixtures but the last pair – home and away to the Swedes – were the most difficult. It was the last campaign Ireland shared a qualifying group with this week’s opponents.

The FAI marketed the visit to Bray of the team that had finished third at the last Euros – presenting local heroes Áine O'Gorman and Katie Taylor to the media to spearhead the promotional drive.

It was a different Katie to McCabe who was the golden girl of the squad in that era, for Taylor scored in the 2-1 win over Hungary at Tolka Park that began the campaign with optimism.

She had also given Ireland a shock early lead in Italy but her dismissal for a second booking on the hour left Noel King’s side stretched and the Azzurri unloaded a blitz in the last seven minutes to inflict a 4-1 defeat.

Playoff spots for the four best third-placed teams across the six groups were on offer back then and Ireland had all but sealed theirs when the Yellow Wave rocked up to the seaside of a summer’s evening.

Sweden had their own target to achieve, direct qualification, by making it five wins in a row.

Ireland held out for 19 minutes until Karolina Westberg headed past Emma Byrne, an advantage doubled four minutes later by captain Victoria Svensson.

Josefine Ogvist made it 3-0 on 28 minutes before Westberg grabbed her second with 17 minutes left and sub Lotta Schelin added a fifth in the closing stages.

The closest Ireland came to giving the 1,450 turnout a goal was Taylor’s header just past the hour which Hedvig Lindhal gathered.

Sweden’s goalkeeper was the only player on duty that day part of the squad that Ireland face this week.

The great Caroline Seger would feature in the rematch four months later, a gap in which the Swedes finished sixth at the Olympics in Beijing. Sweden needed just the last of their 31 goals in qualifying against an Ireland side operating without Taylor. She was preparing to win her second world boxing amateur title in China, conflicting commitments that also ruled her out of Ireland’s playoff defeat in Iceland.

Taylor did return in 2009 to win the last of her 11 caps in the World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan.

IRELAND (4-3-3): Emma Byrne (Arsenal); Marie Curtin (Hofstra Univ), Niamh Fahey (Salthill Devon), Yvonne Tracy (Arsenal), Alisha Moran (New York Ath Club); Ciara Grant (Arsenal), Katie Taylor (Peamount Utd), Edel Malone (Hofstra Univ); Áine O’Gorman (Stella Maris), Michele O'Brien (Long Island Lady Riders), Stefanie Curtis (Bristol Academy).

Substitutes: Olivia O'Toole (Raheny United) for Curtis (73 mins).

SWEDEN (4-2-2): Hedvig Lindhal; Frida Ostberg, Stina Segerstrom, Karolina Westberg, Sara Thundero; Josefine Ogvist, Lisa Dahlkvist, Nilla Fischer, Therese Suogran; Victoria Svensson, Jessica Landstrom.

Substitutes: Lotta Schelin for Landstrom (61 mins), Linda Forsberg for Dahlkvist (72 mins), Johanna Almgren for Ogvist (80 mins) REFEREE: Claudine Brohet (Belgium).

ATTENDANCE: 1450.