O'Sullivan agony as dark cloud descends over Ireland's World Cup prep

A sombre note descended on Ireland’s final training match against Colombia

DARK CLOUD: Sinead Farrelly of Republic of Ireland in action against Daniela Arias of Columbia during the women's friendly match between Republic of Ireland and Colombia at Meakin Park in Brisbane, Australia, ahead of the start of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Soon to share the world stage, Ireland and Australia seemed worlds apart on Friday as contrasting moods arose from their final preparatory assignments.

Whereas the Matildas basked in conquering another top-10 seeded team France before a record crowd in Melbourne of 50,629, a darker, more sombre note descended on Ireland’s final training match against Colombia, all of 1775 kilometres north to Brisbane.

Only a sprinkling of laypeople beyond the players and staff, chiefly children from the nearby Queensland school, were at Meakin Park to hear Denise O’Sullivan writhing in agony from a sinister Colombian lunge.

Her scream piercing the night sky in this remote setting spoke not just of the pain inflicted on her shin but the mental realisation in that very moment that her World Cup dream could potentially be robbed.

Vera Pauw saw enough by that 20th-minute mark to down tools and take her team off the pitch. A pair of bookings, the second one on O’Sullivan lenient, wasn’t in keeping with the purpose of this workout.

The South Americans are also at the World Cup but clues of their restlessness were flagged when Nelson Abadía disembarked the team bus barking instructions to keep the media out of sight.

That overturned an earlier agreement between the two associations that media be allowed in conditional on details of Colombian selection and tactics remaining within the perimeter fence.

That wasn't a problem for the media, but Abadía ruled otherwise — all the more bizarre given their World Cup opponents are entitled to footage from the match.

The Germans, Morocco and Colin Bell’s South Korea won’t decipher much from a game lasting three quarters less than scheduled, other than their penchant for tackling the opponent and not the ball. FAI diplomacy reached overdrive by branding the approach as ‘over physical’ when confirming the uncapped game’s abandonment.

O’Sullivan’s well-being was the most pressing priority.

Once attended to by physio Angela Kenneally, team doctor Siobhan Forman decreed a trip to the local St Andrew’s hospital was essential for the team’s creative force who’d hobbled off the pitch, unable to apply weight on her damaged leg.

Pictures from the runout were being uploaded by the FAI’s official photographer to view publicly online until the flashpoint, after which they vanished just as swiftly. Selected images, devoid of close contact between players, reappeared hours later.

While her teammates all returned to the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane’s South Bank, their No 10 was detained in A&E to undergo a scan of her wound.

Fractures, bruising or a cut are possibilities but Pauw, perhaps wisely given her history of highlighting injustices, avoided the media pack to spend time with her husband Bert van Lingen in the plush, waterside five-star digs.

She has agreed to provide an update to the visiting pack in the hotel lobby at 10am on Saturday morning (1am, Irish time) but time is against the Leesider recovering in time for the sold-out opener against the Matildas.

Colombia won’t have construed the incident in like-minded fashion to the FAI. Shortly afterwards, they offered their take on the abrupt halting, glaringly omitting any reference to a 102-times capped stalwart fretting over her availability for a stage she’s worked her career to reach.

"The Colombian Football Federation reports that the friendly match that was to take place as part of today's training between the Colombian Women's team and Ireland, was suspended because Ireland, rival in the practice of this Friday, preferred not to continue playing when 23 minutes of the first half had already elapsed.

"Although all the processes and training of our national teams are framed in the rules of the game, healthy competition and FairPlay, among others, we respect the decision of our rival team.” 

One of their stars, Daniela Caracas, adopted a looser interpretation to the premature cessation when asked about the match through the meshed surrounding fence by a clutch of Colombian expatriates who’d turned up in the misguided expectation of supporting their team in the flesh.

In a video captured on social media, Caracas described the Irish women as 'babies' in conversation with her fans.

“They are just girls," the Espanyol star, displaying her indignation. "One little foul and they started complaining. They were having a chat amongst themselves to continue or not so we weren’t going to hang around waiting for them.” 

Australia endured an injury scare themselves when Tameka Yallop was forced off. She’d only returned from a serious knee injury but manager Tony Gustavsson downplayed its significance as the six days until Thursday rapidly dissolve.

That the daughter of a Ballymun man, Mary Fowler, slayed a France side that had strolled past Ireland at Tallaght eight days ago added to the plotlines around the most anticipated fixture of the tournament. O’Sullivan, too, has links with Down Under, having impressed during a pair of loan stints in the top-flight.

Ireland’s mission is to avoid the emotion attached to an occasion of this magnitude.

Build-up since their arrival in Brisbane over the weekend had been low-key, the Irish ambassador’s function on Thursday clashing with a training session, but the potentially disastrous outcome of an unofficial game has put a dampener on the weekend.