Denise O'Sullivan: Little details thwarted Ireland's World Cup hopes
REGRETS: Denise O'Sullivan of Republic of Ireland in action against Canada during the World Cup Group B match at Perth Rectangular Stadium. Pic: Mick O'Shea/Sportsfile
Not that she’d begrudge her pal Katie McCabe of Ireland’s World Cup seminal moment yet Denise O’Sullivan couldn’t help but postmortem her own shot at glory.
Ireland were 1-0 up against Canada on Wednesday and dominating the Olympic champions when Sinead Farrelly’s trademark pirouette and a lay-off by Niamh Fahey supplied O’Sullivan with a sight of goal.
Perhaps surprised at the space afforded in Perth, she advanced only a yard towards the box before unloading the ball from her right foot.
“My first thought was to shoot because I sometimes pass those ones off,” said the Cork woman about the effort that unusually for her floated over.
“There was a bit too much on it but I definitely felt it could fly into the top corner.”
Hindsight is everything but extending the lead – or at least retaining it by the interval – might have produced a different outcome rather than the comeback executed by the Canadians either side of the break.
The experience Ireland’s manager Vera Pauw cited as decisive, especially after the introduction at the interval of three players capped collectively 600 times, was reflected in gamesmanship by running the clock down as the Girls in Green furrowed for a reprieve to avoid elimination.
“If we’d gone in at half-time ahead, we’d have had a really good chance of a result,” bemoaned the North Carolina Courage playmaker.
“It was highly disappointing to go in 1-1 because I felt we'd been well on top in the first half.
“Canada are professional. We’re at the World Cup and they did it (time-wasted). Who knows? Probably every team would have done the same thing.
“Their professional approach was to win the game. Any team would do it so we won’t dwell on it. They wasted a lot of time but we lost the game.”
That’s the cold reality that players of O’Sullivan’s standing operate in. Her two American league titles were delivered by winning games in different ways, some prettier than others. Canada got the job done.
Resting on the accomplishment of qualifying wasn’t in the mindset of the maestro heading to Australia. Ireland have seen how a Nigerian side seemingly in crisis over a bonuses dispute have belied their bottom seed status to hold Canada and beat Australia on their home patch.
So how Ireland fare against the Super Falcons in Monday’s final game in Brisbane will indicate where they stand in the world order.
O'Sullivan believes the experience gained Down Under will leave Ireland better equipped for the Nations League between September and December – the precursor to next year’s tilt for the 2025 Euros in Switzerland. New blood will emerge, along with the return of injury victims Ellen Molloy and Jess Ziu.
“At these tournaments, it's the little details that matter,” noted O’Sullivan, who won her 104th cap against Canada.
“We’re playing against world-class opposition and can say we fought by giving it everything.
“We created plenty of chances in the first half against Canada. We got higher up the pitch to create those so taking those chances is the next step.
“We didn’t get up the pitch against Australia so this was a positive. We know we can build off those chances we as a team created.
“For us, this is the start of the journey because we showed that we belong at this level. That gives us real confidence for future campaigns but I’m gutted that we’re not going further in the tournament.”
Pauw allowed her players a day off on Friday to meet up with their families at a local hostelry in the city's fashionable Southbank district but on Saturday the focus turns to a Nigerian side led by her former Houston Dash boss Randy Waldrum.
While the Africans have top spot in their grasp, points and pride are the twin motivations for the Irish.
“We’ve another game to go and will look to win that,” asserted O’Sullivan.
“We’ll regroup. The feeling of disappointment lingers for a few days but we’ll rally around each other to lift the spirits.
“The fans were fantastic in Sydney and Perth and we’ll try to win against Nigeria for them as well. There’s no regrets from our side.”
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