Gleeson rues set-piece concession and squandered goal chance 

SET-PIECE WOE: Republic of Ireland head coach Eileen Gleeson speaks to her side after their defeat. Pic: Stephen McCarthy, Sportsfile

Eileen Gleeson rued the concession of a set-piece and squandering an opportunity at the other end as Ireland got their Euro tilt off to a losing start.

There’s no shame in losing 1-0 to the third best in the world but the fact France gave their Metz crowd something to sing about after just six minutes was a tough one for Ireland to digest.

Marie Antoinette Katoto pounced at the back post to settle the match after Ireland failed to properly defend Kenza Dali’s inswinging free-kick, leaving them without a goal or point heading into Tuesday’s visit of England to Lansdowne Road.

Gleeson, who was handed the head coach’s job on a permanent basis after her temporary stint encompassed six wins from their six-game Nations League schedule, was also frustrated with a wasted breakaway at the end.

Instead of squaring for the unmarked Katie McCabe, sub Leanne Kiernan let fly with a shot that blazed wide.

“It was back post and second ball - these are the areas we talk of and it didn’t get organised quickly enough,” Gleeson said about the solitary goal.

“The second ball didn’t get picked up. We conceded that early which is annoying and disappointing for us and the girls.

“But we still had to go another 90 minutes and we felt the girls put in a great shift and came away with a loss. But we’re not overly displeased with the performance.

“Potentially, Leanne plays Katie in there and we’re 1-1. We’ll be reviewing that but, in these moments, we can be shouting as much as we want from the sidelines. She doesn’t pick it out and we don’t come away. These are the important decisions.” 

Gleeson rallied her troops in the post-game huddle. There’s five games left in this sprint-like campaign which also includes Sweden, running up to July.

“I was telling the players and staff that one result won’t define the whole campaign,” she revealed.

“We can’t look at it like that, we had to have a performance that we could work off and build on for Tuesday. That’s what I was saying. We know it was a 1-1 draw in the other game between England and Sweden and I think that’s going to be a picture across the group where teams will take points off each other.

“We can’t be detrimental about one result here tonight. We have to build on the performance. We knew it was going to be tough and it was tough, but I feel like the girls gave a good performance.” 

 She also passed her condolences to Colin Healy, her assistant who wasn’t part of the camp due to the sad passing of his wife Kelly on Thursday night.

“We are all super sad and we send our deepest condolences and our love and support to Colin. It’s Colin’s private time with his family and we will be respectful of that. But yeah, we are obviously thinking about him and his family.”