Sickened Carla Ward says Ireland will profit from big game losses

Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward after the World Cup Qualifier defeat by the Netherlands. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Carla Ward said Ireland’s late defeat to Netherlands was ‘sickening’, promising the benefits will be seen in the remainder of the campaign.

A 2-1 loss to France, the fifth highest European ranked team in the world, was followed by the same result against the nation sitting one place behind.

Zero points from this opening double-header of the World Cup campaign doesn’t tell the full story as Ireland had their moments to eke out a draw in each.

“It’s tough to take - sickening really,” said Ward after Lineth Beerensteyn’s winning goal eight minutes from full-time in Utrecht.

“We pride ourselves on defending set-pieces and it’s just a moment.

“The players executed the gameplan and I thought about us winning the game after we equalised.

“Over the last four days we’ve played two of the best teams and been disappointed not to get something. They’ve left everything out there.

“Overall we limited the Dutch to very little. We saw the dark arts from them.” 

 Player of the match Emily Murphy also spoke of how the Dutch tried to wind the clock down once they retook the lead.

“Katie McCabe said we had the Netherlands time-wasting - which we must take pride in.

“There are things we have to look at and rest and recharge for the next window.” That journey takes them to Gdansk on April 14.

Poland, having reached the last Euros and held the Dutch to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday, will fancy nailing the third spot to facilitate an easier path to next year’s World Cup. The return match is at Lansdowne Road four days later on April 18.

“We should take massive pride from these two displays and push on to the next level,” added Newcastle United forward Murphy.