World Cup hero Amber Barrett puts Ireland within reach of another tournament
Amber Barrett of the Republic of Ireland, right, celebrates after scoring the winner. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Four years after her Hampden Park heroics, Amber Barrett popped up with another crucial goal that offers Ireland a direct route to World Cup qualification on Tuesday in France.
Ireland’s victory òver the sixth best team in Europe before a crowd of 12,569 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh was fully earned - Barrett’s last-minute strike the third occasion they took the lead.
It ended the nine-game unbeaten stretch for the Netherlands since Arjan Veurink took charge last summer and puts a place in Brazil next year within their grasp if the double-header can be completed against the table-toppers in Grenoble.
Failing that, Ireland will be in the draw for the playoffs on June 24.
As was forecasted, sheets of rain descended on Cork in the hours before kick-off, leading to slick underfoot conditions.
Ireland were the team to adapt better, for the Dutch were plagued by persistently overhitting passes towards unmarked teammates when spaces emerged to exploit.
Carla Ward was right to heap the pressure on the Dutch beforehand by outlining the expectations on them rather than on an Ireland side that didn’t even inhabit the heady heights of League A when she took charge.
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Maybe it was the absence of two survivors from their Euro 2017 winning team, Vivianne Miedema and Jill Roord, that hindered their gameplan, but an element of fear seemed to cripple them from early.
It helped Ireland’s cause, in that regard, to have Ruesha Littlejohn making her first appearance of the campaign.
She may turn 36 next month and have a paltry 56 minutes of club football to show in 2026 at Crystal Palace but the veteran is a trusted resource to Ward from their time together at Aston Villa and Birmingham City.
Denise O’Sullivan’s suspension created a cavity in midfield to fill and composure was prioritised in selection criteria by Littlejohn shading Lucy Quinn.
Ward might have been overegging it by claiming that her stalwart was in the best shape of her career yet some of the tackles and touches executed during her 45 minutes on the pitch were akin to her prime of a decade ago.
If that was a surprise, there was nothing unpredictable about Abbie Larkin replacing the other banned regular, Emily Murphy.
Losing two influential figures from the back-to-back April victories over Poland made an uphill task seem an insurmountable one but the pair of deputies made their presence felt, including producing neat interplay in the creation of Ireland’s breakthrough on 19 minutes.
Before that, they had crushed any early orange onslaught by defending stoutly, with Caitlin Hayes at the centrepiece.
Veurink had cited Ireland’s dependency on counterattack on the eve of the clash but the Dutch were first to break on five minutes after Marissa Sheva’s right-wing cross was cleared.
Fortunately, Chloe Mustaki sensed the danger, shadowing the dangerous Lineth Beerensteyn as she seemed poised to sprint clear.
Statement win. Amber Barrett the hero again as last min goal seals 3-2 victory over Netherlands.
— John Fallon (@JFallonExaminer) June 5, 2026
A ticket to World Cup in Brazil on line v France in Grenoble on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/7oOfzLvtj0
Two minutes later, Barcelona’s Champions League winner delivered one of her trademark dribbles to move into shooting range, only for her 20-yard effort to curl beyond Courtney Brosnan’s far post.
Ireland posed a threat too and but for a heavy touch by Carusa following Sheva’s pass allowed Veerle Buurman scamper back to avert the danger.
There was nothing the Chelsea 20-year-old, named as the English Super League’s rising star, could do the next time she came into close contact with the American striker.
Littlejohn ignited the passage of play on 19 minutes by hooking a perfectly weighted pass into the lane Larkin was probing.
Spotting Carusa angling in from the right, Larkin’s pass with the outside of her right foot fell for the striker to wrap her foot around the post. It didn’t require an exquisite connection as he scuffed shot threaded through the legs of Buurman, leaving goalkeeper Lize Kop motionless on her line.
Congestion at the turnstiles delayed the arrival of hundreds of fans but they were singing in the rain, rejoicing at being witnesses to a potential shock of the campaign.
In response, the Dutch rattled the crossbar through a piledriver from full-back Lynn Wilms before striker Romée Leuchter headed wide from the recycled cross.
Otherwise, Ireland were comfortable with the lead, accruing the gains of disciplined defending that held their illustrious opponents at bay.
Jee Ziu’s entrance at the break for Littlejohn offered freshness to Ireland’s midfield. A better pass from Sheva to Larkin shortly after the restart might have led to a second but the Dutch gradually found gaps to expose.
On the hour, Brosnan was called upon to foil a close-range shot from Beerensteyn, a carbon copy of the move in Utrecht eight weeks ago that led to the opener.
Jackie Groenen also tested the Everton goalkeeper with a shot tipped over before the substitute won a penalty with 20 minutes left by luring Aoife Mannion into a mistimed tackle. Brosnan dived the right way but couldn’t keep out Dominique Janssen’s rising spot-kick.
Ireland regained their lead within a minute, Sheva slipping Larkin in and from an acute angle, the Crystal Palace forward squirmed the ball through the hands of Kop for 2-1.
Drama deepened as the Dutch hit back again with 10 minutes left. Another sub, Victoria Pelova, ghosted in undetected behind Mustaki to within range and slid the ball into the bottom corner.
There would still be one last twist on a night for heroes.
Netherlands never looked solid from Ireland’s set-pieces and a corner that was returned to the box by Sheva enabled Anna Patten to nod on for Barrett to steal in for the last-minute winner.
A harsh red card dished out to Leanne Kiernan for what seemed an accidental aerial collision with Marisa Olislagers couldn’t dampen the fervour on a wet but memorable night.
C Brosnan; A Patten, C Hayes, C Mustaki; A Mannion, M Connolly (S Noonan 85), R Littlejohn (J Ziu 46), K McCabe; A Larkin (L Kiernan 76), M Sheva; K Carusa (A Barrett 76).
L Kop; L Wilms, D Janssen, V Buurman, J Levels (M Olislagers 56); D Egurrola (J Groenen 56), W Kaptein (V Pelova 74), E Peddemors (D VD Donk 56); E Brugts, R Leuchter (Liz Rijsbergen 74), L Beerensteyn.
Katalin Kulcsár (HUN).
12,569.
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