Ireland beat Türkiye 2-1 in Istanbul thanks to Emily Murphy’s late strike to keep their chances of automatic promotion in the UEFA Women’s Nation’s League alive. Ireland were made to work for victory but influential substitutions from Carla Ward and an exceptional performance from Katie McCabe pushed Ireland over the line.
All the talk pre-game had been centred around whether or not Ireland’s latest UEFA Women’s Champions League winner, Katie McCabe would start. The Irish number eleven for club and country did line up with the team from the outset in Istanbul replacing Megan Campbell in the line up.
Slovenia’s 2-0 victory against Greece earlier in the evening meant that Ireland had to win to keep their hopes of automatic promotion alive. While their opponents Türkiye knew that only a victory would keep their faint hopes of promotion alive in front of a crowd of just under 2,000 in Istanbul.
The Line ups:
IRE: Brosnan, Mannion, Stapleton, Patten, McCabe, Connolly, O’Sullivan, Sheva, Larkin, Lucy Quinn, Barrett
TÜR: Akgöz, Şeker, Hiz, Abrahamson, Civelek, Topçu, Çal, Türkoğlu, Cin, Pekel, Hançar
The Action:
Türkiye certainly started the brighter of the two sides, contented to sit behind the ball in the first ten minutes they gained confidence and had the first effort of the match, which was well stopped by Courtney Brosnan. From set pieces Ireland were looking for Jessie Stapleton at the back post to varying success.
Melieke Pekel found her way in behind as the match approached the half hour mark but her fizzed ball across missed Kader Hançar who had appeared to be caught by Stapleton in the box, but that went unpunished by the referee.
Lucy Quinn had Ireland’s first effort in the 32nd minute, the Birmingham City midfielder cut inside and let fly from outside the box, forcing the Türkiye captain Selda Akgöz to make a smart save. With 10 minutes to play in the first half Ireland were showing more promise as Amber Barrett’s rushed effort bounced wide. A brilliant driving run from Denise O’Sullivan saw her fouled twice before earning a free kick in an advanced area which came to nothing shortly after.
Just as Ireland were enjoying their best minutes of the match Türkiye demonstrated they can pose a threat. Melin Cin was found with a brilliant cross field ball and Cin snapped her shot at goal which was parried by Brosnan and after a melee in the box Ireland were able to block the ball clear.
Minutes later at the other end Katie McCabe received the ball on the edge of the box from O’Sullivan’s pull back , the Arsenal star’s curling effort was palmed away by Akgöz. From the resulting corner the ball went long toward the back post to find Katie McCabe and with the keeper out of position McCabe cracked a shot goalward despite the seas of red shirts, one of which, adorned by Busem Şeker made an excellent goal saving block on the line.
Ireland were just starting to play with some fluidity and two inch perfect passes first from O’Sullivan, then from Abbie Larkin released Barrett in behind. The Donegal native rounded the keeper but the angle was too tight and Akgöz was able to make the save.
If the travelling Irish fans had hoped that there would be a similar response to their poor first half showing in Heraklion against Greece they were mistaken. With a few minutes gone in the second half Ireland pressed Türkiye high up the pitch but the home side played their way out of trouble. Marin Cil pulled the ball back to Kader Hançar in the box and in acres of space, the Beşiktaş forward fired past Brosnan and put the home side ahead.
Ireland made three attacking substitutions with 30 minutes to go and immediately they combined. Emily Murphy’s cross found the head of Kyra Carusa who headed straight at Akgöz. Carusa and Saoirse Noonan came on to form a front two as Ireland looked to play a more direct style.
A short corner routine with 15 minutes to play saw McCabe find her way into the box, zipping a ball into the six yard box where Anna Patten was waiting but Patten was just unable to make any meaningful connection with the ball. From the next set piece though, Ireland were level, another long throw from Megan Campbell caused havok for the home side. Şeker attempted to header the ball clear but instead looped the ball over her own goalkeeper and into her own net.
Minutes later Katie McCabe, now operating in an advanced role after the introduction of Megan Campbell, crossed the ball deep into the back post where Noonan’s header was nodded just wide. But Ireland would get their winner, doing so by taking advantage of another mistake in the Turkish backline after Sejde Abrahamsson was completely unaware of Emily Murphy lurking in behind her. Abrahamsson’s cushioned header perfectly set up Murphy who smashed the ball home on the volley to make it 2-1 to Ireland.
The home side pushed for a leveller and came closest to levelling through Ece Türkoğlu, whose curling effort just evaded the far corner but Ireland held on and their campaign remained alive.
Ireland Player Ratings
Courtney Brosnan – 6/10 – Busier than expected on the night, but was sharp when called upon, maybe could have done better for the goal.
Aoife Mannion – 6/10 – A mature defensive performance demonstrating good awareness of runners in behind but even with that awareness her lack of pace is a real weakness opponents have targeted.
Jessie Stapleton – 6/10 – Was clearly the player that Ireland looked for from set pieces and is an asset at that end of the pitch. Made an exceptional sliding block late on to deny the home side seeking an equaliser
Anna Patten – 6/10 – Patten has been a welcome addition to the Irish back line and was positive in possession today.
Katie McCabe– 8/10 – A dynamic all action performance from McCabe who was exceptional and played like the European Champion that she is.
Megan Connolly – 6/10 – Unlucky that none of her corners resulted in a goal because her delivery into the box was positive all evening.
Marissa Sheva – 6/10 – A progressive player on the ball but did not have the ball in advanced areas anywhere near enough.
Denise O’Sullivan – 7/10 – O’Sullivan had moments where she tried to take the game to Türkiye but struggled at times to do so.
Abbie Larkin – 6/10 – With the ball at her feet Larkin has electric pace and provides a different challenge for the Turkish defence, struggled to take advantage when her marker İlayda Civelek was on a yellow.
Lucy Quinn – 7/10 – Tracked back well at times and channelled her frustrations in the first half into something positive.
Amber Barrett – 5/10 – Enthusiastic in attack but lacks a presence and her hold up play is a weakness of her game. Perhaps should have scored when played through on goal.
SUBS
Caitlin Hayes – 6/10 – (Subbed on for Aoife Mannion 46′)
Saoirse Noonan – 6/10 – (Subbed on for Abbie Larkin 60′)
Emily Murphy – 7/10 – (Subbed on for Marissa Sheva 60′)
Kyra Carusa– N/A – (Subbed on for Kyra Carusa 60′)
Megan Campbell – N/A – (Subbed on for Lucy Quinn 73′)
The Halfway Line Player of the Match: Katie McCabe
Katie McCabe was so clearly a level above every player on the pitch tonight, her technical ability, tenacity and intelligence helped get Ireland back into the game. She leads by example and what an example she is to follow.
