key events
80 minutes: McCabe fired the ball into the England penalty area again. Hayes headed the ball and jumped high, but was unable to shoot the ball towards the goal.
79 minutes: Campbell’s long, straight, vicious, and frankly scary throw and McCabe’s in-frame punt are the Irish’s best options here.
77 minutes: McCabe elected to cross from the left and found Louise Quinn at the back post who sent a lovely low ball across the face of goal… but somehow it didn’t get bundled in! Ireland’s best attacking performance of the game, they really should have had someone put it in the back of the net.
76 minutes: Ireland were awarded a free kick after James brought down Kiernan. McCabe lined it up…
75 minutes: Hampton passed the ball wrong and Kiernan broke through on the right side but was dealt with; Ireland had a throw. Stanway came on for Toon and England sent another substitute.
73 minutes: Carter is back from injury and England are pushing forward with Lucy Bronze on the right… but her punt upfield is poor and not particularly bad for anyone.
72 minutes: Walsh tried to pass the ball to Russo, but Brosnan caught the ball. Hampton cleared the ball out of play; Carter was depressed and a little troubled.
70 minutes: Ireland’s hopes were soon dashed when Mannion set up England with a simple pass on the right. They contributed little when in possession of the ball.
67 minutes: Greenwood’s free kick from the right went wide. Thune responded by firing a shot over the crossbar.
65 minutes: Great save from Brosnan! James won the ball on the right and sent in an early cross for Hamp to head in… and then fired a shot to make it 3-0 for sure, but Brosnan somehow kept it out of the way. from a short distance.
64 minutes: England produced some good touches on the edge of the box but Toone was unable to get the killer ball past Russo inside the box.
63 minutes: England scored from a corner, but Meade was sent back by Connolly and both sides regained their form.
62 minutes: Campbell has another long pass to pass…she passes it from the left. Walsh headed the corner kick. I think Ireland prefer the hurling.
61 minutes: Megan Campbell threw a stunning long ball that caused problems for the England defence, but they almost got it. This was Ireland’s weapon for the rest of the game.
60 minutes: Ireland are preparing some substitutes and here they come: Payne is replaced by Kiernan; Lucy Quinn is headed to Campbell.
58 minutes: Walsh’s ability on the ball is a real delight and she handles the pressure coming in the Ireland jersey with ease.
57 minutes: Kirby and Mead had their first touches, with the latter being fouled, before some clever work on the edge of the area allowed Toon to shoot. Blocked.
56 minutes: Park was replaced by Kirby and Hemp was replaced by Mead. England will be looking to score more goals tonight.
55 minutes: James dribbled the ball and passed it to Thun. Thun turned around on the edge of the penalty area and passed the ball to Hamp, who couldn’t find his teammate in the pass from the left.
54 minutes: It’s all a bit choppy at the moment; Ireland can’t seem to string together a series of passes. England could, but Ireland’s movement off the ball was enough to keep the visitors at bay.
53 minutes: After kicking the ball into the left channel, Marijuana almost kept the ball in it…or not, as the whistle blew.
51 minutes: England retreated to Hampden, who faced the Irish press and played a long pass to James, who headed the ball towards Ireland.
50 minutes: Lauren James was down and a bit troubled after taking on McCabe’s challenge… but now she’s back on top. The show goes on.
48 minutes: Ruesha Littlejohn, by the way, is the player who left. England had a lot of possession early in the second half. Ireland need to up the ante, perhaps through tough challenges or defence-splitting passes, anything to get the crowd excited. They’re just a little bland right now.
46 minutes: We’re back again with Megan Connolly featuring for Ireland. There is no change in England.
Half-time: Ireland 0-2 England
England had a comfortable first 45 but will feel they should have capped it off with a second penalty. However, Greenwood failed to score twice in the first half, so Ireland remained in the game even though they barely threatened Hannah Hampton.
45+1 minutes: There were some pinball machines in the box before England finally got through. The halftime whistle blows.
45 minutes: Ireland took a corner kick after Walsh and Lucy Quinn battled for the ball on the left.
44 minutes: A pass from McCabe was caught by the England midfielder, setting up a promising attack… but Russo was offside.
41 minutes: James fed the ball from the right to Russo, who set up the bronze for an ambitious effort… flying high into the Dublin sky.
38 minutes: Williamson made a brilliant slide tackle on Kalusa to score for England. James tried his luck outside the penalty area but found Brosnan’s hands.
37 minutes: James took the ball from Williamson at midfield to start the adventure … but her ensuing pass was unexpectedly intercepted by the referee.
36 minutes: Walsh split the Irish midfield with a hard kick, but receiver Hamp was unable to do any damage.
34 minutes: Today England’s left-back Carter was held back by several Ireland jerseys and was forced to foul.
