Advantage Ireland after cagey draw in Cardiff as Euro qualification comes down to Aviva clash
Ruesha Littlejohn produced the key contribution as Ireland held Wales to a 1-1 draw at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Wales 1-1 Republic of Ireland
Ireland are 90 minutes away from a place at next summer’s European Championships after a cagey stalemate against Wales in Cardiff on Friday night.
The Aviva Stadium will be rocking next Tuesday when Eileen Gleeson’s side look to book their ticket to Switzerland.
No doubt the Girls in Green will be the happier of the two sides heading into a game where ticket sales have already raced past the 23,000 mark.
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They got lucky when Wales goalkeeper Olivia Clark’s intervention cancelled out the hosts’ opener - and then they survived a few hairy moments in the second-half to hold onto parity.
But it’s advantage Ireland ahead of the second-leg and Gleeson knows there is better to come from her players.
They had the experience of Ruesha Littlejohn to thank at both ends of the pitch last night. Despite a shortage of club football lately, the London City Lionesses midfielder used all her knowhow to put in a player of the match display.
It was her vision and shot that led to the equaliser, while she popped up at the other end in the second-half with a crucial defensive block.
And throughout her time on the pitch, Littlejohn's ability to break up play and get the Irish motoring forward was a key aspect of the performance.
Gleeson started with a front-two of Julie-Ann Russell and Kyra Carusa and at times they linked up well together.
However, the quality of service wasn’t on a par with their efforts, with plenty of long balls aimed in their direction. The crossing from either side also left a lot to be desired.
Plenty for the Irish players and coaching staff to work on over the next few days.
The same should have been about the quality of the delivery that led to Wales’ 21st minute opener; a hopeful Jess Fishlock centre that should have been easily dealt with by Niamh Fahey.
Unfortunately for the Liverpool centre-half, she swung at fresh air and the ball sailed on through to the back post, where full-back Woodham ghosted in ahead of Heather Payne to finish low past Courtney Brosnan.
Wales held their defensive shape whenever Ireland advanced, squeezing the central area and dealing comfortably with Irish efforts to exploit space on the flanks.
Even when Russell showed good footwork inside the area in the 33rd minute to get past one defender, she was quickly crowded out before she could pull the trigger.
On that occasion, however, when she was picked out by O’Sullivan, there was a better option beyond the Galway star, with Lily Agg loitering unmarked further left.
Ireland’s struggles with penetration obviously got to Littlejohn, who opted to bypass the crowd of players on the edge of the area to claim an assist on the visitors’ 35th minute equaliser.
When McCabe’s effort to launch the ball into the box from the left failed to clear the first defender, the ball spilled to Littlejohn 35 yards from goal.
Spotting goalkeeper Clark a few yards off her line, the midfielder went for an ambitious long-range lob that bounced off the crossbar, struck Clark on the back of her head and went in.
It was a big moment for the London City Lionesses player, but unfortunately she couldn’t claim a first goal since April 2016 as it was Clark’s touch that took the ball over the line.
Not that the identity of the goalscorer mattered to Littlejohn or anyone in white. The important thing was that Wales were denied a lead to defend in Dublin next Tuesday.
The hosts did their best to restore their advantage in the second-half, but Ffion Morgan should have done much better when she burst into the area with the ball.
She opened up and attempted to find the far corner, but her effort lacked enough curl to bend inside the upright.
Littlejohn was in the right place to nod a Roberts header over the bar and Jess Fishlock’s 25-yard free-kick was comfortably saved by Brosnan, diving to her right..
Wales goalkeeper Clark then somehow prevented Caitlin Hayes from sending Ireland back to the Aviva Stadium with the lead.
The ball dropped invitingly to the Celtic defender, who swung her left boot and launched a fierce volley towards goal from 12 yards out. Clark did ever so well to react and push the shot over.
Ireland boss Eileen Gleeson shook up her attack, bringing on the fresh legs of Leanne Kiernan and Amber Barrett, but neither side could claim a first-leg lead.
WALES: Olivia Clark; Rhiannon Roberts, Hayley Ladd, Gemma Evans, Lily Woodham (Charlotte Estcourt 89); Ceri Holland (Josie Green 80), Angharad James, Alice Griffiths (Carrie Jones 46); Rachel Rowe, Ffion Morgan (Kayleigh Barton 71), Jess Fishlock.
IRELAND: Courtney Brosnan; Anna Patten, Niamh Fahey, Caitlin Hayes; Heather Payne, Lily Agg (Marissa Sheva 46), Denise O’Sullivan, Ruesha Littlejohn (Jessie Stapleton 78), Katie McCabe; Julie-Ann Russell (Leanne Kiernan 79), Kyra Carusa (Amber Barrett 89).
REFEREE: Maria Caputi (Italy)
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