It was a tough night for Denise O'Sullivan at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night, as the Ireland star struggled to see much of the ball against an excellent England side.
It is no surprise that Ireland have had to take a more conservative approach thus far in this qualifying campaign than they did in last year's Nations League, with a 5-4-1 favoured from the outset against both France and England.
To an extent, that has nullified the influence of O'Sullivan in midfield, with the North Carolina Courage playmaker playing in a deeper role than fans had become accustomed to seeing her in during the back end of last year.
Though she acquitted herself well, she did not enjoy much time on the ball, especially in the first half when England asserted total control over the game.
Speaking to Balls.ie after the game, an "exhausted" O'Sullivan said that she and her teammates would need to adapt quickly to the new "world-class" level they find themselves at.
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Denise O'Sullivan knows Ireland will have to adapt to stay at this level
9 April 2024; Lucy Bronze of England in action against Denise O'Sullivan of Republic of Ireland during the UEFA Women's European Championship qualifying group A match between Republic of Ireland and England at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Denise O'Sullivan was visibly disappointed when she appeared in the Aviva Stadium mixed zone post-match on Tuesday. Ireland gave it a serious go in the final 20 or so minutes of the game but, by then, England were comfortable enough at 2-0.
Ireland are in League A on merit but the last two games have been something of a wake-up call as to where they stand in this immensely tough group. O'Sullivan says that the squad are eager to adapt quickly and rise to the level of their opponents:
Exhausted. That was some shift.
Obviously disappointed not to come away with any points from the two games. This is the level that we’re at now. We have to stay positive, we had a go at them but being without the ball for 90 minutes is mentally tiring. We’ll keep pushing on, we’ve a quick turnaround to camp in a few weeks.
Look, there’s other teams England would score 5 or 6 against. Credit to our defenders, they were excellent. They’ve always been brilliant for us. We just have to get together as a squad again in a few weeks and just take the positives into the next games, that’s all we can do. We’ll try and stay positive ourselves and hopefully try and get some points on the board in the next few games.
We’re up against world class players and we have to get there! As a nation, we’re really good defensively – organised, and our structure has always been really good.
The next thing for us is to get on the ball and what we can do with it. We know we have to improve in that area. We can learn from it and take it into the next games.
Indeed, time on the ball was something few Irish players ahead of the back four enjoyed much of on Lansdowne Road on Tuesday.
For Ireland's creative lynchpin, that was especially vexing, and O'Sullivan said that her personal aim was to see more of the ball in the games still to come.
100%. Of course it’s frustrating. Myself, I want to get on the ball all the time so it’s hard. Look, we know this is the level we’re playing against now and they’re world class players, world class teams. We have to just take the positives and keep going.
In the first half, you’re right, we were too deep. Went in at half time and Eileen and the staff told us to push on. We tend to do that in second halves, we have a right go at them. We created a few chances but I didn’t see much of the ball in the second half either, to be honest. Frustrating game for me but we’ve got to keep going.
Next up is a double header against Sweden, with the home game again in the Aviva Stadium on May 31.
@balls.ie After Ireland v England on Tuesday night, proud Corkonian Denise O’Sullivan was asked if she would like to see the game v France in July take place in the Rebel County 👀 #IrelandWNT #COYGIG ♬ original sound - ballsdotie
The venue for the group closer against France on July 16 is yet to be confirmed, however, with the Aviva unavailable and a potential clash with a Shamrock Rovers European qualifier casting similar doubt over Tallaght Stadium's availability.
A yet-to-be-determined venue in Cork seems to be the prime candidate to step in should the game have to be moved away from Dublin. Denise O'Sullivan, a proud native of the city's northside, said that she would be thrilled to see such a big game go Leeside.
Of course I would! I've been hearing a few things but I'm not really...it’s not set in stone but my family’s there and it’s where I’ve grown up. It would be nice!
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