The Republic of Ireland fell to a second successive defeat in Euro 2025 qualifying last night, but there were some signs of promise during their 2-0 defeat to England at the Aviva Stadium.
They experienced a difficult start to the game, going two goals behind inside the opening 20 minutes. Lauren James opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute, with Alex Greenwood doubling their lead from the spot eight minutes later. In fact, things could have been even worse for Ireland had Greenwood not missed a second penalty on the half hour mark.
In fairness, Eileen Gleeson's side would recover well from that point. They stayed in the game, largely thanks to the performance of Courtney Brosnan in goal. As well as that, they would create a few scoring opportunities of their own as the second half went on.
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English fans blown away by Ireland star's ridiculous throw-ins
Megan Campbell was introduced with half an hour to go in last night's game, playing a sizeable part in Ireland's attacking threat from that point onwards.
Her long throw-ins are an important weapon for this Irish team, as she displayed against England.
i feel everyone needs to witness the absolute beauty and insanity of a Megan Campbell throw in so here you are pic.twitter.com/Un76r4rgsr
— Meg ⁴ (@papayasnorris) April 10, 2024
Its get more impressive every time you see it.
Megan Campbell's throw-ins were introduced to a whole new audience in this game, with quite a few English fans taken aback by her prowess in that area.
However far you think this ball’s getting thrown, I promise you it’s longer. https://t.co/P6YPezm0pj
— Evan (@EvanMcFarlane) April 9, 2024
What the fuck??? https://t.co/Fkyt9m7QAI
— h (@htomufc) April 9, 2024
Ok that’s pretty special https://t.co/hVMXUiIqNc
— JaiP (@JaiP72) April 9, 2024
That’s incredible 👏🏻👏🏻 https://t.co/Op5YqIuLMD
— Matt Craig (@MattHDGamer) April 9, 2024
Rory Delass
— Lee Mason (@LeeMasonPFC) April 9, 2024
Can @Joey7Barton throw a ball this far?
— Dan Limb (@dannlimb) April 9, 2024
Tony pulis’ favourite women’s player
— Callum (@cA11uM_7) April 9, 2024
The clip of her throw-in uploaded by ITV has already been viewed almost 3.5 million times on Twitter. It travelled a frankly ridiculous 38 metres in the air.
Irish fans have long known just how impressive her throw-ins have been, but it's great to see them introduced to a new section of football fans on this occasion.
This result leaves Ireland in a difficult position in the group, with two losses from their opening two games. That was not unexpected in such a difficult group, although this altered qualifying format should benefit them in the long run. Even if they finish bottom of the group, they will still be in a decent position to qualify for Euro 2025.
Here's hoping they can get some points under their belt over the next few games, starting with the visit of Sweden to the Aviva next month.
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