Ireland have finished their World Cup campaign on somewhat of a high, as they secured their first ever point in the tournament, with a 0-0 draw against Nigeria.
It was an entertaining affair, and it gave us one of the saves of the tournament, as Ireland's keeper Courtney Brosnan got down exceptionally fast in the 52nd minute, to steer a goal-bound header from Nigeria's Kanu onto the cross bar.
Such was the reaction time from Brosnan, it was hard not to be reminded of Gordon Banks' legendary stop on Pele in the 1970 World Cup.
"It was an unbelievable ball into the box, one of those teasing ones," said Brosnan.
I thought I could come at the last second, I dropped back and I knew I needed to make a special save on the line so I threw my body at it.
Courtney Brosnan Draws Comparisons To Gordon Bank With Save Against Nigeria
Courtney Brosnan makes a stunning save to keep the Republic of Ireland level #wwc2023 #coygig
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— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 31, 2023
Courtney Brosnan save reminded me of the great Gordan Banks save of the 1970 WC. #COYGIG | #OUTBELIEVE | #FIFAWWC📷
— Moley (@Moley_LFC) July 31, 2023
Gordon Banks-esque from Courtney Brosnan. What a save! #IRLNGA
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) July 31, 2023
READ HERE: George Hamilton Brilliantly Puts Achievement Of Ireland WNT Into Perspective
After the game, Brosnan spoke about the team's post match huddle and the defiant words of Katie McCabe and Vera Pauw.
Vera and Katie just said we're proud to be here for our country and it just shows that we deserve to be here and we put in performances, we grew, and we held our own against two top teams.
So I think everyone is really proud of that and the disappointment just shows that we deserve to be here and we just keep moving on, it's not the last time you'll see Ireland here.
Courtney Brosnan reflects on a clean sheet and her own fantastic personal performance.#wwc2023 #coygig
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— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 31, 2023
Ireland will leave Australia after finishing bottom of their group, but, as anyone who watched knows, it does not reflect the performances and tightness of the encounters.
Against a top, and home favourite Australia side they did remarkably well, with the Aussies breathing a sigh of relief to have gotten away with a closely fought 1-0 win.
In their second game, against Olympic champions Canada, they scored their first ever World Cup goal to go 1-0 up, and were almost able to salvage a draw, which would have given them everything to play for today.
Nigeria showed with their win over Australia that they are a much better side than their world ranking suggests, and Ireland showed that they are more than a match for them.
SEE ALSO: Ireland Player Ratings As World Cup Ends With Battling Draw v Nigeria
