Dan McDonnell from the Irish Independent believes that the Irish women’s team came up against the best footballing side in the world, and that they will be quietly satisfied that they didn’t lose by more than a two-goal deficit in Tallaght this evening.
“Once the Dutch scored one, they certainly won’t going to do anything but win this game... it was one of those evenings,” said Dan from Tallaght Stadium.
“[Ireland] are still in this campaign, so going gung-ho and taking a heavy beating could have cost them when it comes down to the real hunt for play-off places later on.
“There were steps forward here, there was a record crowd of over 4,000 – the biggest attendance they have ever had at a home competitive qualifier for the Irish women’s side. Most of them enjoyed it enough to recognise the gulf in class, and hung around long enough to give them an ovation.
“The key for Ireland is that they play Norway twice in June, at home first in Tallaght and then they play away [...] It’ll be the head-to-head in those two games that really figure out where Ireland go.”
Dan was speaking to Off the Ball’s Football Show, which is live weekdays from 9pm on our social media channels.
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