Marissa Sheva conceded the penalty from which Stephanie Catley scored in Ireland’s World Cup group stage loss to Australia.
50 minutes were on the clock when, after a tangle of legs with Hayley Raso, the referee penalised the Irish forward and pointed to the spot. Catley made no mistake from 12 yards, sending Courtney Brosnan the wrong way before curling one into the top left corner.
Ireland still had plenty of time to respond and they did pile on the pressure as they chased an equalising goal.
But Tony Gustavsson’s side defended resolutely, keeping Vera Pauw’s team at bay to hold on for the 1-0 win.
Catley buries the penalty after a clumsy tackle by Sheva
🇦🇺 1-0 🇮🇪#coygig #wwc2023
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Vera Pauw made two changes, taking off Sheva and Sinead Farrelly in the 62nd minute, with Abbie Larkin and Lucy Quinn called upon to give Ireland some extra impetus up front.
In doing so, 18-year-old Larkin became the youngest ever Irish player to play at the World Cup, breaking a record that was set by Gary Kelly (19) when he played against Norway at USA ’94.
Born in Pennsylvania , Sheva qualifies to play for Ireland through her grandparents from Donegal and Tyrone. It was a powerful moment before the game when the 26-year-old belted out Amhrán na bhFiann alongside her team-mates.
Great to see every single player singing the national anthem, including American-born Marissa Sheva who only declared for Ireland earlier this year #IRL pic.twitter.com/vY8onnnmBq
— Adam Moynihan (@AdamMoynihan) July 20, 2023
Sheva’s devastation at giving away the penalty was clear to see on the substitute’s bench.
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