Republic of Ireland’s Denise O’Sullivan applauds the fans after defeat to Australia (Isabel Infantes/PA)
Republic of Ireland midfielder Denise O’Sullivan has reflected on an “unbelievable” first taste of World Cup football and admitted adrenaline meant she felt no pain during Thursday’s defeat to Australia.
O’Sullivan had been a doubt for their Group B opener after she suffered a soft tissue and bone bruise injury during last week’s warm-up match with Colombia that was cancelled after only 20 minutes.
North Carolina captain O’Sullivan was able to recover in time to play the whole match in front of a record crowd of 75,784 at Stadium Australia and she has talked up the vocal support of the Irish fans even before the narrow 1-0 loss.
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“It was sore in the game, but the medical team done a few things to make sure I wasn’t in that much pain. I think honestly the adrenaline was so high I didn’t feel anything,” O’Sullivan told RTE after Ireland’s major tournament debut.
“It was unbelievable. I can’t even describe it. We were in the tunnel waiting to walk out and we could already hear the Irish fans.
“We were just all smiling and looking at each other. It was a moment I will never forget and then walking out.
“Even to do the warm-up, they started singing right away and that’s all you could hear in the stadium, Irish fans. We definitely have the best fans in the world. It was an unbelievable experience for our opening game.”
A 52nd-minute penalty from Australia’s stand-in captain Steph Catley consigned Ireland to an opening
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