Ireland WNT boss Eileen Gleeson: 'There was a lot we could have done better'
The Republic of Ireland Women’s National team suffered their first defeat under Eileen Gleeson’s tenure after seven previous games unbeaten.
Not even a new record 8,218 people for a women's international at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday could inspire the Girls in Green as they went down to a disappointing defeat at the hands of Wales.
On the 2-0 loss, Gleeson admitted it was a below-par performance against a team ranked 32nd in the world, eight places below Ireland.
“I think there’s lots to learn. I think in the first half we made it very difficult for ourselves," she said.
"We didn’t take care of the ball. We didn’t do the simple things well. As an over performance, we wouldn’t be happy with that. The only thing we can take from it is that we were nowhere near what we can do.
"We’ll just have to move on from it. It is a loss. We have to be able to sustain these moments. When we move forward, we have to find what didn’t go well, and what we could have done better. We all agree that there was a lot we could have done better."
Having conceded just two goals in six Nations League matches, the home side trailed 2-0 after just 22 minutes. They changed their defensive set-up with a flat-back four with skipper Katie McCabe at left-back. Ireland lost Niamh Fahey to a hip problem in the warm-up and she was replaced by Diane Caldwell.
Caldwell was then replaced by Louise Quinn at the break as the Irish reverted to the more commonly used 3-5-2 formation with McCabe and Heather Payne switching to wing-back roles.
“There were a lot of things going on. We lost Niamh in the warm-up. That can sometimes upset or unsettle. It probably did have an impact. But Diane was ready to step in. Then she picked up an injury as well.
"You have to
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