There was no other way for Katie McCabe to put it, nor was there anywhere to hide her emotions. In 90 minutes, the Ireland captain had gone from the elation of scoring her country’s first goal at the Women’s World Cup to the heartbreak of going out after two matches. Ireland will leave the tournament believing they deserved more and while the joy was great while it lasted, it probably made it hurt a whole lot more when it was over.
Canada’s comeback on a sodden night in Perth ended any hopes Ireland had of reaching the knockout stages, leaving their final fixture against Nigeria on Monday as a dead-rubber. The ‘group of death’, at least from Ireland’s perspective, played out in the manner that many had feared. After facing the unenviable task of facing co-hosts Australia in their opening game, Ireland had to at least draw against an experienced and gritty Canada side who had their backs against the wall. Realistically, they couldn’t have asked for two harder games to start their first ever World Cup adventure.
