Duke double sends Ireland top of pool as USA stunned

A COUPLE of goals from Deirdre Duke helped Ireland to make the perfect start at the Women’s World Cup in London with a victory over the highly-rated USA.

The UCD striker set the Green Army on the road to victory five minutes into the game on the Olympic pitch after collecting a long pass out of defence from Roisin Upton.

And the lead was doubled shortly afterwards when veteran Shirley McCay deceived American goalie Jackie Briggs at Ireland’s first penalty corner.

Their highly-rated opponents pulled one back – also at a corner – before the end of an actionpacked first quarter.

The USA enjoyed plenty of possession throughout but Duke’s second goal pulled Ireland out of sight 11 minutes after half time.

The score came from good work up the right flank by the Germanbased pair of Megan Frazer and Nikki Evans, with Duke once more producing a cool finish.

Afterwards, delighted coach Graham Shaw was particularly happy with the quality of his side’s defensive effort, underpinned by the brilliance of Ayeisha McFerran between the posts.

The goalkeeper delivered a string of excellent saves, notably when she deflected a drag flick from Ashley Hoffman on to her crossbar.

Speaking after the match, Shaw said: “USA are one of the best pressing teams in the world and they can put you on the back foot with their physicality, but I thought we were magnificent and I’m incredibly proud of the group.

COMPOSED

“One of the most pleasing things was how we saw the game out and I thought we looked really composed, we stayed disciplined and structured, and we’re over the moon with that result.”

With India taking an unexpected draw from hosts England, the Irish finished the weekend top of the four teams in Pool B.

The win comes as a massive achievement at a first World Cup in 16 years, made even more remarkable by the fact that the Ireland team are ranked 16th in the world while the USA are ranked seventh.

The lowest ranked side in the pool, they are due to play the Indians on Thursday, when a second win would guarantee participation in the knock-out phase of the tournament.

“We went out there to enjoy it mainly but with the belief that we could get a result, we were quietly confident,” Anna O’Flanagan explained after the win.

“This is just the beginning for this Irish team.”

IRELAND – N Evans, K Mullan, S McCay, G Pinder, R Upton, A McFerran, C Watkins, L Colvin, H Matthews, A O’Flanagan, Z Wilson. Subs: Y O’Byrne, M Frazer, E Tice, N Daly, D Duke, A Meeke.