World Cup qualifier - Slovakia 0 Ireland 1 (FT) as it happened

Ireland have beaten Slovakia 1-0 to bypass the first round of the playoffs now the group stage of World Cup qualifying has concluded.

Catch up on live reaction and analysis from the win in Senec.

Here is Gavin Cummiskey’s report from Senec. Time for me to bid you adieu, thank you all for joining!

[ Denise O’Sullivan’s goal makes it mission accomplished after gritty battle with Slovakia ]

“We always knew it was going to be difficult coming here. I thought the girls took the game by the scruff of the neck and were taking the game on the front foot. I was kicked up and down the pitch today but that’s what Slovakia are going to do to you! We like that physicality in our game and have it in abundance, as long as you keep it in control.”

—  Captain Katie McCabe

“I’m still lost for words, this game was just as important as the Finland game. It was a better performance than against Finland, we exploited their weaknesses down the flank and at set-piece and we came away with the win. Look at all the clean sheets we’re getting, we’re improving out of possession and in possession too, hopefully I can improve and get some goals to help that.”

—  Player of the match Jess Ziu

Right, attention now turns to Friday’s draw. At 12.30pm Ireland learn their qualifying fate. It’s a complicated picture but the bottom line, as of now, is that Ireland could well need just one win to reach the World Cup, but it could end up being two games left. We shall wait and see!

“It is unbelievable how this team is growing. Tonight was not our best football but you can see how these Tigers can fight for a win. The opponent was nasty, this was an ugly game but who cares? This was about winning and skipping the first playoff round. It’s unbelievable.”

—  Vera Pauw after the win

A brilliant reverse angle of the goal here:

As for tonight’s game itself, job done but not much more. Ireland were improved from Thursday where the game could have been out of sight by half-time, but lacked that killer edge when it came to creating chances. Megan Campbell’s long throws were well-directed but too often an orange jersey failed to get a touch, while the few chances that did come came from the press high up the pitch.

See O’Sullivan’s winner: Ziu reads the play well to make the intercept and with Slovakia out of position the interplay between herself, O’Sullivan and Payne leads to a cutback inside the box. The ball should be intercepted, but O’Sullivan holds her run well to be able to track back and get to it first with enough space to finish smartly in the corner.

Job done as far as Ireland are concern. There isn’t the euphoria of Thursday’s win - understandably so since a playoff spot was already secured - but it is nonetheless a vital result. It means Ireland are guaranteed to play one less game on their playoff journey, they miss the first round of qualification playoffs as one of the top three group runners-up. How many games they have to play after the second round remains to be seen, seeding and draw dependent.

Full-time: Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

90+3 mins: Another poor ball in behind trickles through harmlessly to Brosnan. That should be that...

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

90+2 mins: Brosnan’s goal kick is intercepted and immediately played into a threatening area but there is no Slovakian player far enough forward to cash in. Strange to have no one in that position considering the slim deficit.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

90+1 mins: A chance for Brosnan to eat into some of the time remaining as a rash strike from the edge of the area sails well wide of the Irish goal.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

90 mins: Three extra minutes added on...

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

89 mins: Kiernan has chased plenty of lost causes in behind in her short time on the pitch but this time she nearly gets the reward as a loose touch from the defender almost puts it on a plate for her inside the box. Slovakia survive.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

88 mins: Good from Brosnan. Out she comes to claim a decent cross into her area just to take some of the sting out of Slovakia’s attack.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

86 mins: This should be a secure enough final few minutes for Ireland but they are allowing Slovakia possession inside their own half. That is until Kiernan chases a ball over the top as the ‘keeper nearly makes a mess of coming for it. Fortunately for her, Kiernan doesn’t see where the ricochet has gone as the defence floods back to recover.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

84 mins: Difficult to tell if that was a shot or cross from Moravkova. It looked like a chip towards onrushing teammates inside the box but it was so badly directed maybe she was looking to catch Brosnan out. Regardless, it sails out of play harmlessly.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

83 mins: A second Irish change. Kiernan is on for Payne who has put in yet another monumental shift up front. Can Kiernan mark her new Liverpool contract with a big impact here?

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

80 mins: Another yellow as Moravkova makes accidental contact with the face of Megan Campbell. Accidental or not, it’s hurt as the Liverpool full-back requires treatment.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

78 mins: A second card of the night as Šurnovská sees yellow for curtailing an Irish counter.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

77 mins: McCabe launches a good free-kick with Quinn and Caldwell nearly getting on the end of it in the box but a foul has been spotted on a Slovakian defender.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

76 mins: Now it’s Korenciova’s turn to come flying up off her line to deal with the run of McCabe. O’Sullivan’s ball in behind splits the defence brilliantly but the ‘keeper just about has the speed to beat McCabe to it.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

75 mins: McCabe takes a ball played into her feet on the edge of the area, holds off her marker strongly before shooting on the turn. She makes decent contact but drags it well wide.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

73 mins: Chance! Korenciova comes to claim a McCabe free-kick but is caught well off her line as Agg beats her to it. O’Riordan looks to fire into the vacant net but enough defenders get in the way to bail their ‘keeper out of trouble.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

71 mins: A poorer corner delivery this time as it flies straight into Brosnan’s side netting.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

70 mins: Šurnovská looks to test Brosnan from distance but a deflection takes it behind for a corner. The ball in from the set-piece is a dangerous one and Caldwell has to do well to clear for another corner with plenty of blue shirts lurking.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

68 mins: Changes for Ireland. Scott makes way for Molloy which would suggest Ziu slots back to wing back as Molloy takes a forward wide role.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

65 mins: McCabe looked to be obstructed after dribbling past the defender but is instead penalised for pulling her marker down in frustration at being blocked. A tough few minutes for the Ireland captain.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

64 mins: McCabe once again hits the deck after another strong challenge but this time no whistle comes. She gets back to her feet but ends up on the floor again taking a breather once the ball goes out.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

61 mins: First card of the day as Lemešová absolutely clatters into the back of McCabe with a sliding challenge. Nasty one and a clear yellow.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

60 mins: Chance! McCabe isn’t far away from scoring a screamer. It’s a loose ball that bounces out to the edge of the box from a Campbell throw and the skipper makes a brilliant connection with the volley, only for it to drift wide.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

56 mins: Brosnan the sweeper ‘keeper! A ball over the top of the defence threatened for a moment but out she came well outside the box to clear.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

53 mins: Campbell gets picked out beautifully down the left flank in space but flicks on the ball too early to McCabe who is swarmed by blue jerseys.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

51 mins: Ireland build in the Slovakia half with a spell of possession but are nearly exposed on the counter by a long ball over the top. Payne was off the pitch getting her knee strapped but is ok to continue.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

48 mins: Ireland’s first foray forward of the half leads to a McCabe cross but Slovakia clear. Payne then gets on the end of a good through ball but is caught offside.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

46 mins: Back underway then! Slovakia get the second half underway and are happy to build from the back. Ireland interestingly sit back and invite them to play into their half. No changes on either side at the break.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

No additional time at the end of this first half as Ireland head in with a one goal lead. They’ve certainly been the better side but haven’t created much in the way of clearcut chances. Diane Caldwell’s volley wide plus O’Sullivan’s effort were the only occasions the Slovakian goal was threatened, but a lack of end product from Slovakia down the other end means Ireland have not been made to pay.

Campbell’s long throws and forcing mistakes with the high press have been Ireland’s best attacking avenues, while Slovakia have had some joy playing the ball through the centre of midfield only for their forward line to fail with a poor final ball.

It’s been scrappy with plenty of niggle, but Ireland have done enough to lead at the break.

Half-time: Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

44 mins: Campbell’s long throw is again excellent as Slovakia fail to clear. McCabe shoots on the turn once the loose ball finds her but the connection isn’t great as the ball trickles wide.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

43 mins: McCabe’s corner is right on the nose of Korenciova with plenty of orange shirts putting her under pressure, but the referee has spotted a foul on the ‘keeper.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

42 mins: Campbell’s long throw asks a few questions and an off-balance clearing header gives Ireland a corner.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

40 mins: Škorvánková lets fly from distance again and gets a good connection on it. Brosnan is well placed and bats it down comfortably before regathering.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

37 mins: It’s scrappy, but Ireland will take it. Ziu wins the ball high up the pitch before releasing Payne out wide. Her pull-back is straight to a Slovakian defender but a loss of balance leaves it on a plate for O’Sullivan. She gets the right foot behind the ball beautifully to find the bottom corner. Her fifth goal of this qualifying campaign.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 1

GOAL DENISE O’SULLIVAN

36 mins: Campbell ends up on the deck but she’s worked hard to prevent the cross coming in and win a goal-kick for Ireland. A rare Slovakian foray forward again ends without much end product.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

33 mins: Chance! McCabe’s corner is headed back across the six-yard box by Quinn and Caldwell has space to pull the trigger on the half-volley. Frustratingly for Ireland, she fails to hit the target.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

32 mins: Again McCabe wins the ball in Slovakian territory but this time the ball in is much better. Payne has the chance to head goalwards but her effort is blocked. Ireland have a corner.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

31 mins: McCabe initially does really well to win the ball high up the pitch and break towards the byline. She has two orange jerseys to pick out but the cross is poor as Vojteková clears.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

30 mins: Quinn does just enough to save Ireland. A brilliant ball over the top should lead to a one-on-one chance in the box but Quinn does just enough in the air to buy Brosnan enough time to come and snuff out the chance.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

29 mins: Agg gets to the corner but her header is poorly directed. Ziu recovers well before taking a return ball inside the box but a strong challenge prevents her from pulling the trigger. Perhaps a little too strong? No penalty appeals from Ireland.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

28 mins: McCabe wins a corner but she wanted more with Payne in space inside the box. One defender to beat with the pass but it is deflected behind.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

26 mins: That’s a clever foul. McCabe was waiting to take the ball and release O’Sullivan on the counter but a clever trip ends a promising break.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

24 mins: A touch of panic from Scott. She is under pressure close to her own area and her attempted pass-back goes out for a corner. Good thing it did as if the ball stayed in play Brosnan would have been swarmed by blue shirts. Louise Quinn clears the corner.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

23 mins: Brilliant bit of skill from Campbell to dribble past the press. Her ball to McCabe doesn’t find the skipper but Ireland to earn a chance for another long throw. Scratch that, Campbell has gone short this time. The ball is worked into the box where McCabe lets fly with her weaker right foot but it’s a simple save for Korenciova.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

22 mins: It’s taken 22 minutes but we have the game’s first shot! Škorvánková lets fly from range but it was never troubling Brosnan’s goal.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

20 mins: Quinn leaves something in on Mat’aková in the challenge and the Slovak crumples to the floor. Play is eventually stopped so she can regain her bearings but no foul is given.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

18 mins: It’s scrappy, very scrappy. McCabe appears to throw her marker to the ground but has managed to win a free-kick somehow. The skipper takes the set-piece but cannot get the elevation to get over the first defender.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

17 mins: O’Sullivan tries to play the ball in behind to find the run of Payne but it is snuffed out well at the last minute. First time Ireland have looked like getting in behind not from a wide cross. Agg is then penalised for playing the ball on the ground.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

16 mins: Little to write home about in terms of clearcut opportunities. Slovakia get a rare period of possession but once again the final ball lets them down as Scott again mops up a poor ball to no one.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

13 mins: McCabe’s crossfield ball to Campbell really is excellent as it opens up Slovakia out wide. Campbell takes her time over the cross but gets it too close to Korenciova as she comes to claim in the air.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

12 mins: Another poor Slovakian cross is no trouble for Brosnan, this time Škorvánková the culprit. Ireland again play forward to McCabe who continues to get some special attention as she is cut down just passed halfway.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

10 mins: Ireland are mixing up their front line nicely with McCabe getting into advanced positions and swapping flanks. This time Campbell’s wide ball doesn’t get to her after Payne just couldn’t time her jump for the header.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

9 mins: A good spell of possession for Slovakia here as they work their way nicely through the press. A poor ball in from out wide allows Scott to clean up easily before McCabe is fouled as Ireland look to break.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

7 mins: Half a chance for Ireland! Campbell’s ball in from wide misses three Ireland heads, Quinn probably had the best sight at it six yards out from goal.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

5 mins: That was dangerous for Ireland as Brosnan had to come off her line quickly to snuff out a through ball. Hmírová had made a dangerous run between Ireland’s centre-backs and the intervention from the ‘keeper was needed.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

3 mins: First bit of action for Slovakia’s ‘keeper Korenciova. Payne does well to battle her way to an O’Riordan long ball out wide. The ball is pulled back for Ziu to cross but Korenciova comes to punch clear under pressure.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

2 mins: Ireland press high up the pitch but Slovakia are able to work over the top of the high line. Škorvánková's cross does take the ball into the Irish box but Brosnan is able to gather comfortably.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

1 min: Jess Ziu gets things underway for Ireland! The ball is immediately launched long by Quinn but Slovakia do well to clear the first foray forward. Megan Campbell winds up for a trademark long throw but Slovakia clear, albeit not too convincingly.

Slovakia 0 Ireland 0

Unfortunately there isn’t much of a crowd in at Senec. Makes a big change to the atmosphere from Tallaght on Thursday.

The teams are out and the anthems are done. Ireland are in their orange away kit with Vera Pauw all smiles currently in the dugout.

“You can say there’s a lot of street footballers, very mobile and they know exactly what they do on the pitch. It is a very dangerous squad; they drew against Finland, against us, only small losses against Sweden, so we are fully prepared.”

Vera Pauw’s assessment of tonight’s opposition.

You can read Gavin Cummiskey’s full match preview below.

[ Ireland braced for difficult assignment in Slovakia ]

If Thursday was a case of eking out a result when not playing at your best, Ireland will be hoping for significantly better this evening against a side that has frustrated them in the past.

The main issue against Finland was the opposition inverted full-backs overloading the centre of Ireland’s midfield. Lily Agg was clearly the hero with her header from a set-piece but she will have her work cut out for her in the middle of the park if Slovakia opt for a similar tactic.

SLOVAKIA: Maria Korenciova; Kristína Košíková, Jana Vojteková, Diana Lemešová, Patricia Fischerova, Andrea Horvathova; L’udmila Mat’aková, Dominika Škorvánková, Mária Mikolajová, Martina Šurnovská; Patrícia Hmírová.

IRELAND: Courtney Brosnan; Harriet Scott, Claire O’Riordan, Louise Quinn, Diane Caldwell, Megan Connolly; Jess Ziu, Denise O’Sullivan, Lily Agg, Katie McCabe; Heather Payne.

The team news is in for Ireland! Niamh Fahey was ruled out of Thursday’s win over Finland through injury and despite hopes she would be available tonight she has not pulled through.

Harriet Scott comes in at wing back and Claire O’Riordan at the heart of the defence, Jamie Finn and Megan Connolly the ones dropping out, the latter through injury, the former through suspension. It is a first start for Ireland for Scott since 2020 and a first competitive start for O’Riordan since 2018.

The only other change sees Thursday’s goal hero Lily Agg replace the injured Ruesha Littlejohn in midfield.