Ireland 0 China 0 as it happened: Stalemate in World Cup warm-up game

FULL-TIME: Ireland 0 China 0

Ireland will be aggrieved by their disallowed goal, which looked very soft. But a draw would be considered a fair result. Good debut for Aoife Mannion in particular. Plenty to work on there, but another game unbeaten and another clean sheet.

Gavin Cummiskey’s report to follow.

92 mins: Great first touch and move by Campbell opens up the space and she gives to McCabe for one last corner. Megan Connolly takes it cleared away.

Ireland 0 China 0

89 mins: China have put on plenty of pressure on Ireland in the last 10 minutes but Ireland have stayed strong, up the pitch Campbell with a great long-throw right into the danger area but Chinese defender just about gets it away.

Ireland 0 China 0

82 mins: O’Gorman with a good cross into the box to McCabe is well defended and then Littlejohn wins a free-kick for handball. Connolly’s free-kick is straight at the keeper.

Ireland 0 China 0

76 mins: Big save by Brosnan! A few shots by China and it falls Lou Jiahui in the six-yard box but Brosnan stays big in the box to keep the game level.

Ireland 0 China 0

The controversial disallowed goal here:

69 mins: Good dribble through midfield by Xhang wins a free-kick. The kick goes out for a corner and is cleared and then another which is straight into Brosnan’s hands. Better game now, more attacking by both sides. Aoife Mannion comes off for Diane Caldwell. That was a very good debut by Mannion, who looks a very assured defender.

Ireland 0 China 0

63 mins: Ireland have a goal disallowed! Heather Payne wins a free-kick with a clever nutmeg, her best moment of the game so far. The free is near the sideline, parallel with the box. Again the ball is in the net, this time for Ireland, as Mannion heads it in, but is penalised for touching the keeper. Very soft, didn’t look much of a foul.

Ireland 0 China 0

61 mins: The ball is in the net but it’s offside. Tight call, good through ball to Xiao Yuyi who slotted it under Brosnan into the net but the linesman’s flag was up.

Ireland 0 China 0

59 mins: Yang Lina gets on the end of the corner for China but it goes wide. Ireland from the goal kick goes to the right wing and Sheva shows great hustle to win a corner. Ireland give away a free-kick though for pushing.

Ireland 0 China 0

56 mins: Nice interplay between Campbell and McCabe, nice through ball from McCabe into the box but great tackle by Wang. McCabe’s corner is into the keeper’s hands.

Ireland 0 China 0

52 mins: A bad mistake by Campbell as she misplaces a pass back to the box. Louise Quinn with an important block that was heading for the net. The corner is taken short and crossed in and Yang’s header just goes wide. A second corner is cleared.

Áine O’Gorman, Marissa Sheva and Ruesha Littlejohn off the bench for this half.

Ireland 0 China 0

HALF-TIME: Ireland 0 China 0

Not a classic, the only real big chance of the game came to Louise Quinn from a corner when she hit the crossbar. China tidy in possession but lacked quality in attack. Ireland defended well but some sloppy passes. Will the stalemate be broken in the second half?

This was that chance:

44 mins: Early ball in for Payne by Campbell but she misses the ball, was a half-chance. Some better play by Ireland, nice interplay with O’Sullivan and Payne and another good cross by Campbell was met by Quinn who heads it straight at the keeper. Got quite a bang to the head when competing with Chen.

Ireland 0 China 0

37 mins: Some sloppy passes from both teams mean the game has been a bit scrappy. The ball breaks to Heather Payne just outside the box but she can’t get it out of her feet and China clear for a throw.

China 0 Ireland 0

30 mins: Some nice combinations by China in midfield but struggling to break Ireland down so far. De La Harpe puts in a decent cross that wins a corner. This time another good cross by McCabe but nobody can get on the end of it.

Ireland 0 China 0

26 mins: A low corner again from China leads to a shot on target by Yao, Brosnan fumbles a little but safe and straight at the keeper.

Ireland 0 China 0

23 mins: Ireland’s shape today above. Ireland need to improve in possession although they’ve had the best chance of the game so far. Bit of magic by O’Sullivan in midfield breaks past two players and Ireland win a free around 30 metres out from goal. A yellow card for Yao. McCabe’s free-kick goes miles over the bar.

Ireland 0 China 0

19 mins: Off the bar! Katie McCabe’s deep cross from the corner is met by Louise Quinn who heads it against the crossbar. First big chance of the game.

Ireland 0 China 0

14 mins: China tidy in possession but lacking a bit of attacking invention so far. Mengwen puts a good cross in but good defending by De La Harpe blocking the header.

Ireland 0 China 0

11 mins: Some strong defending by Aoife Mannion, the new recruit who plays for Manchester United, both of her parents are Irish. A few sloppy passes by Ireland.

Ireland 0 China 0

7 mins: China put a bit of pressure on Ireland but they hold out and McCabe wins a free-kick. No shots for either team yet.

Ireland 0 China 0

2 mins: Some early possession for Ireland, spraying it around. Pressing quite high as Denis O’Sullivan dribbles towards the box but is intercepted.

Ireland 0 China 0

In some other news, Ireland will play world champions USA in April as their final away friendlies before the Women’s World Cup, reports the Irish Examiner. Big double header to coincide with Denise O’Sullivan’s 100th cap.

The colour purple will be visible today. Historically the hue represents efforts to achieve gender equality, with Katie McCabe’s team choosing to follow the lead of US and English players by wearing purple wristbands to support the Canadian women’s squad who are preparing for the World Cup “under protest” due to their federation’s funding disparity.

China, ranked 14th by Fifa, seven places ahead of Ireland, recently lost 4-1 to Sweden as they also prepare for the World Cup, having been drawn in England’s group.

[ Pauw voices ‘concerns’ over Saudi Arabia sponsorship of World Cup ]

Megan Connolly is more than ready to play her part in Ireland’s cause, writes soccer correspondent Gavin Cummiskey. The Brighton stalwart is looking forward to the World Cup after showing the depths of her resilience in the win over Finland.

[ Megan Connolly more than ready to play her part in Ireland’s cause ]

Meanwhile the Ireland team news:

There are debuts for new recruits Aoife Mannion and Deborah-Anne De La Harpe as captain Katie McCabe starts on the wing in a 5-2-3 formation.

Ireland team: Brosnan, De La Harpe, Mannion, Quinn, Connolly, Campbell, Agg, O’Sullivan, Larkin, Payne, McCabe

China team: Xu Huan, Chen Qiaozhu, Wang Linlin, Wang Xiaoxue, Li Mengwen, Zhang Xin, Zhang Rui, Yao Lingwei, Xiao Yuyi, Wang Shanshan, Lou Jiahui

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Ireland’s clash against China at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador stadium in Cadiz, a World Cup warm-up friendly. This is the first time Ireland have ever played China in the women’s game, a team with a good history, including reaching the World Cup final in 1999. Ireland have been training in Marbella this week and will be raring to go in what should be a good test for Vera Pauw’s women. Kick-off is at 1pm. @DavidGorman20