Wales 1 Republic of Ireland 1
Ruesha Littlejohn did everything but score in this tense Cardiff showdown. The London City Lioness forced an unlucky own goal from Wales goalkeeper Olivia Clark to rub out Lily Woodham’s strike as nerves and caution saw this Euro 2025 play-off first-leg finish all square.
It was a poor, yet compelling spectacle due to what was on offer when the second-leg concludes on Tuesday night at the Aviva Stadium.
Something’s got to give in Dublin. At this rate, a penalty shootout seems the likely endgame.
“Not a pretty game but we knew there was going to be nerves,” said Rhian Wilkinson, the Wales manager. “They play a very direct style. We got caught up in that. Whenever we played we really showed our ability and what we are capable of.
Ruesha Littlejohn keeps Ireland’s Euro 2025 hopes alive in tense stalemate against Wales
Wales 1 Ireland 1 as it happened: Euro 2025 playoff first leg
TV View: Having Ruesha Littlejohn in the Irish midfield is like possessing a footballing comfort blanket
Wales 1 Ireland 1: How the Irish players rated in Euro 2025 playoff first leg
“It felt like the first half of a tie, it was cagey, the players worked their way through it. We are really looking forward to Dublin and making history in their home. It won’t be different from them, but it has to be different from us. We cannot get caught up in that, with direct teams, it turned into a tennis match and not pretty football, I don’t love it. They got their draw. I know we’ll get more from the players next game.”
Wales were full value for their 1-0 lead after 20 minutes despite Ireland’s aggressive start.
Ireland head coach Eileen Gleeson opted for an ultra-defensive back five, that included captain Katie McCabe, with Littlejohn the uncompromising holding midfielder as Denise O’Sullivan and Lily Agg were tasked with forcing the home team into error.
The plan did not work. Nor can it be deemed a failure.
Ireland, with Niamh Fahey at the heart of defence, dropped too deep too often, making it near impossible for O’Sullivan to settle in possession and pick out runs by Julie Ann Russell and Kyra Carusa.
McCabe struggled to influence the attack from left back. This is an old failing Ireland coaches refuse to address. Still, the Arsenal star kept trying to clip the perfect pass for Russell to sprint on to.
No joy.
Ireland had other looks at goal. When Fahey’s speculative ball was flicked on by Carusa, Russell had a half chance but the outstanding Rhiannon Roberts did enough to see the shot wide.
Seconds later, after a Carusa cross for Russell, Roberts again snuffed out the danger.
Jess Fishlock had been busy without threatening to tear Ireland open, until she did just that. The Wales goal came down McCabe’s flank when Ceri Holland spotted Fishlock’s darting run. Fahey scuffed the cross and Woodham caught Heather Payne napping at the back post.
Wales came alive, flooding down the right in search of a second. Ireland’s shape seemed flawed with the three centre-halves continually forced to turn and block Ffion Morgan from a one-on-one with Courtney Brosnan.
Something needed to happen, or the Euros dream was all Welsh. Littlejohn stepped up, swinging a speculative effort that Clark tipped on to the crossbar only for the rebound to hit the goalkeeper’s head and end up in the Wales net.
Uefa decreed an own goal.
It was a tasty match with referee Maria Caputi sensing the magnitude of the occasion and allowing a degree of physicality. McCabe was in the thick of it, which begged the question: why? On this night, the Irish skipper was needed in attack. Especially with Megan Campbell’s long throws held in reserve.
Gleeson did make a change at half-time, replacing the ineffective Agg with Marissa Sheva.
Ireland’s plan B, seemingly, was to hold tight to 1-1.
Cardiff City Stadium is a big pitch. This contest made it seem tiny, such was the congestion in midfield. When a Roberts header was cleared by Littlejohn and Brosnan saved a Carrie Jones shot, Irish assistant coach Colin Healy was on the line giving tactical instructions to O’Sullivan. Ireland needed to break out and stop inviting Wales to win the game.
There were shades of Hampden Park in 2022 when O’Sullivan unlocked the Scottish defence for Amber Barrett’s goal to secure qualification to the World Cup; it felt like some tactical surprise or moment of individual genius would swing the result.
It never came.
Littlejohn was lucky that Caputi missed a push on Fishlock when the referee was showing her a yellow card for fouling Rachel Rowe. The booking was for planting a forearm in Rowe’s face while her eyes were trained on the ball. Fishlock also saw yellow before both sides resumed the process of cancelling each other out.
After a long period of nothingness, Ireland won a corner. McCabe and O’Sullivan made a mess of their pre-planned move but they did enough to square the ball for Carusa, whose poor header bounced up for Caitlin Hayes. Hayes made a decent connection but Clark’s outstanding parry made up for the own goal.
Half-time. Much more needed to reach Switzerland next summer.
Wales: Clark (FC Twente); Roberts (Real Betis), Ladd (Manchester United), Evans (Liverpool), Woodham (Crystal Palace); Holland (Liverpool), James (Seattle Reign), Griffiths (Southampton), Morgan (Bristol City); Rowe (Southampton), Fishlock (Seattle Reign). Substitutions: Jones (IFK Norrköping) for Griffiths (46), Barton (Charlton Athletic) for Morgan (71), Green (Charlton Athletic) for Holland (80), Estcourt (DC Power) for Woodham (89).
Ireland: Brosnan (Everton); Payne (Everton), Patten (Aston Villa), Hayes (Celtic), Fahey (Liverpool), McCabe (Arsenal); Agg (Birmingham City), O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Littlejohn (London City Lionesses); Russell (Galway United), Carusa (San Diego Wave). Substitutions: Sheva (Portland Thorns) for Agg (46), Stapleton (Sunderland) for Littlejohn, Kiernan (Liverpool) for Russell (both 71), Barrett (Standard Liege) for Carusa (89).
Referee: Maria Caputi (Italy).
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
