Katie McCabe celebrates scoring in Georgia on Monday night. Photo: Irishmirror.com
It is easy to dismiss Vera Pauw's side's 9-0 demolition of Georgia in Gori last night as insignificant. Many critics argue, perhaps somewhat justifiably, that results such as these do a disservice to women's football. However, a team can only beat the opponents in front of them and the Republic of Ireland did so in style, putting an astonishing twenty goals past the hapless Georgians in their two meetings.
The win is still a big one and comes on the back of a 1-1 draw in Gothenburg back in April where the Republic of Ireland became the first team to take a point off the impressive Swedes. Skipper Katie McCabe's strike that night was just the second goal Sweden have conceded in the seven games they have played over the course of the World Cup qualification campaign thus far.
The win in Georgia means that Ireland's World Cup fate is now very much in our own hands. The Irish side sit in second place in Group A, a point ahead of Finland with two games to go where second place will secure a play-off for the World Cup next year in Australia and New Zealand.
Ireland arguably have the more desirable of the remaining games, hosting the Finnish in a crunch clash on the 1st of September before a trip to Slovakia the following week. Finland, on the other hand, end their campaign hosting the formidable Swedes.
Vera Pauw's side are aiming to become the first Irish side to qualify for the finals of a major tournament and while they will lament their absence from this summer's European Championships in England having gone painfully close to qualification, there will no doubt be a hunger within the group to go one step further when the autumn international window rolls around.
With coverage of the women's game in Ireland going in the right direction, there is no reason why a bumper crowd shouldn't be in attendance in Tallaght Stadium on that September evening to back the Girls in Green.
Vera Pauw issues a rallying cry on Twitter.
I, for one, very much hope that that is the case.
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