Izuchukwu OkosiCanada secured a 2-1 victory against Republic of Ireland in the Group B game of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup played on Wednesday at the wet and windy Perth Oval.
Adriana Leon’s close finish and an own goal by Ireland’s Megan Connolly at the cusp of halftime secured all three points for the Olympic champions.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIreland went ahead in the 4th minute from a corner kick as Katie McCabe opened the scoring with a fourth minute corner that curled through the air and into the net, giving the girls in green their first-ever World Cup goal.
Canada equalised eight minutes into the second half of the match when Leon found the back of the net with a toe-poke as her side increasingly exerted their dominance over a plucky Irish outfit.
The 40-year-old Christine Sinclair who was denied a penalty by Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie in the 0-0 draw last week was brought on after the break.
The legendary striker was however denied several times by the resilient Irish defence and her dream of scoring at six consecutive World Cup finals continues to be delayed.
Ireland, who cannot progress to the knockout stage having also lost their opener against Australia, play their final match against Nigeria in Brisbane on Monday at 11am Nigerian time.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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