Ireland cruise past Georgia again to book Euro playoff final spot ...

GEORGIA 0

(Ireland win 9-0 on aggregate)

Georgia may be seeking political independence but they succumbed to the natural order of European football against a dominant Ireland side.

This was a mismatch from the moment of the draw – 96 places between them in the world standings – but after some rustiness in Friday’s first leg, Ireland racked up an aggregate 9-0 landslide to move within 180 minutes of their first European Championships.

“It’s a performance we can work on,” admitted Eileen Gleeson. “We’d have liked more goals but it was crowded out there. We got a clean sheet and no bookings, which is job done.”

Facing Wales, only five places behind in the Fifa rankings in 29 compared to Slovakia in 51, testifies as to the task Ireland face to reach Switzerland.

The Dragons may be without injured Sophie Ingle but veteran Jess Fishlock – who overcame her injury to draw them level in the semi-final – will fancy ruining Ireland’s quest. She tore Eileen Gleeson's side in a 2-0 friendly win in February.

From Tbilisi to Tallaght, a predictable pattern unravelled against the Georgians with Ireland prevailing while hardly getting out of first gear.

The latitude for experimentation that a six-goal advantage afforded only led to three changes, one of them guaranteed through the availability from suspension of first-choice goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.

Two subs from Friday who grabbed their first international goals, Jessie Stapleton and Marissa Sheva, were promoted to the line-up and it was productive to see the latter redeployed from midfield to defence for the second half.

Ireland haven’t had a friendly since being beaten by the Welsh but this was the closest thing, given the disparity of quality.

It took precisely 20 minutes and one second for Brosnan to get her first touch of the ball and that was with her feet. She was even denied an effort on target to warm her hands, as Irina Khabudizania’s 40th-minute speculative shot brushed off Anna Patten to veer direction from the goalposts by the time the American gathered the ball.

Her US-born outfield colleagues had, by then, burnished Ireland’s reputation for pulverising inferior opposition.

Only two-and-a-half minutes were clocked when Kyra Carusa nodded down Katie McCabe’s lofted pass into the path of Sheva breaking into the box.

The Portland Thorns midfielder didn’t beat goalkeeper Tatia Gabunia but the rebound fell for Julie-Ann Russell to stroke home the loose ball. It was her third goal in four internationals since her return to the fold after a four-year absence.

Georgia’s 118th-placed in the rankings was reflected in their approach, punting aimless balls that were more akin to clearances.

That rigidity was easily pierced by slick passing and one such move produced the second just past the hour mark. Patten possessed the awareness to spot Stapleton probing towards the box and her back-flick sprung the static visitors, allowing Carusa to avail by drilling her shot home.

Two should have become three moments later. Once Maria Kalanadze was caught on the wrong side of Carusa inside of the box, a foul was looming and when she bundled over the striker, McCabe grabbed the ball in her grasp.

Not since the infamous Euro playoff defeat to Ukraine in late 2020 has the Irish captain missed a penalty but she leaned back momentarily to blaze her effort wide of the upright.

Russell spurned the chance of her second on the stroke of the interval by slicing wide, not decisive to prevent her being named Player of the Match.

Lily Agg’s introduction at the break was designed to inject some lacking zest but it was the reliable partnership of Denise O’Sullivan and McCabe who fused to notch the third on 55 minutes.

After they combined down the right to earn a corner, they profited from Georgia doziness by taking the set-piece quickly.

McCabe didn’t need an invitation to cut in and beat the goalkeeper at her near post for goal number 29 of her international career.

Ellen Molloy, on her international comeback following injury, almost added a fourth in stoppage time, seeing her lob land on the roof of the net.

IRELAND (3-5-2): C Brosnan; A Mannion (L Agg 46), A Patten, C Hayes; A Larkin (I Atkinson 58), J Stapleton, M Sheva, D O’Sullivan, K McCabe (L Kiernan 72); JA Russell (E Molloy 83), K Carusa (H Payne 58).

GEORGIA (4-3-3): T Gabunia; S Gasviani, M Kalanadze, N Chkhartishvili, G Kadagishvili; S Narsia, N Danelia, N Bukhrikidze; T Bakradze, I Khabudizania, A Cheminava.

Referee: Katalin Kulcsár (HUN).

Attendance: 8,745.