ELLISH SEND OFF

Nightmare evening sees Ireland humbled & skipper McCabe injured

- MARK MCCADDEN

AN INJURY scare to captain Katie McCabe and a humbling defeat didn't provide Vera Pauw's side with the send-off they wanted.

Tallaght Stadium's turnstiles clicked a record 7,632 times for a senior women's international and they all cheered their World Cup bound stars loudly in the end.

But despite a strong first-half performance, which ended with a pair of injury-time sucker punches, there wasn't a whole lot to get worked up about.

The focus will be on the soft goals conceded, which undid all the hard work that came beforehand.

Maelle Lakrar, the young Montpellier wing-back, scored her first two senior international goals in just her third appearance, while Lyon striker Eugenie Le Sommer scored her 89th goal for France.

Kyra Carusa had the ball in the French net early on, but was robbed of a famous goal by what seemed to be an incorrect offside decision.

It would in no way have flattered the Girls in Green, who began in encouraging fashion.

There was much to enjoy in the first-half from an Irish perspective, as Pauw's charges went toe-to-toe with one of the favourites for the World Cup in Australia in two weeks' time.