Mary Hannigan’s match preview:
“[Eileen Gleeson’s] call on her players to be ‘ruthless’ against Georgia is likely to be heard, after all in the nations’ last three meetings Ireland have scored 26 goals without reply. But with the game a sell-out she wants them to put on show for the home crowd.
“Courtney Brosnan, suspended for the first leg, is likely to return to the line-up, while Tyler Toland will probably be omitted after picking up a booking in that game – one more and she’d be unavailable next time around. Jessie Stapleton could fill that holding midfield role, while Leanne Kiernan will be pushing for a start, possibly in place of Julie-Ann Russell who could be rested for this one, having made a hell of an impact since her international return.
“Niamh Fahey, Heather Payne and Amber Barrett, all unused in Tbilisi, would welcome game time too, as would Izzy Atkinson who only came on in injury time.”
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Euro 2025 playoff semi-final between Ireland and Georgia, which kicks off at 7.30pm in Tallaght. Ireland won the first leg a comfortable 6-0 at home, writing Mary Hannigan about the game in Tbilisi:
“It wasn’t quite the cruise that the last meetings with Georgia were, those 2023 World Cup qualifying 11-0 and 9-0 drubbings, but the Republic of Ireland’s 6-0 playoff victory in Tbilisi on Friday nudges them one step closer to making it to the European Championships for the first time,” she writes.
“Two goals from Katie McCabe, a sublime finish from Kyra Carusa and first international goals for Jessie Stapleton, Marissa Sheva and Aoife Mannion should – barring a Georgia comeback of biblical proportions – make Tuesday’s return leg in Tallaght a formality.”
So yes, the result of the tie should be a formality, barring a several thousand to one chance but Ireland would still like to put that to bed with a few early goals tonight. Some of the stars are likely to be rested, with fringe players having a chance to shine. Eileen Gleeson will have one eye on the Wales-Slovakia game in the playoff semi-final, the winner should play Ireland next month with a spot in Euro 2025 up for grabs. Wales are 2-1 down to Slovakia after the first leg, so that one could go down to the wire.