When Katie Taylor took on the Swedes
Ireland flared up in the battle for a first qualifier by winning four of their first six matches, but the last pair – at home and away against the Swedes – were the most difficult. It was the last campaign that Ireland shared a qualifying group with this week’s opponents.
The FAI marketed Bray’s visit to the team that finished third at the last European Championships – and introduced local heroes Áine O’Gorman and Katie Taylor to the media to lead the marketing campaign.
It was a different Katie than McCabe who was the team’s gold girl during that era, because Taylor scored in the 2-1 victory over Hungary at Tolka Park that started the campaign with optimism.
She had also given Ireland a shock early lead in Italy but her suspension for a second warning of the hour that left Noel King’s side extended and Azzurri relieved a lightning strike in the final seven minutes to add a 4-1 loss.
Play-off places for the four best third-placed teams in the six groups were then offered and Ireland had almost sealed theirs when the yellow wave rocked up to the sea one summer evening.
Sweden had its own goal to achieve, direct qualifiers, by making five victories in a row.
Ireland held out for 19 minutes until Karolina Westberg nodded past Emma Byrne, an advantage doubled four minutes later by captain Victoria Svensson.
Josefine Ogvist made it 3-0 in 28 minutes before Westberg took his second with 17 minutes left and sub Lotta Schelin added a fifth in the final stage.
The closest Ireland came to giving the 1,450 voters a goal was Taylor’s nod just after the hour that Hedvig Lindhal collected.
Sweden’s goalkeeper was the only player on duty that day in the squad that Ireland will face this week.
The great Caroline Seger would be in the rematch four months later, a gap where the Swedes finished sixth at the Olympics in Beijing. Sweden only needed the last of their 31 goals in the qualifier against an Irish team without Taylor. She was preparing to win her second World Boxing Championship in China, conflicting commitments that also excluded her from Ireland’s play-off defeat in Iceland.
Taylor returned in 2009 to win the last of his 11 internationals in the World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan.
Emma Byrne (Arsenal); Marie Curtin (Hofstra Univ), Niamh Fahey (Salthill Devon), Yvonne Tracy (Arsenal), Alisha Moran (New York Ath Club); Ciara Grant (Arsenal), Katie Taylor (Peamount Utd), Edel Malone (Hofstra Univ); Áine O’Gorman (Stella Maris), Michele O’Brien (Long Island Lady Riders), Stefanie Curtis (Bristol Academy).
Olivia O’Toole (Raheny United) for Curtis (73 min).
Hedvig Lindhal; Frida Ostberg, Stina Segerström, Karolina Westberg, Sara Thundero; Josefine Ogvist, Lisa Dahlkvist, Nilla Fischer, Therese Suogran; Victoria Svensson, Jessica Landström.
Lotta Schelin for Landström (61 min), Linda Forsberg for Dahlkvist (72 min), Johanna Almgren for Ogvist (80 min) Judge: Claudine Brohet (Belgium).
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