After the final whistle, there were tears everywhere I looked.
The senior members of the Irish team in particular knew that this was probably their last chance to qualify for the Olympics. They were inconsolable. Dreams were shattered.
That’s the reality of sport at the highest level. Incredible highs and overwhelming lows.
Amidst the gut-wrenching disappointment of having their hopes of qualifying for the Paris Games ended with a 2-1 loss to Great Britain, captain Katie Mullan struggled to contain her emotions in the moment, and reflected on her team’s feelings. I tried to hit it with all my might. words.
“It’s really heartbreaking,” she said.
“The dedication that we gave, the team environment that we have, the camaraderie, the camaraderie, the strength. It’s really cruel and cruel to go through today. I’m so proud of our fight.
“We fought hard and fought until the last moment. I think we gave it our all in the second half and put a lot of pressure on our opponent.
“It’s a shame because I think the game was meant to be won. I’m so proud of the girls and so grateful to all my friends and family for supporting me. They were great, that’s all. ”It’s devastating. ”
“A cruel end to an emotional week”
The brutal ending came after a week of emotional performances. They held world No. 4 Belgium to a scoreless draw and defeated Ukraine and higher-ranked South Korea to advance to the semifinals.
More than the final against Great Britain, the Irish women will reflect on how their best chance to advance to Paris was squandered after losing to Spain in the semi-finals.
Although they outscored the hosts, they could not find the only goal to win the match. Ireland’s history has been filled with gun battles, some winning and some losing, but this time it was the latter.
Spain did little to trouble the scorers, but celebrated their Olympic berth.
It’s going to take a long time to get over how this week ended. Ireland was so close, yet so painfully far away.
Praising their performance means little at this point.
“I think it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to get through a tournament and play consistently in every match,” Moulin added.
“We were consistent in our performance and it would be disappointing if we didn’t have a good result at the end of those performances, but I think it’s a big positive for the group moving forward. ”
“We started this journey with a dream of going to Paris, and it’s heartbreaking that it won’t become a reality and that it won’t end. This is an incredibly special journey and we’re so grateful for this trip. It’s such an honor to be a part of this.’ It’s a very special group of women.
“Being able to come out and show up and express ourselves in our own way. That’s one of the privileges of high performance sports, it’s one of the privileges of team sports, and it’s one of the privileges of representing your country. It’s really shocking that it ended the way it did.”