Mixed emotions for Denise O’Sullivan after another Ireland win in Cork 

Despite helping the Republic of Ireland to a 1-0 victory over Slovenia at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork’s own Denise O’Sullivan was disappointed after seeing the country miss out on automatic promotion in the UEFA Women’s Nations League.

The Girls in Green went into the game needing to score four goals and their night started with Saoirse Noonan turning in a Jesse Stapleton cross in the 19th minute at the City End.

Carla Ward’s players rallied in a bid to get a second before the break and despite some good work by Emily Murphy and Katie McCabe, they were able to get in and really test Zala Mersnik.

That means a place in the play-offs, which will be held over two legs at the end of October.

To O’Sullivan, that is tomorrow’s problem as the Ireland centurion is just enjoying the moment in her home city after playing in front of her family and friends.

“Definitely disappointed of course – we wanted to get the 4-0 win,” she said.

“But I think the team, especially in the first half, played really well. 

"I think we created a lot of chances and we had to put those chances away in the second half. 

"We kind of moved away from the game plan a little bit. I think we could have played more. The space was there to keep building and that is how we created our chances in the first half.

“Definitely mixed emotions but we gave it our all tonight.” 

The high point for the Ireland centurion wasn’t just playing in her home city, but seeing another one of Cork’s finest hit the back of the net.

“I’m absolutely delighted for Saoirse – coming back into the set up and she deserved that start,” O’Sullivan talked about the striker that marked her first ever competitive start with her second ever senior goal.

“To see her get on the score sheet was amazing. I’m really proud of her.” 

The midfielder is now looking at the play-offs, where a positive result could mean a place in League A alongside some of the best teams in Europe.

“The play-offs are in October and I think we’ll find out Friday who it is,” she explained.

“We will be ready for that and it is a positive that we do have another chance at it.” 

The Girls in Green played at that level last year and it involved ties with England, Sweden, and .

The team are desperate to get back into that position, and to banish any memories associated with the play-offs following the defeat to Wales last December in the Euro qualifying.

“We have that experience under our belt and I’ve heard a few of the teams of few of the teams and they are really good and at a high level,” she said.

“We have to be ready for that but as I said it is another chance for us to go out. We want to be at that World Cup in Brazil. 

"Having that defeat against Wales last year, I think it can stand to us going into that game. We learned a lot from that and it still hurts a lot. 

"The pain is not gone from that. I’m just happy that we have another chance through the play-offs.”