Republic of Ireland: Iceland win opening friendly in Reykjavik
- Published
Agla Maria Albersdottir opened the scoring in Reykjavik
Iceland eased past the Republic of Ireland 3-2 in the first of two friendlies in Reykjavik.
The hosts raced into a comfortable half-time lead when Agla Maria Albersdottir, Gunnhildur Yrsa Jonsdottir and Dagny Brynjarsdottir all netted for the hosts.
Heather Payne pulled a goal back after the restart but the Republic couldn't recover from Iceland's early dominance.
Substitute Amber Barrett netted a consolation goal in the final minute.
The sides meet again at Laugardalsvollur on Tuesday. The matches are being used as preparation for September's World Cup qualifiers, where the Republic of Ireland take on Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and Georgia.
Iceland race clear
Republic manager Vera Pauw handed a debut to Glasgow City striker Aoife Colvill, who made an international switch from Australia, but it was the hosts who made the stronger start as Brynjarsdottir headed wide from Alexandra Johannsdottir's cross in windy conditions in Iceland's capital.
In a rare Republic attack, the lively Payne saw an effort well blocked by Glodis Viggosdottir but Iceland capitalised on their dominance, and some lacklustre Irish defending, to take the lead on 10 minutes.
A long ball over the top of the visiting defence caught out Niamh Fahey, and forward Albersdottir had the relatively simple task of lifting the ball over the onrushing Grace Moloney.
Iceland and the Republic of Ireland play again on Tuesday
Euro 2022-bound Iceland added a second four minutes later when captain Jonsdottir beat Liverpool defender Fahey to the ball after Karolina Lea Vilhjalmsdottir's cross was flicked on by Albersdottir.
The Icelandic pressure kept on coming and Brynjarsdottir missed another good opportunity from 12 yards, firing wide beyond the stretching Moloney.
Republic captain Katie McCabe, who was named in the WSL's Team of the Season after a strong season with Arsenal, dragged an effort wide from just inside the area however it wasn't long before the home side made it three before the break.
West Ham's Brynjarsdottir finally got her goal when she converted into the unguarded net after Johannsdottir's strike cannoned off the post and the home midfielder reacted quickest to tuck the ball away.
Second-half improvement
Pauw introduced Eabha O'Mahoney and Barrett at the break and, with the wind in their favour, Payne reacted quickest when Barrett's effort took a deflection across goal to pull a one back on 50 minutes, her first goal for her country.
However Iceland, ranked 17th in the world and 17 places above the Republic, continued to dominate the ball and Jamie Finn had to be alert to clear Jonsdottir's header off the line with Johannsdottir putting the rebound over the bar.
After a lull in the pace of play, Barrett, who looked lively after coming on, saw a deflected volley drop just the wrong side of the post and Diane Caldwell shot straight at goalkeeper Sandra Sigurdardottir from close range from the resulting corner.
Elin Jensen clipped the face of the bar as her cross nearly caught out Moloney with 10 minutes to play but defender Louise Quinn missed a good chance to put late pressure on the hosts as she steered McCabe's free-kick into the side netting from close range.
Barrett pulled a goal back in the final minute of the match when she latched onto Quinn's through ball and the effort bounced across the line off the far post, however Iceland were the better team over the 90 minutes and deserved the win, which condemned the Republic to defeat for the sixth match in a row.
Iceland: Sigurdardottir, Gunnlaugsdottir, Sigurdardottir, Viggosdottir, Vidarsdottir, Jonsdottir, Brynjarsdottir, Johannsdottir, Albersdottir, Vilhjalmsdottir, Jensen.
Subs: Sveinbjornsdottir, Runarsdottir, Gudmundsdottir, Tomasdottir, Porvaldsottir, Gisladottir, Agustsdottir, Arnardottir, Arnadottir, Halldorsdottir, Hauksdottir, Jonsdottir.
Republic of Ireland: Moloney, Quinn, Fahey, Connolly, Caldwell, O'Sullivan, McCabe, Payne, Finn, Farrelly, Colvill.
Subs: Brosnan, Badana, Keenan, O'Mahony, Ziu, Barrett, O'Gorman, O'Riordan, Walsh, McLaughlin, Grant, Molloy.