Republic of Ireland 3-0 Northern Ireland: Oxtoby debut ends in defeat as hosts win in Dublin
- Published
Highlights: Republic of Ireland 3-0 Northern Ireland
Tanya Oxtoby's first match as Northern Ireland manager ended in a 3-0 defeat by the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Lucy Quinn fired home a deflected opener on 30 minutes to break the deadlock in the inaugural Women's Nations League game between the sides at the Aviva Stadium.
Kyra Carusa netted a second on 71 minutes after a mix-up between Rebecca Holloway and goalkeeper Shannon Turner.
Substitute Lily Agg headed home a third with five minutes to play.
Northern Ireland's first match under Oxtoby, who replaced Kenny Shiels as manager, was their first competitive fixture in 12 months.
The Republic were playing their first match since the World Cup in Australia in the summer and the fixture was the team's first at the Aviva Stadium, in front of a record crowd of 35,994.
Their build-up to the match was dominated by the departure of home boss Vera Pauw, who did not have her contract extended following the World Cup.
Defender Diane Caldwell had said the team qualified for the World Cup "in spite" of Pauw, but come kick-off full focus was on building for the future and beginning the Nations League with a win under interim manager Eileen Gleeson.
In a quiet opening 25 minutes in which Arsenal's Katie McCabe curled a free-kick well over, Northern Ireland goalkeeper Turner was called into action to produce two smart saves.
The first was to keep out Carusa's close-range flick-on, which came from a header from debutant Caitlin Hayes.
Minutes later, Celtic defender Hayes - who celebrated gaining Irish citizenship on her 28th birthday on Friday - was left unmarked at a corner but Wolves keeper Turner produced a brilliant reflex save to push the ball around the post.
However, Turner was helpless to prevent the opener when Northern Ireland's Rachel Furness cleared a corner to the edge of the area and Quinn's volley took a touch off the Bristol City midfielder and flew into the bottom corner.
Tanya Oxtoby tasted defeat in her first match as Northern Ireland manager
The hosts upped the tempo as the half progressed and Birmingham City midfielder Quinn almost grabbed a second before half-time when she fired towards goal, only for Sarah McFadden to clear off the line.
After the restart, Carusa was unfortunate not to double the Republic's advantage when she nutmegged Turner but Demi Vance managed to scramble the ball off the line.
Northern Ireland saw more of the ball in the second half but struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities and, at the other end, Larkin was not far away from adding a second when her first-time effort drifted wide of the post.
However, the second came when McCabe played a seemingly harmless through ball to Carusa, but a mix-up between Holloway and Turner, who had come rushing out of her goal, allowed the San Diego Waves striker to slot into an empty net from 35 yards.
Agg, two minutes after being introduced, rounded off the win with five minutes to play as she headed home McCabe's corner.
Caragh Hamilton had a penalty appeal waved away in injury time as Northern Ireland pressed for a consolation when her cross appeared to strike the arm of player of the match Tyler Toland - who was playing her first international since 2019 after a falling-out with previous manager Pauw.
Despite the deflection and the mistake for the second goal, Northern Ireland were not completely outclassed by their rivals and Oxtoby will take the positives from her first match into Tuesday's home game with Albania at Seaview.
Gleeson's Republic travel to Hungary on Tuesday for their second fixture in Group B1.