Murphy ‘over the moon’ with Republic of Ireland winner

As the race for top spot in Group B2 descends to the final game, Republic of Ireland forward Emily Murphy said, “dream” of scoring like her late winner over Turkey.

Carla Ward’s side were relying on three points to hold off group leaders Slovenia, with Kader Hancar’s goal early in the second half giving Turkey the lead.

The away side won, however, thanks to a composed finish from Murphy in the 89th minute and an own goal from Busem Seker with 10 minutes left.

Murphy told RTE, “I am thrilled with the goal.”

I’ll admit that I don’t quite recall [the goal] because I just remember having much more time than I thought.

“The former version of myself would have slammed into Row Z,” but I took a deep breath, sat down, and tried my hardest to hit it.

You imagine the game’s winners, but in the end, we should have been better and didn’t want that to happen.

The Republic of Ireland were level after fellow substitute Megan Campbell’s throw-in, with Murphy praising the fact that “everyone who came on made an impact.”

“You have substitutes because there is a reason.” The Newcastle United striker continued, “We need those game changers, and you might need new legs or tactics.”

“Thankfully, the right choices were made, and everyone who came on made a difference,” he said.

The Republic of Ireland will now be guaranteed second place in Group B2, but they can still claim the lead when they welcome Slovenia to Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Tuesday night.