Courtney Brosnan: 'I knew I had to make a special save'

Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan was determined to keep a clean sheet against Nigeria, producing a point-blank save in the second half to help Vera Pauw's get a point on the board before bidding farewell to the Women's World Cup.

As in their previous two games, Ireland's best football came in the opening half and captain Katie McCabe went close inside the first five minutes. The Nigerians, however, were dangerous on the counter and they became more dominant on the resumption. It looked as if they would break the deadlock on 52 minutes, but Brosnan produced a world-class save to keep them out.

Describing her determination to get something on the ball, the Everton netminder told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue: "It was an unbeliveable ball into ther box. It was one of those teasing ones, I thought I could come but at the last second I dropped back and I knew I had to make a special save on the line. I just threw ny body at it, I wanted to keep us in the game. I knew we deserved something from the game."

A save that evoked memories of Gordan Banks and Jim Montgomery's heroics from the 1970s.

As well as stating that Ireland were full vale for the point gained in Brisbane, Brosnan also spoke on the disappointment of a maiden World Cup ending so soon.

"We were disappointed not to make it out of the group and I thought we deserved something from the tournament," she added.

"To get a point on the board is amazing, obviously we wanted three but to keep a clean sheet is also amazing and is testament to this team, we worked to the verey end. We dserve to be here and we did show that today.

"Vera and Katie said we are proud to be here for our country and it shows we deserve to be here. We've put in performances and we grew and