Harsh lessons at the top table but Ireland will be back

Vera Pauw bunched her players into a huddle as the rain teemed down in Perth.

A 2-1 defeat to Canada means the Republic of Ireland can not make it out of the group, and that reality stung them all. Anguish, frustration, regret - all of those emotions will stew for a couple of days before some perspective kicks in.

Housed in a very tough group, Ireland were always battling against the odds. They pushed higher-ranked opponents close in two competitve games but both losses ultimately boiled down to two simple factors: quality and depth.

For about 35 minutes against Canada, Ireland were just about perfect.

The loss of Heather Payne in the warmup [hamstring] was a blow, but deputy Aine O'Gorman dovetailed well with Lucy Quinn who offered solidity and drive on the right.

Ruesha Littlejohn chased Canada playmaker Jessie Fleming out of the game, hounding her into making sideways and backwards passes. No Irish player covered more distance than Littlejohn against Australia [10,719km]; to produce the effort she did here was impressive.

Her graft enabled Sinead Farrelly and Denise O'Sullivan to decorate the occasion with some moments of real class, while the big pay-off to all of this endeavour was the release of Katie McCabe.

The skipper was frequently able to drive into Canada's half in the first half-hour and it's no coincidence Ireland subsequently made chances.

The Olympic champions were on the ropes, but the knockout blow of a second goal never came. And it badly needed to come.

Before we assess how the rest of the contest played out, it should be stressed that Canada were dreadful in that opening period. It's difficult to imagine how they could have played any worse on the turnaround.

Still, Priestman's starting selection ultimately