Vera Pauw says Ireland will 'dare to be excellent'

Vera Pauw said the Republic of Ireland will "dare to be excellent" in their efforts to become more expansive.

The Girls in Green shut out China in a 0-0 draw at Estadio Nuevo Mirador in Cadiz on Wednesday, adding another excellent defensive performance to their collection.

However, creativity and sustained possession are qualities that Pauw admits her side must improve on if they are to make their mark at this summer's World Cup.

Ireland spent the bulk of their nine-day Marbella training camp trying to sharpen up their attacking play leading into today's friendly against the world No 14-ranked Chinese.

There was some evidence of a more concerted approach to playing out from the back, but the manager acknowledges Ireland have work to do on the offensive end of their game.

"The idea was that we were building up," she said. "I don't use the word 'little' much, but a little earlier occupation of the pitch, we wanted to occupy in the pockets with angles.

"A little bit higher pace of passing, to give each other time. A little bit more alert anticipation to what is happening, that can bring us higher up the pitch and creating chances.

"But these are the Asian champions. If you start playing out, you have to dare to be good. What we said in the team meeting is that we dare to be excellent and we knew it wouldn’t be perfect, but this is the first time that we could emphasise our attacking play in the team meeting every single day and not concentrate on our defensive duties.

"And the fact that while doing that, we kept again a clean sheet, that is a huge compliment."

It wasn't a classic in Spain but the result means Ireland have lost just once in their last 14 games - and that defeat came against Russia in last year's Pinatar Cup, when