England knew two victories in their last two qualifying matches would secure a spot in Switzerland next year and this was one step towards achieving that.
After a rocky year, where performances have dipped and results have been up and down, this felt like a more routine win for England, even if there was ultimately only one goal in it.
They dominated large periods and got the early goal they needed – much like they did in Dublin when they wrapped up a 2-0 victory.
But there were still moments of sloppiness and it was by no means a perfect performance.
A few lapses of concentration led to them losing possession in dangerous areas in the first half, with goalkeeper Hampton needing to be on her toes to clear, while England’s midfield were too passive on occasions.
They were made to pay for a defensive error deep in stoppage time as Megan Campbell’s trademark long throw caused problems, and Tyler Toland’s flick-on was pounced on by Russell, who swivelled and stabbed it past Hampton.
Going forward, England remained a threat – Manchester City midfielder Jess Park was given an opportunity to impress and she played well, though lacked a clinical edge in the penalty area.
Mead was busy in the first half and Hemp was eager to have an impact on her return to her home city of Norwich – where she spent the majority of her youth career – and she did by winning the penalty.
Overall, it was a performance that did the job rather than one to entertain. Wiegman was able to make changes throughout to save energy for the deciding showdown against Sweden next week, as well as handing senior debuts to Tottenham forward Jess Naz and Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones.
Fans chanted “football’s coming home” in the stands at full-time and sang “Sweet Caroline” with a nod to their success in 2022 and in anticipation of England’s men preparing for their own European final against Spain on Sunday.
For the Republic of Ireland, it was always going to be a tough ask in a group containing three of the world’s top six ranked nations and they are already consigned to a place in the play-offs.
They showed resistance again in defence for large spells and had something to celebrate when their efforts paid off late on with a deserved goal.
It will be another tough test for them on Tuesday when they host France and they could end the qualifying campaign having not picked up a single point.