Gleeson’s side is fast becoming must-see viewing
IRELAND supporters who tuned in to the RTÉ News Channel on Friday evening, hoping to catch the action from Viola Park were instead greeted by the sight of Sports Minister (among a number of briefs) Catherine Martin insisting she is ‘doing her best’ in a difficult situation amid the controversy of RTÉ chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh’s resignation.
Those viewers who wanted to watch on television, rather than the Player, missed the opening 15 minutes because of the Minister’s press conference. And that quarter of an hour set the tone for Ireland’s most encouraging performance yet under Eileen Gleeson, with Heather Payne’s clever through-ball creating a decent chance for Kyra Carusa in the seventh minute while a few moments later, the aggressively high pressing of Izzy Atkinson and Jess Ziu forced Italy goalkeeper Katja Schroffenegger into kicking possession away.
If it had been the senior men’s team playing a friendly in Florence, there’s no doubt that Neighbours
and Home and Away would have given way to make room on the RTÉ 2 schedule. It is hard to understand why the same wasn’t done for the women’s side, especially as they are now mixing it with Europe’s elite.
Being shunted onto a minor television channel, and missing the opening period of the game, was in keeping with the low-profile nature of this friendly which began with the squad being announced with no press conference and little fanfare. But given what this team have worked so hard to achieve, they deserve much more.
When they welcome Wales to Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday evening, the team will be back centre-stage, and on RTÉ 2. It will be the final chance to see this group of players before they meet some of the top sides in Europe in Nations League A. And they seem to be a team eager to embrace that challenge.
Under Vera Pauw, the side had become very hard to beat, but Gleeson and her coaching staff have been impressive in how they built on the Dutchwoman’s foundations. The Dubliner has the team playing further up the field and they pose a much greater attacking threat.
And there is a confidence coursing through the team now, typified by the superb passage of play that led to Leanne Kiernan’s goal which was unluckily ruled out for offside. The build-up between Payne, Lucy Quinn and Amber Barrett was perhaps the best piece of football of the entire evening.
But there were plenty of other positive elements. The re-introduction of Niamh Fahey, who was typically composure personified, Ziu and Jess Stapleton to the side underlined just how many options Gleeson now has at her disposal. Stapleton, nominally a defender, took the injured Tyler Toland’s place at the base of midfield and complimented Megan Connolly in the centre of the park.
‘She did well, stuck at it well and it was good to work with her in the middle. She wanted the ball. There’s a certain way that Eileen wants from us in the middle and I think we worked well with that in and out of possession. Even when players came off the bench, like Lills[Agg], we kept the tempo high. I think that’s a good thing, one players goes off and another comes on and we kept the tempo high,’ Connolly said.
The injuries to Toland, Denise O’Sullivan and Sinead Farrelly meant that Gleeson had to experiment with midfield on Friday, but the sense is that this squad is developing a real adaptability, which is one of the words that the Dubliner has consistently used.
The move to a flat back four surprised some, but Fahey and Caitlin Hayes were exceptional at the centre of defence and they were flanked by Payne and Katie McCabe to give the side a solid base. The Ireland captain had enjoyed herself in the support role to Carusa over the Nations League campaign, but her move back to a more conventional left-back might have been done with an eye to the bigger teams Ireland may face later in the year – they are certain to draw one of Spain, France, the Netherlands or Germany in their group while they have a one in four chance of getting England, who will be in pot two.
It promises to be a challenging few months ahead, but such is the sense of confidence and togetherness in this group that they will have no fear, no matter who comes out of the hat in Nyon on March 5.
‘There is loads we can take from that performance,’ Connolly said after the goalless draw with Italy. ‘You can see how we changed the formation a bit. We trained at it this week and I think the players adapted quite well.
‘It is always going to be tough when you are playing a team higher ranked and doing it with a different formation, but we handled it very well. There is a lot to learn and a lot to build on.
‘We want to make steps and strides and compete with these kind of games and if this is the way that the coaching staff want us to go, I think everyone is behind it. Everyone has bought into what the coaching staff want us to do and as players, we want to progress and test ourselves against higher-ranked opponents.’
Such are the strides that this team are making – and their rate of progress – that they are unlikely to be shunted off the stage again this year, no matter what political crisis is brewing.
Even when players came off the bench, we kept the tempo high