A FINAL THROW
Set-piece star Campbell in Pauw’s squad as Ireland roll dice against the Germans
JUST as all hope in their European Championship qualification quest seemed lost, the Republic of Ireland women last night received a boost with the return of throw-in speciali st Megan Campbell to their squad.
Vera Pauw’s side face a mammoth task to salvage a play- off for the 2022 finals by beating Germany in next Tuesday’s final qualifier but Campbell’s shock comeback at least presents some hope.
The Manchester City full-back has a history of causing the powerhouses of European football uncomfortable moments.
Back in 2010, as a 16-year-old, the Drogheda native buried a free-kick to inflict a first European Under 17 defeat on the Germans.
“We have nothing to lose at this stage”
Four years later at Tallaght Stadium, when their senior team came to Tallaght as European champions, a pair of Campbell throw- ins led to goals which brought Ireland level heading into stoppage-time.
Although the visitors snared a last-gasp goal to win 3-2, it was the closest they came to dropping points over the campaign.
Russia, who finished ahead of t hi r d- placed I r el and, were walloped 9-0 as the Germans stormed through the World Cup group with full points, eventually r eaching the semi- f i nals in Canada.
Another unblemished record of 18 points from their six qualifiers has already secured a place at the Euro finals for the current batch of German talent.
Their final two games against Greece on Saturday and Ireland next Tuesday are expected to be used for manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg to assess the depth of her squad for the delayed showpiece in England.
Yet everything is at stake for Ireland.
Having blown the chance of clinching a play-off early by losing last month’s penultimate qualifier in Ukraine, it’s win or bust for the Girls in Green.
They cannot afford to rely on minnows Montenegro causing an upset against Ukraine in the other g a me being held simultaneously.
Moreover, this could be the last chance for the thirtysomethings that backbone the team to reach a major tournament. Pauw’s contract also expires once Ireland’s i nvolvement i n the Euro bid ends.
Campbell’s last involvement in an Ireland jersey came all of 14 months ago in Pauw’s first game at the helm, the 3-2 home victory over Ukraine.
It didn’t take long for her injury curse to return, as ankle trouble flared up in January during City’s game against Manchester City.
So serious was the issue that it was initially thought that it might end her career at the top level, due to a setback.
However, the inclusion of her name among the substitutes for last week’s meeting with Manchester United ended any doubts.
Having not even featured on the 31-player long list released by Pauw a fortnight ago, Campbell’s welcome return at City earned her inclusion in the final 27-player version confirmed last night.
Once the 27-year- old emerges unscathed during the build-up, she is expected to regain her role at left-back — and that of setpiece specialist.
Ten home-based players made the cut, including a quartet from newly- c r o wned c hampions Peamount United, but sporting all-rounder Saoirse Noonan will have to wait for her debut after missing out.
Another Megan – Connolly – is the only guaranteed starter unavailable to the Dutch coach as she’s currently sidelined due to concussion protocol.
Fiorentina defender Louise Quinn, who has completed a spell of isolation, is expected into the camp today, as is Birmingham City full-back Harriet Scott.
‘Germany are one of the best teams in the world, so we know we’ll have to pull off something spectacular next Tuesday to get a play-off,’ said Ireland and Celtic full-back Keeva Keenan.
‘We could have made it a lot easier for ourselves by getting a result in Kiev. It was a sick feeling after the game because we felt it was game over for us.
‘We’ve nothing to lose at this stage and we’ll go for it. We’re not going to get overwhelmed by what could potentially happen.’ REPUBLIC OF IRELAND SQUAD (v Germany) Goalkeepers: M Hourihan (SC Braga), C Brosnan (West Ham United), G Moloney (Reading), N Reid-Burke (Peamount United) Defenders: H Scott (Reading), K Keenan (Celtic), C Walsh (Peamount United), L Quinn (Fiorentina), D Caldwell (SC Sand), C O’Riordan (MSV Duisburg), M Campbell (Manchester City), E O’Mahony (Cork City), I Atkinson (Shelbourne), A O’Gorman (Peamount United) Midfielders: N Fahey (Liverpool), J Finn (Shelbourne), D O’Sullivan (Brighton & Hove Albion), N Farrelly (Peamount United), R Littlejohn (Leicester City), E Molloy (Wexford Youths), J Ziu (Shelbourne), E Whelan (Shelbourne) Forwards: K McCabe (Arsenal), H Payne (Florida State University), L Kiernan (West Ham United), A Barrett (FC Koln), R Jarrett (Brighton & Hove Albion) UEFA 2022 Women’s European Championship Qualifying Group I – Tuesday, Dec 1 (5pm): Ireland v Germany, LIVE on RTÉ2
“We could’ve made it easier on ourselves”