Joe’s got some tricks up his sleeve
JOE HODGE is ready to celebrate a rare hat-trick in Tel Aviv tomorrow night.
The Wolves midfielder has already featured in European Championships at Under-17 and Under-19 level — and he is just 90 minutes away from reaching the Under-21 finals.
As this would be Ireland's first appearance at this level, Hodge is one of the few Boys in Green stars who can complete the illustrious treble next summer.
He lined out for the Under-17s when Ireland hosted the tournament in 2019 — and was so impressive that, at the age of 16, he was included in the Under-19 finals a few months later.
Hodge even scored an equaliser in Ireland's opener against Norway as Tom Mohan's men made the semifinals in Armenia, only to bow out to Portugal.
Teammates in the current squad that are aiming for the hat-trick of UEFA underage finals include keeper Brian Maher, Lee O'Connor, Tyreik Wright and Festy Ebosele.
Summer
Oisin McEntee, who is out injured, is another, while Andrew Omobamidele would complete the three if he drops down from the seniors next summer. It all depends on tomorrow night's result in Tel Aviv.
Ireland's play-off with Israel is poised at 1-1 after last Friday's firstleg in Tallaght rth a match in which Hodge made his debut at U-21 level.
For someone who has starred in two European finals so far, it was his first ever qualification appearance.
And he made a Roy Keane-style introduction when he delivered a thumping challenge near the Irish dugout two minutes in.
“It's always nice getting in the game and putting in a tackle in, getting on the ball, whatever it is that builds your confidence,” he said of his rip-roaring start. “I was just lucky it broke to me in the first minute to get involved.”
Hodge (20) added: “I never played in the qualifiers for either (U-17/U-19) tournament. But the experience of going over there was brilliant, to show what we can do against the best teams in Europe. We are one game away from it now.
“It's been a long campaign. I've not been involved in all of it, so the other lads know better than me how hard it's been to get to this point.
“I can see what it means to them, how hard they have worked to get here. It means everything to me, it's a huge opportunity.”
While he rued the fact that Ireland's dominance in Tallaght didn't result in a lead to take over to Israel, Hodge insisted:
“It's definitely a good start for us. We know there's another game on Tuesday.
“It's only half the job done and we're not ahead so we have to go there and put another good performance in, so I'm ready for that.”
Career
Hodge's career has been stop-start since his impressive showing in Yerevan in 2019.
Then a Manchester
City prospect, he picked up injuries, including a back problem before his 2021 loan spell with
Derry
City could get off the ground.
Now at Wolves, he is ready to put his injury woes behind him.
“Obviously it's great (to be back). I'm a different player from when I was 16.
“It was good back then but I have started over and forgotten about that.”