
Erin McLaughlin added to Ireland squad for second USA friendly
The Girls in Green lost 4-0 to the world number one side last night in the first match in Denver, Colorado.
Experienced duo Denise O'Sullivan (knee) and Megan Campbell (ankle) were both ruled out with injury pre-match and manager Carla Ward subsequently indicated to RTÉ Sport that neither player would likely be available for Sunday's second friendly in Cincinatti, Ohio (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).
Ireland had travelled to the USA without a number of players including captain Katie McCabe, who was rested for the trip, with Aoife Mannion, Heather Payne and Leanne Kiernan also among those not involved.
Donegal native McLaughlin, who recently left Portsmouth, has three senior caps to her name and will now link up with the squad to provide cover in midfield and attack, while Philadelphia-born defender Dee Bradley, who plays for English side Durham FC, will train with the squad in Ohio.
She qualifies for Ireland through her Donegal-born father and Cork-born mother.
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Unattached), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic)
Defenders: Jessie Stapleton (West Ham United), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton & Hove Albion), Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace), Chloe Mustaki (Bristol City), Izzy Atkinson (Crystal Palace)
Midfielders: Megan Connolly (Lazio), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers), Ruesha Littlejohn (Shamrock Rovers), Marissa Sheva (Sunderland), Ellen Molloy (Wexford), Erin McLaughlin (Unattached)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Irish Sun
40 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Gabriel Martinelli is loved by Mikel Arteta but leaves Arsenal fans frustrated ahead of huge season for his future
Could Noni Madueke take his spot in the Gunners starting XI? TIME TO SHINE? Gabriel Martinelli is loved by Mikel Arteta but leaves Arsenal fans frustrated ahead of huge season for his future GABRIEL MARTINELLI remains one of Mikel Arteta's most trusted and relied-upon players. Since the Spaniard took over at Arsenal in December 2019, Martinelli has played 13,336 Prem minutes and started 152 games. Advertisement 3 Gabriel Martinelli is facing huge questions ahead of huge season for Arsenal Credit: Getty 3 Mikel Arteta now has the option of turning to Noni Madueke on the left wing Credit: Getty Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! Only Bukayo Saka [18,917 minutes and 218 starts], Martin Odegaard [15,280 minutes and 172 starts] and Gabriel [18,036 minutes and 201 starts] have featured more. And during the past three seasons in which the Gunners have finished second, only Saka [205] has completed more Prem dribbles than Martinelli's 200, while the Brazilian has averaged 1.9 completed dribbles per 90 minutes, more than his English teammate [1.8]. The squad may be unrecognisable from the one Arteta inherited five-and-a-half years ago, but Martinelli has been a constant – keeping his place thanks to his immense work and commitment both in attack and defence, something that continues to tick Arteta's boxes. In October 2019, two months before Arteta took charge, following a 5-5 Carabao Cup thriller at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp labelled an 18-year-old Martinelli as a 'talent of the century'. Advertisement read more arsenal news CUP FOR IT Carabao Cup introduces new feature on 24 teams' shirts as Arsenal are trolled But nearly six years on, there are those who feel the 24-year-old is still yet to reach his potential, not kicking on in the way that many expected when he burst onto the scene following his £6m arrival from Brazilian outfit Ituano in July 2019. Many viewed his 2022/23 campaign – scoring 15 Prem goals and five assists in 36 games – as the start of something special, only for Martinelli's form to drop off with just 14 goals and eight assists in his last 68 league outings. It must be said that injuries hampered him last term, starting just 25 Prem games. Before their friendly against Newcastle in Singapore last month, Arteta said: 'We always want better and more from every single player but Gabi has performed very well and very consistently in the past three or four seasons.' Advertisement BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS SunSport understands that, barring a mouth-watering offer from abroad, it is incredibly unlikely that Arteta will sign off on a Martinelli departure, as the winger is still viewed as a vital cog to his attack and a key figure in the dressing room. And in their Prem opener at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Sunday, it would be a massive shock NOT to see Martinelli starting out on the left wing. Arsenal make major change to Emirates stadium just days before new Premier League season But with the £42m summer arrival of versatile winger Noni Madueke, 23, from Chelsea, there is a feeling that this is a huge season for Martinelli. Advertisement The Brazilian will be desperate to return to the standards he has set in the past and prove his worth to hush the dissent from the stands and the shadow over his future. In last weekend's 3-0 pre-season victory over Athletic Bilbao, Martinelli produced an assist. But there remained groans and grumbles from Arsenal supporters demanding to see a more clinical edge to his game, a more polished performance from someone who is deemed to be an experienced first-team star, despite not yet turning 25. 3 Advertisement In contrast, Madueke's second-half cameo was promising – full of energy, creativity and unpredictability on the ball, producing an impressive cross from the left that should have been finished by another new-boy in Viktor Gyokeres. Should Madueke continue to shine, Martinelli could be in a position where he is fighting for his place, something he has not been used to in his Arsenal career, even with the arrival of Leandro Trossard – the 29-year-old also linked with a move away in this window. An incredible statistic emerged last season that is still ongoing: With 51 goals in 45 different matches in all competitions, when Martinelli has scored, Arsenal are yet to lose. But there are those that point to the fact that in big games against the best sides in the Prem, Martinelli does not always make an impact. Advertisement In six league games against Liverpool, he has four goals. But the majority of his strikes have come against bottom-half sides, with five against Crystal Palace, three against Leicester and Aston Villa and two against Southampton and Everton. And when it comes to average number of goals and assists per 90 minutes across his 208 games for Arsenal under Arteta, he has just 0.46. Compared with those who have played 25 or more games for the club under Arteta, that is less than Raheem Sterling [0.47], Reiss Nelson [0.56], Fabio Vieira [0.57] and Nicolas Pepe [0.65]. Advertisement There are perhaps extenuating circumstances. Saka has a galloping full-back, in Ben White, to create space for him, as well as Odegaard, who loves to link up down the right – a side that is the preferred route to attack. In contrast, with Myles Lewis-Skelly usually inverting, Martinelli has often been left to fend for himself, to create something out of nothing in congested areas of the pitch with little to no support. Regardless, Martinelli needs to rediscover that spark that saw him hailed as a generational talent as a teenager. Advertisement If not, there is competition that could threaten his Arsenal stay.


The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Daniel Dubois' coach who played crucial role in Anthony Joshua fight QUITS just weeks after Oleksandr Usyk defeat
Dubois' former coach has spoken out about the split DAN AND OUT Daniel Dubois' coach who played crucial role in Anthony Joshua fight QUITS just weeks after Oleksandr Usyk defeat DANIEL DUBOIS' latest rebuild will have to happen without popular padman Kieran Farrell. The 35-year-old former lightweight - who almost lost his life in his final 2013 fight with fellow Manchester hero Anthony Crolla - played a pivotal role in Dubois' run to the IBF heavyweight world title win over Anthony Joshua. 2 Daniel Dubois poses with trainer Kieran Farrell Credit: Getty 2 Farrell, 35, helped Dubois defeat Anthony Joshua last year Credit: Getty But - following the shambolic build-up to the undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk, where the 27-year-old's dad threatened to pull his son from the fight if his unticketed entourage were not let into Wembley - Farrell has quietly parted company. Farrell said: 'I have made the decision to part ways with Team Dubois. 'In the 18 months we've achieved so much, including an unforgettable night at Wembley stadium. 'Helping Daniel become world heavyweight champion has been truly rewarding on a number of levels. I wish Daniel all the best going forward READ MORE IN SPORT IDENTITY CHECK Fans realise what Moses Itauma's real name is after being made to change it 'I won't be making any further comment at present, but needless to say I'm excited for what's next for myself and look forward to making many more world champions.' Farrell was brought on board by Dubois head trainer Don Charles but it remains to be seen if the Nigeria-born coach keeps his job in the aftermath of the underwhelming defeat. Charles defended Dave Dubois' decision to hold a gathering at the family home just hours before the July 19 bout. But the overbearing father has form for axing training teams, following stints with Martin Bowers at The Peacock gym and Shane McGuigan. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Dubois was dropped twice in the fifth round by the Ukraine icon but did not suffer a concussive knockdown before being counted out. Promoter Frank Warren confirmed he will need around six months to recover and return.


Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
‘It's mad!' - Liverpool and Ireland legend's training was way ahead of its time
Ireland legend John Aldridge has revealed that he was way ahead of his time when it came to one area of training. At a time when few in the game were focusing on strength and conditioning, the Boys in Green star was pumping iron and doing sprint sessions on the track. And he reckons the time he spent in the gym helped make him one of the most feared strikers in the game in an era when he scored prolifically in the English and Spanish top-flights. Aldridge was a fan favourite at Liverpool and Real Sociedad thanks to his goalscoring heroics. And he puts that down in part to a decision he made when he started out as a teenager with Newport County, where he spent five seasons between the old Fourth and Third Divisions, now known as League Two and League One. Then he moved onto Oxford United, where his 90 goals in less than 150 appearances caught the eye of his boyhood heroes Liverpool. By the time he moved to Anfield during the 1986/87 campaign, he was years into a training regime that was alien to most footballers at the time. 'I've always been into the weights,' Aldo told Fitter Happier. 'I've been doing them since I was 18. It makes you feel better. 'No one did weights when I was playing. Even when I went to Liverpool no one touched the weights, only me. It's mad.' Aldridge was encouraged to hit the gym by his Newport County manager, who was worried that the then-18-year-old would be bullied by older, bigger and more experienced centre-halves. He was even set a goal during his first off-season, one that he smashed thanks to his hard work, dedication and newfound love of working out. This, remember, was in a time when footballers would down tools completely, unlike in the modern era when players keep ticking over during their holidays. 'I'll tell you what happened,' Aldridge continued, 'When I went and joined Newport, I was a toolmaker by trade and I was only about 11-stone or something like that. 'The manager said to me, look, you can go home for the summer, but you have got to go to a weight trainer and you have got to put on half-a-stone in weight. 'So I pounded it for five weeks and I put 10lb (0.7 stone) of muscle on, and I have never looked back since. I was strong and as fit as the other players.' His time in the gym - and on the running track - also added to another side of Aldridge's game. 'It made me quicker,' he said, referring to the electrifying pace that his club bosses and Ireland manager Jack Charlton utilised to great effect throughout his goal-filled career. 'I did it all myself. Someone told me to get some spikes, some athletic shoes. 'As a striker, the first five yards are massive. So, after training most days, I'd go on the cinder track and do short doggies, sprints. 'And over five or 10 yards I'd get to the ball before defenders. 'The athletic shoes kept me running on my toes. It was really good advice. I strengthened myself up and made myself quicker on the cinder track after training when the lads were getting a bath. 'It was just good advice at the right time, and I took it onboard. Maybe I wanted it more than most. I don't know.' Aldridge's extra training even helped him to prolong his career well beyond when the vast majority of his peers would have hung up their boots. He was still banging in the goals as Tranmere Rovers player-manager up to the age of 40. And he still hits the gym on a regular basis, engaging in both cardio and strength training sessions. 'I'm here four or five times a week. It balances the few pints,' he said. John Aldridge was speaking with Bet Brain. Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .