Ireland player ratings: Katie McCabe and Denise O'Sullivan shine brightest in win over Turkey
Here's how the Girls in Green rated in their Nations League B Group B' win over Turkey in Istanbul.
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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
‘He can talk all he likes': Ireland boss Carla Ward won't be drawn on Slovenia manager's ‘tactical win' claims
Republic of Ireland manager Carla Ward has batted away suggestions that she was outfoxed by Slovenia manager Saša Kolman when the two nations faced off earlier this year. Kolman trumpeted his 'tactical win' after beating the Girls in Green 4-0 in February. He claimed he didn't bother with a Plan B as he knew what Ireland would do, stating that they 'played into our hands'. The teams are prepared to meet again in a Nations League promotion decider at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork (Tuesday, 6pm). Ward hit back on Monday, saying: 'I'm going to concentrate on us and what we do. He can talk as much as he wants. It's not hard to look at a Carla Ward team over the last eight years and work out how I like to play the game. 'He can comment all he likes. It just shows that he's probably had a look at my career, which I can take a little bit of confidence from. My focus is on my team and how we set up.' READ MORE As a consequence of that heavy loss in Ward's second game at the helm, Ireland require a four-goal victory over Slovenia tonight to achieve automatic promotion to League A. Along with that, they would secure a guaranteed play-off spot for the 2027 World Cup. Should Ireland fall short, they will face a third-placed team from League A in a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off in October. Italy, Portugal, Iceland and Austria are currently positioned as the likely opponents. Ireland enter with doubts surrounding the participation of Lucy Quinn and Aoife Mannion, who have both started all five games under Ward. Quinn has been struck down by an illness and looks less likely to feature. Mannion is suffering from a quad issue after a long season, but could play a part. But if we want to top this group, we have to be miles better than we were on Friday night — Katie McCabe Ireland have switched to a possession-based style under Ward. Despite that, both of their late goals in last Friday's victory against Turkey came from balls launched into the box. Ward wouldn't be drawn on whether she plans to mix things up for the visit of the group leaders. She said: 'I can't say, can I? I'm not going to tell you that. What I will say is we are preparing ourselves in the best possible way to go and get the job done. Head Coach Carla Ward says Ireland have prepared to 'get the job done' against Slovenia. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'There's so many different permutations, but we've whittled it down. We need to win by four clear goals, which sets it up for an exciting evening.' Responding to news that 10,000 tickets had been sold for the game at the home of Cork GAA, she said: 'I've heard an awful lot about the crowd here. I've heard an awful lot about the good times here. We'll be ready. 'We know what we have to do. We're going to have to be aggressive but also secure at the same time.' Ireland's latest recruit, Erin Healy , could be in line for a debut if the team is left chasing goals. Amid a confusing contract situation, Adelaide United had confirmed that the California native will remain with the club for the coming season. However, Ward believes she may yet relocate to Europe, as previously indicated. Hometown hero Saoirse Noonan previously played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh for Cork's Gaelic footballers, so she is in line for a unique achievement if called upon. Louise Quinn harbours hopes of an international swansong as she bids farewell to professional football. Katie McCabe recovered from the celebrations of Arsenal's Champions League triumph to collect the player-of-the-match award in last Friday's 2-1 victory in Turkey. Opposition midfielder Kaja Korošec described McCabe as an 'icon of women's football in the whole world' during her pre-match media duties. McCabe, who captains Ireland, said a big improvement is needed from the performance last Friday. Katie McCabe says Ireland must be better than they were in last Friday's victory against Turkey. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'If we don't score the first one, you can forget about the fourth,' she said. 'We just have to be fully concentrated on how we're setting up the game plan and executing it as best as possible. 'For us, we know we can score goals in a lot of different ways. But if we want to top this group, we have to be miles better than we were on Friday night, all over the pitch.' We know Ireland are still the favourites, the best team in the group — Saša Kolman In the opposition dugout, Kolman is targeting another statement win. After their last victory, he received a message of congratulations from Donegal manager McGuinness. The pair struck up a friendship when McGuinness worked at Celtic as a youth coach. 'We were talking after the game on WhatsApp,' Kolman revealed. 'He saw a headline from when I spoke to him at Celtic in 2013, that I thought I was going to 'conquer the world'. 'He said, 'Saša, you took it literally'. And I said, 'Well, you told me so!'' Kolman knows Ireland will provide a different challenge this time around. 'That game in Koper changed Ireland more than it changed us. For sure, they took something out of it. They look very good, very compact. 'We will play to win, but we know who we are playing against. The first game doesn't mean anything. We know Ireland are still the favourites, the best team in the group, so we need to show character again. 'To finish six from six, that would make a huge statement in Slovenia.'
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
'He can talk as much as he wants' - Carla Ward shrugs off Slovenia boss comments
Carla Ward batted away suggestions that Slovenian manager Sasa Kolman had outfoxed his Irish counterpart ahead of their Nations League promotion decider at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The boss, who struck up a friendship with Jim McGuinness at Celtic, trumpeted his 'tactical win' after beating the Girls in Green 4-0 in February. Kolman claimed he didn't bother with a Plan B as he knew what Ireland would do, declaring that they 'played into our hands'. Ward hit back, saying: 'I'm going to concentrate on us and what we do. He can talk as much as he wants. 'It's not hard to look at a Carla Ward team over the last eight years and work out how I like to play the game. 'He can comment all he likes. It just shows that he's probably had a look at my career, which I can take a little bit of confidence from. 'My focus is on my team and how we set up.' As a consequence of that drubbing in Ward's second game at the helm, Ireland require a four-goal victory over Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh to achieve automatic promotion to League A. With that, they would gain a guaranteed play-off spot for the 2027 World Cup. Ireland enter with doubts surrounding the participation of Lucy Quinn and Aoife Mannion, who have started all five games under Ward. Quinn has been struck down by an illness and looks less likely to feature. Mannion is suffering from a quad issue after a long season, but could play a part. 'She's a doubt, but not a major doubt,' said Ward. 'It's an overload more than anything. 'She's finished the season, gone straight out to Portugal to play in the Sevens, and it's managing her load. 'We're hopeful that she'll be fit. We'll see today how she gets on, but she's massively important for what we want to do and the way that we want to play.' Ireland have switched to a possession-based style under Ward. Yet, both of their late goals against Turkey were a result of balls launched into the box. Ward wouldn't be drawn on any plans to mix things up. 'I can't say, can I? I'm not going to tell you that. What I will say is we are preparing ourselves in the best possible way to go and get the job done. 'There's so many different permutations, but we've whittled it down. We need to win by four clear goals, which sets it up for an exciting evening. 'I've heard an awful lot about the crowd here. I've heard an awful lot about the good times here. We'll be ready. We know what we have to do. We're going to have to be aggressive but also secure at the same time.' Ireland's latest recruit, Erin Healy, could be in line for a debut if Ireland are left hunting goals. Amid a confusing contract situation, Adelaide United had confirmed that the California-native will remain with the club for the coming season. However, Ward believes she may yet relocate to Europe, as previously indicated. 'She might still,' said the international boss. 'There's a clause in her contract, probably quite smart from Adelaide to come out and say that when she's just got her first call-up. All I can say is there's interest.' Ward isn't distracted by internal staff changes in the FAI, either. Chief football officer Marc Canham has departed, while head of women and girls' football Hannah Dingley is leaving this summer for Manchester City. 'It's massively important that we replace those two roles with football people,' said Ward. 'That for me is an absolute non-negotiable priority. 'But right here and now, does it affect us? No. I think I'm very good at utilising the right people at the right time.'
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Katie McCabe: I can feel the Cork support already when you're walking by shops and pubs
Katie McCabe feels the football calendar needs a major overhaul as Ireland face into a Nations League promotion decider against Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Just 10 days ago, the Arsenal stalwart was starring in their Champions League final triumph over Barcelona. Since then, she has enjoyed a trophy parade at the Emirates Stadium, a player-of-the-match award in Friday's 2-1 comeback victory over Turkey, and now, this key clash on Leeside. Later this month, Ireland will travel to Colorado and Cincinnati for back-to-back friendlies against world number one side USA. McCabe will not be joining them as she takes a well-earned rest. The squeeze is not just a product of European success. Last summer, McCabe's club crammed in a post-season friendly in Australia before she returned home for international duty. Within weeks of the famous French victory in Cork, she was off to America for a pre-season tour. 'It's the whole calendar. I don't know who's in charge of it, but it definitely needs to be looked at,' said McCabe. 'What it will create over time, and we've already seen it in recent years, is burnout in players and major injuries. 'You've got world-class players that will be sitting out of tournaments through injuries. We don't want to see that. We want the best players in the world playing at tournaments on the biggest stage. 'I just hope it doesn't cause too much more harm to us as players going forward. 'Like what we had to do last year, all through the summer, where you're finishing a season and you've to kind of rest but kind of keep fit for the next block of games. It's hard mentally and physically, from a periodisation point of view, to do that. So the timing of the fixtures needs to be looked at.' The Ireland captain is equally bamboozled by the convoluted procedure for World Cup qualification. 'It's nuts, the set-up,' she said. 'The goals, points, relegation, and promotion. All we can concentrate on is winning games and progressing performances game by game. 'I'll let youse all do the maths and we focus on winning matches.' The jam-packed schedule made it more difficult for the Irish players to rebound from their Euro 25 play-off defeat to Wales. That brought an acrimonious end to Eileen Gleeson's tenure, with Carla Ward taking the helm in January. 'It hurt coming into the next camp,' said McCabe. 'There was so much change, so much noise around the FAI and us as a team. Ultimately, it affected me because we didn't get to a tournament. 'I know we're footballers, but we're also human, and when you're striving towards something that you crave so much as a team but then don't achieve, it takes its toll on you. So that first camp was really difficult. 'Being around the other girls in the last few months, you get to open up and chat through things, talk about what we could have done better. 'Then, there are changes of players. But there comes a time when you have to move past it. Just go, 'Okay, that happened. Let's just see how we can improve now going forward.' 'Look, it's going to be difficult with the Euros on this July. I'll probably turn my telly off. I won't be watching it. It's going to hurt, but we have to feel that. 'Keep striving to get better, and obviously World Cup 2027 is a big driving force for us.' That first camp back ended in calamity as Slovenia tore Ireland to shreds in a 4-0 defeat. As a consequence, Ireland require a four-goal win on Leeside if they are to overhaul Slovenia for League A promotion. McCabe insists the team must be 'miles better' than their 2-1 comeback victory in Turkey if they are to achieve that ambition. But the need for goals doesn't change the approach too much. 'If we don't score the first one, you can forget about the fourth,' she said. 'We just have to be fully concentrated on how we're setting up the game plan and executing it as best as possible. 'For us, we know we can score goals in a lot of different ways. But if we want to top this group, we have to be miles better than we were on Friday night, all over the pitch.' They can draw on last summer's famous 3-1 success against France for inspiration. 'That France game will stick with us for a long time,' said McCabe. 'It was an amazing crowd, a fantastic day, and a remarkable result against one of the best teams in the world. 'I've taken a walk into town over the last day or two, and I can feel the support already when you're walking by shops and pubs on the bank holiday weekend. Everyone's cheering us on. 'We hope the fans come in their numbers and really help to get us over the line.'
