Emotional Saoirse Noonan says ‘my Grandad would be proud' after achieving rare record for Ireland in win over Slovenia

The Irish Sun

2 days ago

SAOIRSE NOONAN beamed "my Grandad would be proud" after she achieved a historic first in Ireland's win over Slovenia.
The
striker
scored the winning goal as
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Saoirse Noonan scored the winning goal for Ireland against Slovenia
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
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She became the first person to play at Pairc Ui Chaoimh in soccer and GAA
Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
By starting for the Girls in Green, the 25-year-old became the first person to playing in the home of
football
.
In 2020, she played full forward for the Rebelettes against
She described it as a "surreal" occasion and revealed how much it would mean to her
family
.
Noonan said: 'Carla called the team last night.
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"When I got the nod, I just told my parents and kept it a bit quiet and just tried to treat it like another game.
'The goal, when it went in and hit off my head, I could just see it dipping. I don't even know how I celebrated or anything.
'I just had a little moment, took a deep breath and was back into focus, we wanted to get that
next
goal quick.
'My Grandad would have been a proud man tonight, he would have been at every game with my granny, and this was the first time she's seen me play senior (for Ireland).
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"It was emotional and it meant a lot to me.
'Being in Cork is enough motivation in itself. Wearing the Irish
jersey
is enough motivation.
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"You don't need anything else really. It does add that little bit of grit.
'Since the new stadium's been built, I played here with the Cork ladies footballers at senior level.
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"To come back wearing a different shirt, it's the same feeling, you're representing something you're really proud of.
"It's phenomenal.'
By beating
revenge
for the 4-0 hammering they received back in February.
However, it was not enough for
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Ireland will now face a third-placed team from League A in a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off in October.
Win the play-off and Ireland would also gain a guaranteed play-off spot for the 2027