Ireland goalscorer Saoirse Noonan on 'surreal' Páirc Uí Chaoimh homecoming

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Saoirse Noonan described her Páirc Uí Chaoimh goals as 'surreal' - as the former Cork Gaelic footballer marked her return to her hometown venue in spectacular style.
It wasn't enough to earn Ireland the margin of victory needed to secure automatic promotion to League A, as the Girls in Green needed to beat Slovenia by four to leapfrog them into top spot.
But with a promotion/relegation play-off still to come in October against one of Austria, Iceland, Belgium or Denmark, Ireland will have a second bite of the cherry.
And if they can follow Noonan's lead, and make it second time lucky, then Carla Ward's side can look forward to top-tier football next year in the World Cup qualifiers.
The Celtic striker didn't score when she represented Cork at the iconic Leeside stadium in 2020, in a league match against Westmeath, but she found the net on Tuesday evening.
'It was a bit surreal,' she said of her goal. 'Obviously my first competitive start so I was just trying to find my feet, ease my way into the game and not get caught up in the moment.
'It's unbelievable, I'm absolutely delighted.'
She added: 'Obviously the first thing was to go out and win the game but the bigger picture, we obviously wanted to get the goals.
'We started off well, that's something that we've spoken about the last few days, I think we did that. We had a lot of chances, possession, we played really well.
'They're a good team, at least we got the win and it's something we can build on going forward.'
Ireland had plenty of chances to add to that lead before half-time, while they continued to create openings after the break.
However, they couldn't break down Slovenia's stubborn resistance.
'I think we thought, a 1-0 lead, can we get another one before half time? That was the focus,' said Noonan.
'We were pushing, we were unlucky, one or two decisions we could have made better.
'Look, it's about building. This team is good, we're working hard every day, we're growing - you can see the growth.
'From the first time Carla came in to now, even for myself, I feel like each camp and each day, you feel like you're getting better.'
As for playing again in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, she said: 'To come back wearing a different shirt, it's the same feeling, you're representing something you're really proud of. It's phenomenal.'
Meanwhile, Ireland coach Ward confirmed that centre-half Anna Patton would have to sit out the first-leg of the play-off through suspension.
She added that the performance last night, although lacking in the goals needed to top the group, offered much to build on ahead of the play-offs.
Next up for Ireland is a friendly double-header away to the USA at the end of the month.
'We are still building,' said Ward. 'Through this entire campaign we have had five training sessions with the entire squad, so to build the way we are and to finish the way we did, I could not ask for more.
'A couple of more goals? Yes. But we got to be proud of that performance. That was an Irish performance.'
Describing the performance against Slovenia, the former Aston Villa boss added: 'Probably the way I'd put it would be a Carla Ward team on the ball and an Irish mentality off the ball.
'That's what we need to build on. We have to build on.
'If we want to play in an exciting way going forward, and that's the way I like my teams to play, we have to be better off the ball. And that was the start of it tonight.
'Now we go to the US and play the best in the world and try to continue that work, but there is still a lot of work to do.
'What it does do is put us in a position to build. And I said to the group; that's something, firstly, you can be proud of, secondly, that you can build upon and, thirdly, if we can combine the two, the future is bright.'