IRELAND BOSS COLIN Bell has talked in recent days of his side’s progress in the year and a half since he took over, and those claims were backed up by the performance in last night’s 4-0 win over the North in Tallaght Stadium.
Two goals each from Leanne Kiernan and Katie McCabe ensured a positive finish to a campaign that Ireland can take great encouragement from, despite not quite being good enough ultimately to overcome two top-class sides in Norway and Holland.
Bell has cited the concession of sloppy goals and a failure to be clinical in attack as major reasons for his team falling short ultimately, but those issues were conspicuous by their absence yesterday evening.
The standard of opposition, of course, was patently incomparable to the teams Ireland faced in their three previous successive defeats, nonetheless Bell was satisfied overall with the evening’s work.
One of the goalscorers, 22-year-old attacker Katie McCabe, has not always been an automatic starter since moving to Arsenal in 2015, but the Ireland captain has shown good form and forced her way into the manager’s plans of late.
“She’s playing at the moment for Arsenal and that’s so important to [the Irish players],” Bell says.
“How on earth do you expect to win at international level without that? It’s just not possible.
“So the girls look fitter, they look sharper — that was a big advantage for us and that’s where we have to carry on.”
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Bell explains that even in games where they are up against technically superior opposition, Ireland’s play on the transition needs to be better. Too often against the Dutch and the Norwegians, they lacked composure at vital times and failed to make the most of chances on the counter-attack. Displays such as Friday’s 4-0 victory are bound to give them more belief in this regard.
It was definitely the best football we played [during the campaign]. We’ve been working on this, and if we don’t get it right moving forward, we won’t be able to qualify. We have to be able to dominate games with the ball, or if you’re sitting deep and you break, the quality of the passing of the ball has to be great.
“We saw Belgium men during the World Cup, the way they play — three passes, it’s absolutely brilliant. Man City can do that, Chelsea can do that, so even if you’re sitting deep, you have to have that quality to get yourselves out. That’s why players like Tyler Toland, Jess Ziu, Heather Payne, they can all play, they’ve just got to keep improving, they’re neat footballers.”
After scoring a brace, 19-year-old Kiernan was deservedly named player of the match. The Cavan native, who moved from Shelbourne to West Ham during the summer, has been involved in all of Ireland’s games during this campaign, starting six and coming on as a sub twice. Prior to last night, she had managed just one goal, but the finish for the hosts’ opener after four minutes was particularly impressive, while her pace was a constant thorn in Northern Ireland’s side, to the point where they were forced to drop increasingly deep as the game progressed in order to protect themselves from being exploited.
Republic of Ireland's Diane Caldwell with Manager Colin Bell after the game. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Kiernan’s age would suggest she will only get better and more formidable in front of goal, and Bell is cautiously optimistic in this regard.
“It’s difficult, because you just hope that those kind of girls, those young players, just stay fit and healthy. She’s had a good start at West Ham. She’s improved dramatically in the last year and a half. She came in straight away to Cyprus that time when I took over. We’ve worked extremely hard and Shels have worked very hard with her as well in the last few months, so we can have that contact.
I was saying I want Leanne to do this, this and this, and they’re setting those guidelines, and it’s the same with West Ham. Their manager texted me a few weeks ago and said: ‘Colin, what do you want us to work on?’ So I sent a text back and he sent me a smiley back and said they’re exactly the things we’re working on. It’s just a great relationship.”
He continues: “The biggest plus is she’s so fast. She should have scored against Norway. It would have been the goal of the year if she put it in the back of the net. That’s where we have to get her to — that she finishes clinically. Today, she had a couple of situations as well where she kept calm. She could maybe finish. But she kept calm, kept the ball, I think it was also [the case for] Katie’s first goal, that’s where we started. Katie’s all of a sudden free. Maybe a couple of months ago it would have been [panic and] ‘what are we going to do now?’
“Taking examples, in England, Fran Kirby plays for Chelsea, she’s so calm on the ball. Shanice van de Sanden, Lieke Martens, all those kind of players, we’ve used them as an example for our players. They don’t have to look at Leroy Sane, Kevin De Bruyne or Sergio Aguero — the girls have those role models themselves that they can identify with. I’m trying to give them as much information as possible in trying to help them.”
One area where Kiernan cannot be faulted is in her attitude and application. While prodigious teenage footballers in the past have been prone, in some cases, to falling off the rails, Bell says there is no danger of it happening with the talented striker.
She’s so dedicated. She’s made a massive jump to leave home and go to London. So there’s no doubt about it, she’ll keep her feet on the ground for sure and also her background, her parents, in that direction, fantastic. So it’s just about keeping healthy, staying fit. She lives for that pace and defenders will maybe go looking for her, because how are you going to stop her?”
Bell also reserved praise for Rianna Jarrett, who made her full competitive international debut last night, after an impressive season at club level with Wexford Youths that has seen her register 25 goals.
“To come back and start tonight after three cruciates and playing a major part in that performance, it’s a fantastic story.
“Rianna’s just got to work now dramatically on her fitness levels, because if she can get that right, she could be really important and she’s still really young, an excellent player.”
With their World Cup qualifying campaign at an end, Ireland can now look forward to upcoming friendlies with Poland (October), Belgium (January), Wales (twice in February and March), while an April match against a World Cup-qualified team remains a possibility.
The draw for the 2021 Euros takes place early next year and on the evidence of Friday night’s display, the Irish team can look forward to those matches with a degree of optimism.
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'She's improved dramatically in the last year and a half'
IRELAND BOSS COLIN Bell has talked in recent days of his side’s progress in the year and a half since he took over, and those claims were backed up by the performance in last night’s 4-0 win over the North in Tallaght Stadium.
Two goals each from Leanne Kiernan and Katie McCabe ensured a positive finish to a campaign that Ireland can take great encouragement from, despite not quite being good enough ultimately to overcome two top-class sides in Norway and Holland.
Bell has cited the concession of sloppy goals and a failure to be clinical in attack as major reasons for his team falling short ultimately, but those issues were conspicuous by their absence yesterday evening.
The standard of opposition, of course, was patently incomparable to the teams Ireland faced in their three previous successive defeats, nonetheless Bell was satisfied overall with the evening’s work.
One of the goalscorers, 22-year-old attacker Katie McCabe, has not always been an automatic starter since moving to Arsenal in 2015, but the Ireland captain has shown good form and forced her way into the manager’s plans of late.
“She’s playing at the moment for Arsenal and that’s so important to [the Irish players],” Bell says.
“How on earth do you expect to win at international level without that? It’s just not possible.
“So the girls look fitter, they look sharper — that was a big advantage for us and that’s where we have to carry on.”
Bell explains that even in games where they are up against technically superior opposition, Ireland’s play on the transition needs to be better. Too often against the Dutch and the Norwegians, they lacked composure at vital times and failed to make the most of chances on the counter-attack. Displays such as Friday’s 4-0 victory are bound to give them more belief in this regard.
“We saw Belgium men during the World Cup, the way they play — three passes, it’s absolutely brilliant. Man City can do that, Chelsea can do that, so even if you’re sitting deep, you have to have that quality to get yourselves out. That’s why players like Tyler Toland, Jess Ziu, Heather Payne, they can all play, they’ve just got to keep improving, they’re neat footballers.”
After scoring a brace, 19-year-old Kiernan was deservedly named player of the match. The Cavan native, who moved from Shelbourne to West Ham during the summer, has been involved in all of Ireland’s games during this campaign, starting six and coming on as a sub twice. Prior to last night, she had managed just one goal, but the finish for the hosts’ opener after four minutes was particularly impressive, while her pace was a constant thorn in Northern Ireland’s side, to the point where they were forced to drop increasingly deep as the game progressed in order to protect themselves from being exploited.
Kiernan’s age would suggest she will only get better and more formidable in front of goal, and Bell is cautiously optimistic in this regard.
“It’s difficult, because you just hope that those kind of girls, those young players, just stay fit and healthy. She’s had a good start at West Ham. She’s improved dramatically in the last year and a half. She came in straight away to Cyprus that time when I took over. We’ve worked extremely hard and Shels have worked very hard with her as well in the last few months, so we can have that contact.
He continues: “The biggest plus is she’s so fast. She should have scored against Norway. It would have been the goal of the year if she put it in the back of the net. That’s where we have to get her to — that she finishes clinically. Today, she had a couple of situations as well where she kept calm. She could maybe finish. But she kept calm, kept the ball, I think it was also [the case for] Katie’s first goal, that’s where we started. Katie’s all of a sudden free. Maybe a couple of months ago it would have been [panic and] ‘what are we going to do now?’
“Taking examples, in England, Fran Kirby plays for Chelsea, she’s so calm on the ball. Shanice van de Sanden, Lieke Martens, all those kind of players, we’ve used them as an example for our players. They don’t have to look at Leroy Sane, Kevin De Bruyne or Sergio Aguero — the girls have those role models themselves that they can identify with. I’m trying to give them as much information as possible in trying to help them.”
One area where Kiernan cannot be faulted is in her attitude and application. While prodigious teenage footballers in the past have been prone, in some cases, to falling off the rails, Bell says there is no danger of it happening with the talented striker.
Bell also reserved praise for Rianna Jarrett, who made her full competitive international debut last night, after an impressive season at club level with Wexford Youths that has seen her register 25 goals.
The 24-year-old has three caps in total and last night continues a remarkable recovery, following three cruciate injuries in her career to date.
“To come back and start tonight after three cruciates and playing a major part in that performance, it’s a fantastic story.
“Rianna’s just got to work now dramatically on her fitness levels, because if she can get that right, she could be really important and she’s still really young, an excellent player.”
With their World Cup qualifying campaign at an end, Ireland can now look forward to upcoming friendlies with Poland (October), Belgium (January), Wales (twice in February and March), while an April match against a World Cup-qualified team remains a possibility.
The draw for the 2021 Euros takes place early next year and on the evidence of Friday night’s display, the Irish team can look forward to those matches with a degree of optimism.
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