AFTER WRAPPING up a comfortable 9-0 aggregate win over Georgia at Tallaght Stadium last night, the Irish women’s team can turn the focus to two of the biggest games in their history.
Eileen Gleeson’s side will face Wales in Cardiff on 29 November before the return leg at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 3 November.
Victory in the tie would see Ireland reach the Euros, which take place in Switzerland next summer, for the first time.
While the Irish side eased to a 3-0 win over a team 94 places below them in the Fifa rankings, the Welsh were being made to sweat.
Rhian Wilkinson’s side needed extra time to defeat Slovakia, prevailing 2-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.
In 2024, Ireland are accustomed to playing top sides, as they were drawn in an initial qualifying group with England, Sweden and France.
And while Wales are not quite at that level, they are a considerable step up from Georgia.
Cymru are ranked 29th in the world, five places below Ireland. And while the Girls in Green have won just three out of 11 matches in 2024, their upcoming opponents’ first-leg defeat in Slovakia is their only defeat this year, although they have had a much easier fixture list.
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Ireland’s upcoming opponents possess many talented players, including Seattle Reign duo Jess Fishlock and Angharad James, who both have over 100 caps, and Manchester United’s Hayley Ladd.
The Dragons will also take encouragement from the fact that they have already beaten Ireland this year, winning a friendly 2-0 in Tallaght last February.
However, as Gleeson pointed out last night, it was a makeshift Ireland XI that day.
One notable absentee was key midfielder Denise O’Sullivan.
“We played Wales plenty of times, we spoke about it and we didn’t mind who we got,” the Cork native told reporters after the Georgia win.
“They are both really strong teams, but Wales are a very good team. We played them at the beginning of the year and lost in that game, but we have improved and are really looking forward to it.
“It’s a cup final for us, a massive game at the Aviva, you see the fans came out here in numbers, so hopefully we can get them back for that game and put on a show. The main thing is to get to the Euros.”
The 30-year-old was injured the last time the sides met and could only watch the game from afar on TV.
“The girls took full responsibility and it was just an off night from us. We know we have to start quicker, we know that — we all spoke about that.
“I think we have improved from then, you can see the youth coming in, Abbie Larkin stepping up in this camp, Julie-Ann Russell back for us now as well. We have a lot of players, a lot of new faces.
“They’re a very strong team, very organised, physical — it’s going to be a battle.
“They have some good individual players as well, we know them quite well.
“Look it’s going to be on the night, it’s a cup final, anything can happen so we’re going to have to come in all guns blazing, ready to go.”
Katie McCabe puts her earlier penalty miss behind her to give Ireland a 3-0 lead over Georgia.
O’Sullivan won her 117th cap on Tuesday night and was as influential as ever, creating the assist for the third goal as her short corner set up Katie McCabe’s stunning finish, having also chipped in with an assist in Tbilisi.
Still, she knows Ireland will need to be better for next month’s all-important playoff.
“It was hard to play through and we are happy that we got the job done, but we can also improve. We can clean up a lot from tonight.
“It’s a frustrating team to play against and they have a very low block. They were going down whenever they could to disrupt the game and did that well, so it was hard to find a rhythm.”
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'It’s a cup final for us, a massive game at the Aviva'
AFTER WRAPPING up a comfortable 9-0 aggregate win over Georgia at Tallaght Stadium last night, the Irish women’s team can turn the focus to two of the biggest games in their history.
Eileen Gleeson’s side will face Wales in Cardiff on 29 November before the return leg at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 3 November.
Victory in the tie would see Ireland reach the Euros, which take place in Switzerland next summer, for the first time.
While the Irish side eased to a 3-0 win over a team 94 places below them in the Fifa rankings, the Welsh were being made to sweat.
Rhian Wilkinson’s side needed extra time to defeat Slovakia, prevailing 2-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.
In 2024, Ireland are accustomed to playing top sides, as they were drawn in an initial qualifying group with England, Sweden and France.
And while Wales are not quite at that level, they are a considerable step up from Georgia.
Cymru are ranked 29th in the world, five places below Ireland. And while the Girls in Green have won just three out of 11 matches in 2024, their upcoming opponents’ first-leg defeat in Slovakia is their only defeat this year, although they have had a much easier fixture list.
Ireland’s upcoming opponents possess many talented players, including Seattle Reign duo Jess Fishlock and Angharad James, who both have over 100 caps, and Manchester United’s Hayley Ladd.
The Dragons will also take encouragement from the fact that they have already beaten Ireland this year, winning a friendly 2-0 in Tallaght last February.
However, as Gleeson pointed out last night, it was a makeshift Ireland XI that day.
One notable absentee was key midfielder Denise O’Sullivan.
“We played Wales plenty of times, we spoke about it and we didn’t mind who we got,” the Cork native told reporters after the Georgia win.
“They are both really strong teams, but Wales are a very good team. We played them at the beginning of the year and lost in that game, but we have improved and are really looking forward to it.
“It’s a cup final for us, a massive game at the Aviva, you see the fans came out here in numbers, so hopefully we can get them back for that game and put on a show. The main thing is to get to the Euros.”
The 30-year-old was injured the last time the sides met and could only watch the game from afar on TV.
“The girls took full responsibility and it was just an off night from us. We know we have to start quicker, we know that — we all spoke about that.
“I think we have improved from then, you can see the youth coming in, Abbie Larkin stepping up in this camp, Julie-Ann Russell back for us now as well. We have a lot of players, a lot of new faces.
“They’re a very strong team, very organised, physical — it’s going to be a battle.
“They have some good individual players as well, we know them quite well.
“Look it’s going to be on the night, it’s a cup final, anything can happen so we’re going to have to come in all guns blazing, ready to go.”
O’Sullivan won her 117th cap on Tuesday night and was as influential as ever, creating the assist for the third goal as her short corner set up Katie McCabe’s stunning finish, having also chipped in with an assist in Tbilisi.
Still, she knows Ireland will need to be better for next month’s all-important playoff.
“It was hard to play through and we are happy that we got the job done, but we can also improve. We can clean up a lot from tonight.
“It’s a frustrating team to play against and they have a very low block. They were going down whenever they could to disrupt the game and did that well, so it was hard to find a rhythm.”
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Crunch time Denise O'Sullivan looking ahead Soccer Ireland Republic Wales