Paul Fennessy reports from Tallaght Stadium

DIANE CALDWELL savoured a “special” night as she made her 100th appearance in Ireland’s 5-1 win over Albania.

Katie McCabe handed over the captaincy for the evening to acknowledge the landmark occasion, however, the experienced defender insists she was treating it like any other game.

“That’s the way I approached it — I did my prep like I always do and focused on what we have to do as a team,” she told reporters afterwards.

“Obviously, it was a nice gesture by Katie to give me the captain’s armband and leading out the team with my niece and nephew was really special. I think I was a little bit more nervous about them than I was about myself for the occasion. I was worried [whether] they were going to be taken good care of. I was thinking about them a lot. But yeah, a very special moment for my family.”

It could have been an even more memorable occasion for Caldwell, as she went close to scoring with a couple of audacious long-distance efforts.

“As you could see, I was trying it. Any chance I got I said to myself just shoot when I got into higher positions in the game. The first one was a bit unlucky, it hit the crossbar. The second one, it came out quickly to me but I should have done better with that one. But it would have definitely topped off the perfect occasion for me.”

While it was a relatively comfortable night down the other end, the Zurich defender did make one important intervention in the second half to ensure Ireland were able to see out a comfortable win.

“We’re playing very high and progressive and expansive football now so we might have those little moments where it seems a bit open and you might need to have an important block or tackle like that. I think it came after Louise had scuffed a clearance and I was there to have her back like we do as a defensive unit all over the team. We’re there for each other and helping each other when mistakes are made.”

At 35, Caldwell is closer to the end of her career than the start but says the last two camps post-World Cup have had the feel of a new if shorter era.

“I think with all the changes of staff and everything, it just seems like the start of a new dawn and it’s just really exciting right now. The mood is great in camp and it’s just a joy to be involved in.

“For me growing up, my dream was to achieve something with the Irish team and to get to a major tournament. That was my main goal. I’ve achieved that now and I feel like when I look at this group of players, that is just the starting point for them. I’ve already achieved that now in the summer and what can we go on now and do? Can we cause more upsets and qualify continuously for tournaments? I definitely think that is within the capabilities of this group.”