IRELAND’S YOUNG GUNS had an extremely bright start to their Women’s U19 European Championships Elite Round this afternoon, beating Hungary 4-0 in their opener.
Senior international Heather Payne bagged a brace, while another from Carla McManus and a Hungary own-goal set Dave Connell’s side up nicely in Spain as they look to qualify for July’s finals in Scotland.
Today’s encounter was played in Villagarcia de Arousa, which is in the north-west of the country, and comes as a really encouraging start for the Girls In Green.
Captained by Brighton youngster Megan Mackey, Ireland were 2-0 up by half time.
On 31 minutes, Bristol City’s Payne broke the deadlock from the penalty spot as she converted the chance she earned after being taken down in the box, while a fantastic cross from Lucia Lobato led to Hungary’s Rahel Varadi putting the ball into her own net six minutes later.
HT: Hungary🇭🇺 0-2 #IRLWU19🇮🇪
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) April 3, 2019
A Heather Payne penalty and Hungarian own goal leave Ireland in control!#COYGIG🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/0z8TF8RBEM
Ireland continued to dominate in the second period, and 19-year-old Payne soon had her second of the day with 68 minutes on the clock. McManus sealed the deal in the dying minutes, after taking advantage of a mistake in the Hungarian defence.
Next up for Connell’s outfit is Serbia on Saturday (kick-off 12pm Irish time), while they face hosts and reigning champions Spain next Tuesday (5.30pm Irish time).
Three wins from three last year saw them coast into the Elite Round, so the dream is well and truly alive with serious momentum behind this team.
Their male counterparts qualified for their U19 European Championships with a game to spare last month, becoming the first side to seal their spot in this summer’s tournament in Armenia.
IRELAND: Kelly; Baynes (Slattery 64), McGovern, Doyle, Lobato; Mackey, Ruddy (McManus 80), Reynolds, Payne; McEvoy (Singleton 80), O’Driscoll (Brady 54).
Republic of Ireland Women’s Under-19 squad
Goalkeepers: Erica Turner (DLR Waves), Rachael Kelly (Shelbourne)
Defenders: Sadhbh Doyle (Galway WFC), Roisin McGovern (DLR Waves), Rachel Baynes (Galway WFC), Aoife Slattery (Wexford Youths), Leah Brady (Galway WFC), Katie Burdis (DLR Waves)
Midfielders: Lucia Lobato (Galway WFC), Megan Mackey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Chloe Singleton (Galway WFC), Tiegan Ruddy (CCSU), Sinead Donavan (Galway WFC)
Forwards: Alannah McEvoy (Shelbourne), Carla McManus (Kilkenny United), Kelly Brady (World Class), Heather Payne (Bristol City), Niamh Reynolds (Reading), Michelle O’Driscoll (Daytona State University), Keelin McEntee (DLR Waves).
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here:
As much as I’d love to see more Munster guys involved you can’t really argue too much with his selection. He’s capped a lot of guys over the last two seasons and this group knows the Irish system inside out. Cutting it down agsin is going to be a huge task. The one that irks me is stockdale over Daly. Daly has been so so consistent this season and has improved more than any Munster player this season imo. Still like other world cups there’s going to be a lot of injuries so let’s not write the non selected off yet
@Daithí: Don’t let it irk you too much. Stockdale is a proven quality player at the very highest level. Beset by injuries in recent seasons but showed real form/ fight in the last few months in an Ulster team that were losing. Farrell clearly rewarding that as a fit and firing Stockdale would be a serious asset to this team. Easy to forget he’s still only 27.
@Daithí: There is no place for that kind of measured and sensible comment here!
@Jack McCartie: oh for sure I totally get it, experience at international level is massive. Just thought over the season Daly had been the better player and he’s been in and around the Irish set up so it wouldn’t just be throwing him in there. Saying all that would either of the two be in the 23 ? I don’t think so
@Daithí: Exactly. He has been working with all these players for the past 2 years and he’s been imbedding different structures and systems in place. He’s been developing the likes of Baird, Frawley, Osborne, O’Brien, McCarthy, Prendergast, Stewart for a while now. He’s had a great year with the squad that he has stuck with. He’s hardly going to just drop all of those guys because a few Munster players have been playing well 2 or 3 months out from a World Cup. That would be totally reckless and erratic. Munster fans insisting Loughnan, Barron, Daly, Frisch be included when they’ve hardly ever been in the actual training squads. Like what planet are yous on haha
“Indeed, the selection strengthens the sense that Ireland will go into the World Cup with great cohesion and a confident sense of momentum based on their exploits over the past two seasons. Again, that’s more relevant than how Leinster or Munster have played recently.”
I’d disagree with this. There’s nothing better for momentum than winning. Adding an extra 3/4 of that Munster starting team to the squad would have raised the intensity of that environment in camp a lot I’d say.
First time in a decade there’s some genuine competition between Munster and Leinster and I think the coaches have missed a trick not harnessing that for the next few months, regardless of who they plan to bring on the plance to France.
@ttam 12: Genuinely curious, but who would you add/replace?
@Ruaidhri MagFhloinn: Daly for Earls, Kleyn for Treadwell. And then I’d have just selected Hodnett and Haley as specialists at 7 and 15. Insurance in the camp in case anything happens to JVDF or Keenan before they leave.
I think those 4 have been Munster’s best players this season, along with Nash and Beirne once he came back.
@ttam 12: there’s a long road yet before the squad departs never mind injuries that will undoubtedly occur along the way.
Winning a mickey mouse trophy is obviously not going to change Farrells plans, lets be honest
@Dave Moran: wouldn’t you have liked to win that Mickey Mouse trophy!
@Dave Moran: Ah your back, bit annoyed about Jordan I’d say?
@Dave Moran: well it is a trophy!
@Philyclever@eircom.net: again? Not really. Leinster’s season was a failure for not winning Europe.
@Dave Moran: Better than no trophy.
.. contd
Locks Back Row (10) : Baird, Beirne, Conan, Doris, VDF, O’Mahony, Ryan all certain. So pick 3 from Coombes, Henderson, McCarthy, Prendergast and Treadwell.
Scrum-halves-(3) done and dusted. JGP, Murray and Casey.
Out halves (3) Sexton, Crowley, Byrne
Centres (3) Aki, Henshaw and Ringrose
Back 3 (5) Hansen, Lowe, Keenan and certain. So choose 2 from Stockdale, O’Brien, Osborne, Frawley, Earls(?)
Really not much selections in play if there is no injury!
Team cohesion won the 6N for Ireland and no way was this going to be compromised for WC. Hence the incremental expansion. For a 33 man panel, there are very few open positions – assuming a 19/14 backs/forwards split and 3 needed for specialist positions:
Front row: only Herring/Stewart
Back
@John Morris: I think he goes 18-15 – goes with 8 front rowers with Bealham being versatile
@Owen ODonoghue: unless Furlong sorts his fitness issues, Bealham may well be starting TH!
@John Morris: very true , I’d go 9 front rowers and have Loughman over Kilcoyne, i don’t see Healey starting any games
Shocking shi… from Farrell.