WHILE THIS IS a massive occasion for Peamount United as a club, it’s a welcome opportunity for players to showcase themselves and this talented team on the biggest stage in Europe.

The Greenogue outfit were crowned Women’s National League [WNL] champions for the first time since 2011 a little over twelve months ago, and tonight, they get their chance to represent Ireland on the continent.

Having made history themselves nine years ago in becoming the first Irish team to reach the last 32 of the Champions League — just Raheny United, now amalgamated with Shelbourne, have done it since –  Peas now hope to move closer to repeating the feat by coming out on top of a one-legged qualifier against Scottish powerhouse Glasgow City [KO 7pm, live on GCFC TV and BBC Alba].

While the Glaswegians are 13-in-a-row domestic champions and went as far as the European quarter-finals last year, the order is a tall one. But it’s one Peamount will face head on.

Both captain Áine O’Gorman and her fellow goalscorer-in-chief Eleanor Ryan Doyle have spoken at length about this through the week; how they’ll go into this one with no fear, confident they can grind out a result against Clare Shine and Tyler Toland’s side.

The abundance of talent in the Peas squad speaks measures, 22-year-old Ryan Doyle one of many to catch the eye in the WNL week after week.

She’s one of several who will use this as an audition to boost their international aspirations, as she eyes up a breakthrough call-up to Vera Pauw’s Girls In Green squad — where clubmates O’Gorman, Niamh Farrelly, Niamh Reid-Burke and Stephanie Roche are more regular fixtures.

“I think it’s very important,” Ryan Doyle nods. “You’re playing against other internationals and I’m sure Vera and Eileen [Gleeson, assistant coach] will be watching the match and checking out players.

“These matches are very important to break through on the international [scene] and get a call-up — hopefully… not myself, even a few players, if they get a call-up, it would be great.

“I think some players on the team deserve a call-up, so hopefully Vera and Eileen see that.”

While Ryan Doyle is undeniably one of the brightest talents in the league on these shores, she’s one who has been overlooked of late. Having impressed in the green jersey at the World Student Games under former manager Colin Bell last summer, she earned a call-up for Ireland’s international friendly against world champions USA.

She was again included in interim boss Dave O’Connor’s squad to face Montenegro in their Euro 2021 qualification opener, but has been absent since Pauw took the reins.

“I’ve been to home-based training and stuff,” Ryan Doyle explains, when asked if she’s spoken to her former manager Gleeson about it all.

“I think I probably have to have that chat to see where I am in the pecking order, see what I need to do to get into that team. At the end of the day, it’s Eileen’s decision who her and Vera want on the team so I think I just have to keep working hard and performing. I think that’s the most important thing; performing and playing well.”

An international breakthrough has been a focus of hers for some time now, staying on these shores to bide her time though opportunities arose elsewhere. While former team-mates headed Stateside on scholarships, Ryan Doyle stayed put to enjoy the life-football balance.

“It wasn’t really something I wanted to do. They went over to college for four years. It wasn’t the right thing for me. I didn’t want to go to college and play football, I just wanted to do it separately, go to college and play with my club team.

“It just depends on the player. I think a lot of players are overlooked when they go to America by the international scene, so I thought it was like an opportunity missed if I did go and wasn’t called up to any team.

“I was lucky enough that I got to do both; go to college here and play football here.”

The Dubliner shared her interest in continuing her footballing career overseas with The42 yesterday, explaining that if an opportunity arose in the near future, she’d take it.

That said, she’s completing a Masters degree at the moment and balancing her studies with work, but afterwards, she’s open to exploring all avenues to bring her game to the next level.

“I’ll try compete across waters, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. It is something I’d love to do, but it sometimes doesn’t work players, and I’ll see if that happens for me.”

“I think in order for this country to get better, it needs to go professional,” she adds. “Even semi-professional and get players playing more than two or three times a week; training every day and pumping money into women’s football.

“But I know obviously that’s brought up every single time an interview is done with a girl. I think it’s just the FAI, what they do now with what people have been expecting within women’s football in Ireland.”

A field which Peamount are hoping to exert their dominance more on over the coming weeks, after they attend to important European matters.

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