John Fallon: Ireland women should heed past lessons in World Cup bid

Leaving Helsinki’s storied stadium last Tuesday, there was a real inkling that Ireland’s women had used the venue to embark on their own piece of history.

Wed, 03 Nov, 2021 - 06:00

John Fallon

Leaving Helsinki’s storied stadium last Tuesday, there was a real inkling that Ireland’s women had used the venue to embark on their own piece of history.

In the arena that hosted the 1952 Olympic Games, as well as an Irish watershed of Eamonn Coghlan’s world gold medal 31 years later, a 2-1 win over Finland put the female footballers on a path to greatness. Beating the second seeds in a race for a top-two finish, especially away from home, marked a significant milestone in search of a first major tournament qualification.

But the road to the 2023 World Cup will require many more results of similar stature, most arduously in a play-off series between the runners-up across the groups.

At least a play-off would represent progress, for Ireland have failed to build on the one they clinched in 2008.

As the expectancy levels rise around Vera Pauw’s side ahead of next month’s home double-header against lower seeds Slovakia and Georgia, it is opportune to outline the six campaigns over the 13 years since the Ireland side managed by Noel King were denied by Iceland a place at Euro 2009.

2011 World Cup

Their success in the previous campaign had double impact, firstly boosting their seeding to Pot B but also making King the preferred candidate for the U21 post.

He was replaced by Sue Ronan for the final two qualifiers, the first against a Russian side, whose technical director, one Vera Pauw, was at Ferrycarrig Park to watch the 1-1 draw.

Defeats on the road to Switzerland and Russia earlier in the campaign had left Ireland playing catch-up and another by the Swiss at Richmond Park all but wrote off their top-two ambitions. Fiona O’Sullivan’s hat-trick in the 3-0 over Israel finished the campaign on a high.

2013 European Championship

Denise O’Sullivan announced herself on the senior beat by marking her debut with a brace in the 2-0 win away to Wales. The 17-year-old, then playing for Wilton, built on that campaign opener by heading Ireland into the lead against Scotland at Tynecastle, only for the concession of two late goals to undo them. “A lack of belief when 1-0 up cost us,” admitted Ronan.

Ireland showed promise by holding out for an hour against top seeds France in a 3-0 defeat but it was a pair of 1-0 losses to Celtic cousins Scotland and Wales, also at Turner’s Cross, that proved fatal. Given the men’s team were being crushed at the Euros, June 2012 was a month to forget for Irish football.

2015 World Cup

Accruing 17 points from 10 games was a laudable feat but, once again, the Russians claimed second with five more points. The success of extending European champions Germany at Tallaght in a narrow 3-2 defeat magnified the attention on the team but one of those who turned up at the next home game, the 3-1 loss to Russia, didn’t get wrapped up in hype.

“Roy Keane came into our dressing room and was honest in his assessment,” revealed captain Emma Byrne. “He said we couldn’t concede goals like that at this level and it just wasn’t good enough. His comments were cutting and probably made us feel worse but it’s what we needed to hear.”

2017 European Championships

Sue Ronan’s final campaign at the helm was low on highlights as Ireland won three and lost the other five of their qualifiers. Beating Portugal 2-1 away in the second game probably didn’t get the credit it deserved, given the opposition’s strides since, but it got lost alongside the two wins over minnows Montenegro. Crowds at Tallaght Stadium dipped from the 2,905 at the opener against Finland to under a thousand for the final game against Portugal.

On the upside, this was the campaign in which Katie McCabe came on the scene to nail down a regular spot.

2019 World Cup

2017 will go down as a landmark year for women’s football. First up was the appointment of a Champions League winning coach Colin Bell as manager in February but within two months his players were on strike over substandard conditions. Away wins over Northern Ireland and Slovakia got Ireland off to a flyer but it was the scoreless draw away to European champions Netherlands that further captivated the public. Defeats at home to the Dutch and Norway two months apart in 2018 set them back and a penalty from Ballon D’Or candidate Caroline Graham Hansen applied the last rites by the Norwegians.

2021 Euro Championships

Bell’s resignation just two months before the qualifiers started left the FAI scrambling for a successor. His assistant Tom O’Connor oversaw a 2-0 win against Montenegro in the opener, the night Pauw agreed to take charge.

Her first match — a 3-2 win over second seeds Ukraine — generated fervour around qualification but conceding a late minute equaliser in Greece left them vulnerable. Ukraine duly recovered, winning their last five qualifiers, including a 1-0 win over Ireland in Kiev via an own-goal to edge Ireland for second.

The lessons from previous campaigns are there to see but the Helsinki win presents some wriggle-room to avoid repeat disasters.

Those three points mean that Ireland could even afford to draw in one of their meetings against the Slovaks and still consolidate second once they dodge defeat to the Finns next September.

Ireland U19 manager Dave Connell insists it will take a tournament breakthrough, a Euro ’88 moment as he terms it, for the women’s game to transcend the population’s psyche. A win for the ages pushes that prospect closer to reality.

Harmony returns as Cork City look to future

Football seasons contain the full gambit of emotions but it was a relief to see the Cork City hierarchy and The Other Three Amigos Podcast (TOTAP) team complete this campaign on good terms.

Before last Friday’s final game against Galway United, City chairman Declan Carey was a special guest at the Corner Flag pub, a sight hardly envisaged back in July.

Colin Healy’s side were at that point struggling and a line of questioning by TOTAP’s rep Declan McCormack during a virtual press conference formed the prelude for their access to media events being revoked.

Thankfully, relations improved to the point that Carey appeared in front of the trio that also is completed by Damien Sreenan and Wayne Mullins. All are united in the “Drive for 2k”, a campaign to get 2,000 fans into City’s national women’s fixture against Treaty on Saturday.

Questions were raised from the floor and online, with the chairman confirming Healy’s playing budget for next season will increase in a bid to try to improve on the team’s sixth-place finish. A better tilt at promotion is expected.

Clarity on the potential takeover by Grovemoor is still pending. The company helped City gain a licence for the 2021 season but difficulties in securing a long-term lease on Turner’s Cross from the Munster FA prolonged a full purchase. The death of Grovemoor’s Trevor Hemmings three weeks ago, according to Carey, has naturally delayed the process further.

FAI closing in on Walshe replacement

The FAI is closing in on appointing its new Chief Operations Officer — also their deputy chief executive — following last week’s round of interviews.

Recruitment consultants Odgers Berndtson were retained to lead the process to fill the vacancy created by Rea Walshe’s departure.

Under the job specification, the successful candidate will oversee a wide array of aspects such as growth strategy, digital transformation, information technology, legal governance, club licensing, facilities, and infrastructure.

The latter departments were those led by Richard Fahey up until he completed 15 years at the association in late 2016. He has since worked as chief executive at Tennis Ireland but is being linked with a return to FAI HQ.

Between their €35m bailout deal in January 2020 and the Covid-19 resilience subvention since, government support has been critical to keeping the cashflow fluid.

Links to agencies such as Sport Ireland will remain vital if the wish list of stadia grants and academy funding for national league clubs is to materialise. Fahey proved himself to be a shrewd conduit in his previous stint and can be relied upon to open doors.

Of course, the more pressing task facing the FAI is building their commercial portfolio to become self-sufficient by the time the exchequer tap slows to a trickle.