Katie McCabe: How Ireland threw off shackles to get the jump on Finland

McCabe has explained the difference in approach for the Finland victory from the 1-0 defeat to top seeds Sweden

Wed, 27 Oct, 2021 - 23:00

John Fallon, Helsinki

Finland’s home support made their presence felt in the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night but it was the voice of Ireland captain Katie McCabe that echoed through the Helsinki air.

Hugging the touchline at the halfway line in the left wing-back role, the Arsenal maestro’s words to Savannah McCarthy stationed behind her were as concise as they were courageous. “Break the lines, Sav, break the lines,” she hollered.

By that stage of the first half, the away team were a goal to the good in a World Cup qualifier that will go a long way to deciding which of them claims the golden ticket of runners-up and a play-off spot. There were more goals there for Ireland if they avoided that age-old syndrome of sitting on a lead.

McCarthy is a contemporary of McCabe’s from their underage days, yet the gap of 48 caps underlines the disparity of international experience. The Kerry native just needed some encouragement from her skipper to advance with the ball.

Only an equaliser by the Finns awoke Ireland to those possibilities and it was realised through Denise O’Sullivan’s second to seal one of their best-ever results.

“Against Sweden last week, we had to remain behind the ball a lot of the time because we knew they had world-class players in their team,” McCabe explained about the difference in approach from the 1-0 defeat to the top seeds.

“You could say the shackles were off against Finland in that sense. I was able to read the game as it was coming around, push on forward, and then take the channel.

“We’ve worked on that on the training pitch. It’s about remaining compact in defence and then jumping into attack with a few extra bodies forward. It’s choosing the right moments to jump because obviously you can’t make the jump if you’re not set. Once Louise Quinn gives the call, I can release and use my strengths. I do that for Arsenal so our manager Vera Pauw tries to implement that here too.”

The jump means the turnover from defence into attack. On several occasions, McCabe and Heather Payne channelled Eamonn Coghlan’s dash to his 5,000m world title at the same arena 38 years earlier, outstripping their markers for pace into enemy territory.

Home boss Anna Signeul admitted Ireland did a number on them tactically. Megan Connolly’s deployment as a deep-lying midfielder thwarted the impact of Emmi Alanen. Linda Sallstrom was well marshalled by Quinn and Niamh Fahey, restricting Finland’s top scorer to a couple of chances she squandered.

The result maintains McCabe’s purple patch for club and country. Now a regular for the Gunners, her goals and assists from the flank have helped them surge to the summit of the Women’s Super League and, despite the recent loss to holders Barcelona, she is not giving up hope of progress in the Champions League.

She has known nothing but success since joining Arsenal from Raheny United almost six years ago, collecting an FA Cup medal in 2016 followed by a coveted WSL title three years later. But international strides are a different story.

Of the 15 players Arsenal used in their last league fixture against Everton, McCabe was the sole participant who hadn’t either featured at a major tournament already or won’t be going to next summer’s Euro finals. Her absence will be all the clearer on Thursday when the draw — without Ireland — is made.

What a pity it would be for McCabe and the other world-class player of the current batch, Denise O’Sullivan, to go through their career without gracing an international tournament. Pauw has what Stephen Kenny doesn’t in the men’s team — a couple of players worthy of figuring across the best clubs in Europe. Neither have yet to reach Roy Keane levels of distinction but are certainly the Robbie and Duffer equivalents of this generation.

The World Cup in two years might still be a long way in the distance yet the Helsinki heroes are entitled to feel qualification is attainable.

“It’s the start of that belief we’re trying to instill within this team,” explained McCabe.

“To be a decent nation, we need to remain with our feet on the ground. We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves or think we’ve qualified.

“It’s the message I try to get across to the players and it’s not in our nature to do that.

“The win over Finland gives us confidence going into next month’s two home qualifiers against Slovakia and Georgia but we need to remain humble with that.”

There have been too many hard-luck stories and near misses, notably last year’s collapse in Kiev, for Ireland to be above what McCabe branded an “ugly” win. Even Arsenal have to grind out results. “I’m in a good place, happy to be playing every week for Arsenal, and then give everything I can to this Irish team,” the 26-year-old says.

“Enjoyment is the reason why you start playing football. If you’re not playing with a smile on your face, you’re not enjoying it.

“I wasn’t smiling all the time against Finland but I was on the inside with the score.”