Pauw's tigers can't afford to get gridlocked in the squeeze of Sydney
NO TIME TO TRIP UP: Vera Pauw and her Republic of Ireland WNT walk through Sydney's Stadium Australia on the eve of their World Cup opener. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Two titans of the world game held court at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium on the eve of a World Cup blockbuster but only one can emerge as the Wizard of Oz.
Up first was Katie McCabe, the Ireland skipper more upbeat than her last official engagement when her ire at the final friendly against France getting hijacked by controversy over manager Vera Pauw was apparent.
“Thanks for talking about the World Cup, Guys,” she sarcastically concluded with the killer precision of one of her renowned crunching tackles.
This return was all sweetness and light, not even punctured by a loaded question from a Colombian reporter about the physical encounter against her nation. That was the friendly match in name only, abandoned after 20 minutes.
Neither were the allegations surrounding Pauw from her coaching spell in America broached as the excitement got real 24 hours ahead of Ireland’s major tournament debut.
“We as a small nation carry that title, I guess,” McCabe said, embracing the traditional underdog tag. “We don’t want to just be here and be happy to be here. It’s about competing; giving Australia, Canada and Nigeria the hardest games possible.
“We know Australia has quality all over the park, while also being aware of what we can do on the pitch.
“Having played against Australia two years ago (a 3-2 friendly win), I’m sure they’ll have a very different team here. They’ve got some nice results along the way but so have we.”
Good times, good vibes, only momentarily threatened later when McCabe was left waiting at the training ground while the rest of the squad were delayed reaching the Leichhardt Oval by 40 minutes of rush-hour traffic. Even 10 months of planning leaves scope for hiccups.
Sam Kerr certainly wasn’t struggling for breath. The Australian captain, for all her goals and gymnastic celebrations that follow, is as soft-spoken as they come, flatlined in monotone while the nation giddily leans on her for a first World Cup trophy.
She occupied the seat vacated by the Arsenal player she regularly collides with for Chelsea, delivering soundbites to both dampen the expectation and promise what her motivation can deliver to a country demanding entertainment.
“Every opponent brings new challenges but once we can play our game we can adapt to what comes at us from Ireland,” outlined the Ballon D’Or contender.
“We respect Ireland, they have had some good results lately, but it’s about us here. We want to show the Australian people what we’ve been doing around the world.”
Stopping Kerr usually stops the Matildas - 63 goals before reaching 30 evidence of her firepower. “You usually can’t win a game unless you keep a clean sheet,” notes Ireland goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan. “It gives us a great foundation to go get goals.”
And within that mantra spells Ireland’s primary goal. Friendlies against world champions USA in April and fifth-ranked France a fortnight ago exposed a ropey defence previously solid for a year. It didn’t go unnoticed by the co-hosts’ Swedish boss.
“If you look at Ireland’s games lately against top teams, there’s no coincidence that they have been really, really strong at the beginning of both the first and second halves,” said Tony Gustafsson. “But it's also no coincidence that they’ve conceded goals late in each half. Especially when it comes to tactics and behaviours of one or two players that we’ve identified. We hope to strike against those tomorrow.
“I’m not going to say what but there’s a clear trend there we’ll target.”
He’s right too. Ireland held out for 37 minutes against USA, a template mirrored in the second half when another concession arrived 10 minutes from full-time. In the rematch, Alana Cook’s 43rd-minute strike made the difference.
Roll on to France at Tallaght and the Irish kept their superior opponents at bay until two lapses in stoppage-time resulted in France goals. They added a third at the death.
Tiredness of mind and body likely soldered to explain the flaw, characteristic of a team profile stacked with players weatherbeaten from being outplayed at club level.
McCabe and Lazarus-like Denise O’Sullivan are the exceptions; both world-class and each notoriously stingy in ceding possession.
For Ireland's defence – that’s the five defenders and two holding midfielders – to avoid getting gridlocked by one-way traffic in a congested city, minding the ball is imperative. Their success in frustrating top seeds Sweden in Gothenburg before finding the breakthrough offers a sketch to colour in on the ultimate stage.
“If you notice in the early stages of my reign, I was busy coaching,” Pauw said of the structure sculpted almost four years into her tenure. “Now the frame is clear. Players have a huge knowledge of their task. They know what is expected and they are our tigers.”
Only the disbelievers couldn’t envision them bearing their teeth and roaring down a gold-brick road.
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