Louise Quinn: Lots to take from opener ahead of Canada game

Quinn was determined to absorb all that came with opening against the Matildas in their mammoth backyard of the full 75,000-seater Stadium Australia on the outskirts of Sydney

Sat, 22 Jul, 2023 - 02:00

John Fallon

Sporting a shiner from her evening’s work, Louise Quinn could see a brighter future for Ireland at the World Cup amid the cloud of defeat.

Maybe it was the thrill of finally being exposed to a major tournament as a centurion or the yard in distance her late header against Australia whistled past the post by but the defensive rock still wore a beaming smile.

She also had an icepack strapped to her right foot – ‘same old story’ is proffered by way of normality – and the war wound above her right eye from one of her several aerial forays into enemy territory seeking an equaliser and point.

A 16th goal would’ve represented her highpoint. Nodding one past the Aussies 21 months ago secured victory in a friendly but it was the following game, when they lost 1-0 to Sweden, that the 33-year-old typically references as the turning point on this team’s journey.

They took what they could against the pool’s top seeds and never looked back, staying unbeaten for the rest of the campaign, crowning it by beating Scotland in the play-off to reach this World Cup Down Under.

“We’re realistic when facing world-class opponents at this stage but showed not the prettiest of football on Thursday,” said Quinn, with Canada to come on Wednesday, before completing Group B on Monday week against Nigeria.

“It was important to keep in the game, to frustrate them and nullify their strengths.

“Sometimes you must do some of the dirty work and grind it out. It’s something that we are good at. But also we know to try to get them on the counter and that showed in the second-half.”

Ireland’s Plan B revolves around Quinn. For Shane Duffy against Denmark, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Serbia, supplant the modern Mighty into the women’s equivalent. Ireland’s centre-back morphs into centre-forward for the final 10 minutes and woe betide anybody obstructing her path.

On her stoppage-time header, created by a delicious Katie McCabe in-swinger with the Aussies stretched, she said: “I was hoping it was going in. It’s hard to know in the moment.

“It was a great ball and that’s the reason why we do those things. That will probably hurt for a little while because I know I can do better in those situations. You must take advantage of these chances.

“We know there’s improvements to make once we get up the top of the pitch, because sometimes when it is so transitional, we are asking so much of wing-backs, of midfielders.

“But again we then did create those chances. So we know there is so much there, so much to give.”

Quinn, one of those to the fore in the 2017 strike which proved a different type of turning point, was determined to absorb all that came with opening against the Matildas in their mammoth backyard of the full 75,000-seater Stadium Australia on the outskirts of Sydney.

That meant, as demanded by captain Katie McCabe in her final rallying cry in the huddle, avoidance of being immersed by the occasion, rather relish it to announce themselves and Ireland women’s football to the world.

The Birmingham City skipper could be seen while awaiting clearance in the tunnel closing her eyes and smiling, ignoring the glitter in the gold-clad shirts opposite them.

“Honestly, I was very relaxed,” she said of the moment she dreamt of. “They got us out to the tunnel early and the Australians were too.

“Maybe I had this pensive stare, but I was soaking it in, getting in the zone.

“Walking out in that moment, it’s almost everything you see on the TV; the giant flags, the Irish flag, the World Cup flag taking over the centre-circle and the crowd going crazy. That was amazing.

“It was hard to deal with coming into a World Cup tournament; what it’s going to feel like, how it’s going to be, how things are run, the sound, the crowd, everything. All new.

“I’ve been involved previously doing punditry, watching on and wonder how that feels or in every moment how do you prepare for it?

“For instance, something as simple as how much time is there for holidays and when do you need to pre-season going.”

Now she’s lived and breathed it, the task is staying there. Four into two won’t go.

She said: “We are here and it feels great. And I think we lived up to the occasion. There is so much for us to take into Canada. They’ll have to watch out for us.

“I’m not even trying to chat shite to youse but we actually do believe we can get out of the group. Putting in more performances like that is needed, as is getting into those attacking positions or from set-pieces.”