Ireland stars grounded but Jessie Stapleton's trajectory rises

Treacherous winds delayed the arrivals of several Ireland players into camp, but Jessie Stapleton was on board and eyeing future targets

Jessie Stapleton at Republic of Ireland media day at Abbotstown, Dublin. 

Treacherous winds delayed the arrivals of several Ireland players into camp yesterday but they can’t countenance any turbulence when it comes to breezing past Georgia over the next week.

A playoff between teams ranked 24th and 118th in Fifa’s rankings ought to be a turkey shoot and nothing short of comprehensive results in Tbilisi on Friday and Tallaght next Tuesday will be expected.

So stilted in favour of League A nations like Ireland were the Euro qualifiers that mismatches like this unravelled.

In Uefa’s quest to upgrade all games to meaningful games, Ireland have this formality and a final against either Slovakia or Wales to hurdle to reach a first-ever Euros.

Those finals in Switzerland next July will feature 16 teams, equating to the number which began the year in the top league.

Ireland now must prove they’re worthy of that status and that their victory over a French side at Pairc Uí Chaoímh three months ago wasn’t a consequence of one of the tournament favourites suffering from complacency of qualification and the distraction of the Olympics they hosted in Paris.

Friday’s backdrop of a majority empty Mikheil Meskhi II Stadium in the Georgian capital will offer a reality check to the pageantry at the Cork venue.

Ireland are there to start a job and a resounding scoreline would complete that challenge before the rematch in Dublin.

Jessie Stapleton is one of those who’ll be in line to benefit should the tie take the pattern envisaged.

Eileen Gleeson had tipped the 19-year-old as one due to be primed for the Euro finals and her gradual and planned progress at club level – two loans since moving to West Ham United from Shelbourne on a four-year deal – are sustaining that trajectory.

Stapleton poses for a portrait.

“Obviously, I want to be on the plane if we get to the Euros,” said the seven-times capped centre-back, currently being loaned to Sunderland in the English Championship.

“That’s a dream of mine, but it is down to the coach. It depends on form, depends on injury, depends on new players coming into the set-up, I don’t think anybody can guarantee themselves a spot on the plane or even a place in the starting XI.

“I think it just depends on your form and your performances. I don’t think any of the younger players would be in the squad if Eileen didn’t see a future for them.

“It is just football, you can be in and out of the squad, depending on how you are doing.

“You have conversations with Eileen about the long-term because football is crazy.” 

Stapleton has already sampled the craziness of the Tyne-Wear rivalry. Newcastle United are as ambitious as Sunderland in chasing a route to the Women’s Super League and it was the Magpies who prevailed at the Stadium of Light.

That Stapleton’s coach Melanie Reay is a cousin of Alan Shearer only deepened the intrigue.

“There was a good crowd and great atmosphere but not a pretty game,” Stapleton said of the 2-1 defeat before a crowd of 15.387.

“It was one of those derbies where you tackle and just get the ball up the pitch. We beat Durham on Sunday and that was a dirty derby. We’ll get Newcastle back at St James’ Park.” 

Storm Ashley derailed plans to have a full squad assembled at the Castleknock Hotel, with Stapleton one of the few to be unaffected.

Delayed and cancelled flights disrupted training plans and Gleeson will likely have to cope with a couple of injury withdrawals.