Ireland's gamechangers could prove the difference against Wales

The Girls in Green are preparing for a first leg in Cardiff on Friday night. 

Head coach Eileen Gleeson and Katie McCabe during a Republic of Ireland women training session at Cardiff City Stadium in Wales. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Here we go. For the first time since making their tournament breakthrough at the World Cup 16 months ago, it’s crunch time for Ireland.

What’s filled the schedule since has been a fusion of contrasts.

From being too good as a League B team in the Nations League, there was a similar class gap in the opposite direction when elevated to League A for the Euro qualifiers.

Crucially, Uefa’s emphasis on profiling the Nations League meant soaring in the first part rendered results in the second irrelevant.

Once grouped with France, England and Sweden – three of the top six teams in the world – reaching Switzerland directly through a top-two finish was unrealistic.

They went about that arduous campaign comforted by the alternative route via the playoff already earned by topping their Nations League group.

Hierarchy influenced results.

Bar the last win over France in Pairc Uí Chaoímh, it would have been six Nations League victories followed by six Euro defeats.

Last month’s playoff semi-final was equally lopsided. The lowest ranked side Georgia looked relieved to lose over two legs by a margin one short of double-figures.

Gone are the extremes.

Wales and Ireland are a pair of middling teams within Europe’s order and players operate at much the same level on the club front.

Both possess a pair of bona fide game-changers.

Katie McCabe and Denise O‘Sullivan are arguably reaching their peak ahead of hitting 30 while the Welsh duo are on the other side of it.

This will be last chance for 37-year-old Jess Fishlock to dance at a major tournament and their other star, Chelsea midfielder Sophie Ingle, is sidelined with an ACL.

In a contest likely to be settled by fine margins, Ingle’s absence might swing the tie in Ireland’s direction.

“We know we’re up against a real good team but we’ve grown in the last 12 months,” reasoned Cork native O’Sullivan ahead of her 118th cap.

“We played against some top teams, know how to come from behind and get in front, and think we take real positives from those tough games going into this match.” 

 In between the two competitive campaigns came two tough friendlies in February as well.

Although the first, a scoreless draw away to Italy, was commendable, the run-out against the Welsh veered askew.

Two goals behind at interval in their first home game of the year, manager Eileen Gleeson abandoned the flat back-four experiment. It hasn’t been seen in the eight matches since.

That 2-0 win for the Welsh was significant for a couple of other reasons when seeking insights as to how this tie will unravel.

Fishlock tormented the Irish defence, twisting and dribbling past them with ease and dragging others out of position. She returned from injury to engineer the comeback win over Slovakia in their semi-final.

“Jess is a top, top player,” said O’Sullivan who faces Seattle Reign on a regular basis in America.

“I always played with Jess at Glasgow City many, many years ago, so I know her really well.

“She’s a world-class player, someone very smart who has clever movement off the ball. She has a lot of experience and is a good leader.” Wales captain Angharad James was always a teammate of O’Sullivan’s, praising her at yesterday’s press conference as a great “human being”.

That was characteristic of a mutual appreciation society at play during the build-up but only outwardly.

It’s known that the Welsh players were furious with a late tackle McCabe during the friendly.

Needle is sure to ensue given there’s a first Euro qualification on the line for both.

Add in the 20,000-plus crowd forecasted at both legs and the recipe exists for a spicy Celtic derby. Gleeson’s contract runs in parallel with her team’s involvement in the series and it’s difficult to foresee her survival in the post if their scalp is taken.

She wasn’t biting when told of her counterpart Rhian Wilkinson’s declaration of Ireland being ‘absolutely beatable’ despite sitting five places above the Welsh in Fifa rankings.

“I mean I’m not really focused on anything that Rhian has to say at this point about any tags,” she said.

“We’ve been really clear about minimising any kind of distraction. That’s the first I’ve heard of what was said so it’s really only incidental.” 

Ireland are instead on the brink of something monumental. Succeed and credit is due, yet conversely so too is flak for failure. Them’s the extremes associated with the business end.