Ward and McCabe eye Turkish delight to kickstart new era
NEW DIRECTION: Head coach Carla Ward and Katie McCabe during a Republic of Ireland women's press conference on Thursday. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
A landmark occasion marked the beginning of the last managerial era but you sense the FAI are just as anxious to kick Carla Ward’s tenure off despite less fanfare.
The games are identical in status – the beginning of a Nations League B campaign – but instead of the 35,944 who attended Lansdowne Road for Eileen Gleeson’s opener against Northern Ireland, around 8,000 are expected at Tallaght for Turkey’s visit.
Those 18 months in between delivered contrasting fortunes, the win over France in Páirc Uà Chaoimh the standout of an otherwise pointless Euro group and a surge of UK-born players pledging allegiances.
Of most consequence was the playoff defeat to Wales in December, denying Ireland a second successive tournament and prompting the FAI to dismiss Gleeson and her assistant Colin Healy.
Ward was an impressive appointment, a rare case of a manager dictating a career path on her own terms.
Whatever credit the FAI gained by luring the former Aston Villa manager in a relatively swift timeframe, compared to the eight-month slog for the men’s boss, was obliterated by the fallout from Healy’s case.
Ireland reverted to League B, regardless of the playoff outcome, but the fervour of September 2023 is absent.
The fact the FAI finally gave the women’s team the national stadium stage they deserved contributed to any sympathy towards axed Vera Pauw slipping into the background.
Sweeping past our neighbours 3-0 in the sunny Saturday helped too and the only hope Ward and the FAI hold of contentious off-field issues subsiding is repeating the trick of topping their group.
That’s a realistic aim over six games until June given Ireland, in 25th place, are well ahead of Slovenia (39), Greece (58) and Turkey (60) in Fifa’s rankings.
Facing inferior opposition is the first step towards reaching the 2027 World Cup. Top spot is essential if they’re to avoid a hazardous journey to Brazil through the main qualifiers.
In Katie McCabe, they have a player used to that exalted company.
Her Arsenal team face Real Madrid next month in the Champions League quarter-final and continue to hunt six-in-row chasing Chelsea in the English Super League.
Ireland need their dynamo equipped physically and mentally to rampage through this campaign without any hiccups.
Her last appearance was her 93rd but it was the influence she brought on the 64th time as captain that was questioned.
Clearly wound up from the outset of the playoff second leg, McCabe was almost sent-off by half-time against Wales. “I slipped,” she said with a giggle about the foul that triggered the Welsh players to demand a second booking.
It left her on a tightrope for the second half in which Ireland badly needed her but didn’t curb her instincts.
“It never came into my head,” she recalls. “I wear my heart on my sleeve whenever I’m representing Ireland, or Arsenal.
“I’m a physical player who doesn’t shy away from a challenge. Some officials don’t like it, some don’t mind it.
“Some of the best feelings I have had in my life have been on a football pitch but that day was definitely one of the worst, for sure.
“It was so disappointing - given the stadium and the energy we took from the fans.
“You feel like you have the responsibility of young girls’ futures on your shoulders. You feel that responsibility having had the connection with the fans for so long.
“What we do on the pitch matters for women’s football in Ireland and the future of grassroots football and development squads, and this and that. It was devastating.
“I was in a really low place afterwards.”Â
Time to rediscover the winning feeling.
Fri, Feb 21: Ireland v Turkey; Tues, Feb 25: Slovenia v Ireland; Fri, April 4: Greece v Ireland; Tues, April 8: Ireland v Greece; Fri, May 30: Turkey v Ireland; Tues, June 3: Ireland v Slovenia.
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