Clarifications needed amid confusion after Koper horror show

Katie McCabe of Republic of Ireland after her side's defeat. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Confusion around Ireland’s collapse in Slovenia on Tuesday didn’t end on the pitch.

Carla Ward’s second game at the helm was a 4-0 hammering by lower-seeded opponents, an occasion when players were shunted into unfamiliar roles and seemed devoid of a game plan.

Symptomatic of the implosion was a botched free-kick on the edge of the box in the latter stages.

Instead of putting her foot through the ball or allowing specialist Megan Connolly to execute, Katie McCabe plumped for a one-two with Denise O’Sullivan.

Slovenian bodies smothered the danger, resulting in the rushed shot being easily blocked.

Afterwards, when trying to elicit reasons behind the 4-0 hammering, diverging views emerged.

Aoife Mannion called it a wake-up call while Ward accepted culpability for the mess. 

Connolly insisted neither was the case.

“I don’t think it’s a wake-up call,” said the Cork native, thrust into the defence as a starter in place of her namesake Campbell, a warm-up injury casualty.

“It was just a bad performance, especially in the first half conceding three poor goals.

“That’s not down to the new system, new formation, new coaching staff or new manager. That’s on us.” 

Both the team’s stars, McCabe and O’Sullivan, have had their say since. McCabe branded it unacceptable in her immediate reaction while O’Sullivan included an apology in her social media post in the aftermath.

Wherever the blame does rest, the demise needs halting urgency. This wasn’t a one-off, rather the third game in a row in which Ireland blundered in the basics.

Wales at home in December, albeit under the previous manager, remains the opportunity blown that ought to linger as the regret of these players’ careers.

A Euro place against a Celtic rival was in their grasp yet disintegrated through indiscipline and creative deficiencies.

There was no managerial bounce in last Friday’s debut for Ward, only a narrow win over a Turkish team positioned 60 in Fifa’s rankings compared to Ireland’s 25.

Even Ward stressed the sinews of mitigation – Wales hangover, fresh approach and soggy Tallaght pitch – no longer applied beyond the 90 minutes but this team offered an impression of disorder and disarray. 

They were simply ill-equipped to cope with what Slovenia threw at them in Koper.

Ward’s openness constitutes an admiral improvement on her predecessor, but declaring afterwards she was overseeing the transition of a team that 'overachieved' by reaching the World Cup in 2023 seemed an odd admission. 

As recently as last week, she was content to build on the good work inherited from the era of Eileen Gleeson and Colin Healy, two leaders whose departure from their roles continues to be unresolved.

The teams Ward selected for the two games were identical in age profile - 25-year-old Heather Payne the youngest among eight aged 29 or older.

There was just one change in personnel between the games, Amber Barrett for Marissa Sheva, until Campbell pulled up with hamstring trouble in Tuesday’s warm-up.

Her replacement is no rookie either. Connolly’s debut was granted nine years ago in San Diego and that 5-0 thumping by the world champions hasn’t been replicated since. 

Ireland had last lost by four goals in 2018 before the Slovenian slump.

“There are no failures; you either win or you learn,” affirmed Connolly, this season operating in Italy with Lazio.

“A 4-0 loss is difficult but you have to learn from it. This isn’t the end of the world. There’s no management and a new style, which everyone has bought into.” 

Up next is a double-header against Greece on April 4 and 8, the first away in Crete.

Ward admitted pragmatism may influence her outlook on the back of this destruction. There are four games left to catch leaders Slovenia – whom they host in the final game – and avoid requiring a playoff to be promoted back to League A.

Learnings were the overarching theme from the post-mortem and Ward has enlisted two performance analysts, Rhianna Farr and Jackson Huxley, as part of her staff to facilitate the analysis.

Huxley had worked under Ward during their time together at Aston Villa and gave the appearance of someone beyond the usual specification for that position by dishing out orders from the sideline as the carnage unfolded.

In a team absent of Janes, this was still a calamity. Exposing the players to horror movie moments from Koper before they reconvene in April might go some way toward clarification amid the confusion.

Ireland’s Women’s Nations League results and fixtures:

Fri, Feb 21: Ireland 1 Turkey 0.

Tues, Feb 25: Slovenia 4 Ireland 0.

Fri, April 4: Greece v Ireland.

Tues, April 8: Ireland v Greece.

Fri, May 30: Turkey v Ireland.

Tues, June 3: Ireland v Slovenia.