Ireland dealt double injury issue for Nations League decider at Páirc Uí Chaoimh
DOUBLE DOUBTS: Lucy Quinn and Aoife Mannion have emerged as doubts for Ireland’s Nations League finale against Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh tomorrow evening. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne.
Lucy Quinn and Aoife Mannion have emerged as doubts for Ireland’s Nations League finale against Slovenia at Páirc Uí Chaoimh tomorrow evening.
The duo have started all five games under new manager Carla Ward. However, Quinn has been struck down by an illness, while Mannion is suffering from a quad issue after a long season.
“She's a doubt, but not a major doubt,” Ward said of Mannion.
“It's an overload more than anything. She's finished the season, gone straight out to Portugal to play in the Sevens, and it's managing her load.
“We're hopeful that she'll be fit. We'll see today how she gets on, but she's massively important for what we want to do and the way that we want to play.”
The outlook for Quinn appears more pessimistic.
“Maybe less (hopeful),” said Ward.
“Just because she's had a bug for a couple of days, and we all know how that feels coming on the back of that.
“We'll see. She's in good hands with the medical team. We'll have a look at her tonight and tomorrow and see how she feels.”
Ireland require a four-goal win if they are to overhaul Slovenia for League A promotion.
That’s a consequence of the 4-0 drubbing they took in Ward’s second game in charge, back in February.
Solvenian manager Saša Kolman trumpeted his Jim McGuinness-inspired “tactical win” for outfoxing Ward.
She hit back: “It's not hard to look at a Carla Ward team over the last eight years and work out how I like to play the game.
“He can comment all he likes. It just shows that he's probably had a look at my career, which I can take a little bit of confidence from.”
Ward wouldn’t be drawn on any plans to mix things up.
“There's so many different permutations, but we've whittled it down. We need to win by four clear goals, which sets it up for an exciting evening.
“I've heard an awful lot about the crowd here. I've heard an awful lot about the good times being here. We'll be ready. We know what we have to do. We're going to have to be aggressive but also secure at the same time.”
Captain Katie McCabe feels the team must be “miles better” than their 2-1 win in Turkey on Friday. But the need for goals doesn’t change the approach too much.
“If we don't score the first ,one you can forget about the fourth,” she said.
“We just have to be fully concentrated on how we're setting up the game plan and executing it as best as possible.
“For us, we know we can score goals in a lot of different ways. But if we want to top this group, we have to be miles better than we were on Friday night, all over the pitch.”
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