Mersey beat: Liverpool playmaker Denise O’Sullivan eyeing points in Poland 

The Girls in Green have a crucial World Cup qualifier on Tuesday evening.

Denise O’Sullivan during a Republic of Ireland women's training session at Polsat Plus Arena in Gdansk, Poland. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Ireland’s last visit to Gdańsk in 2012 provoked Roy Keane into deriding a sing-song culture but another Cork sporting great views this trip as a launchpad to finetune World Cup ambitions.

Denise O’Sullivan is fit, conditioned and motivated for international duty in Poland after enduring an injury scare at the start of the qualification campaign last month.

Describing her ongoing knee problem as ‘finicky’, a combination of careful treatment and a lifestyle of an Olympic athlete navigates the typical challenges which the body can inflict on a 32-year-old.

O’Sullivan had to make do with a watching brief from the Utrecht stands for Ireland’s last outing, the day after she’d got the latest medical update from the London-based consultant.

Ireland ended that match with an identical return to the France game four days earlier of zero points.

These two matches against the Polish – the second of which takes place at Lansdowne Road on Saturday afternoon – were always likely to shape the outcome of the qualifying group.

Ireland are already assured of a playoff route to next year’s World Cup in Brazil but leapfrogging the team situated three places above them in Fifa’s rankings, and a point ahead on the table, is imperative.

Finish in their current position of fourth and Ireland will be routed into path two of the playoffs, a scenario which would pit them, on the basis of current standings, against Portugal, Switzerland or Scotland for a place at Brazil.

That Ireland have their dynamo available for the pivotal matches in the chase for third behind the Dutch and French represents a major fillip for Ireland.

Her comeback first benefited Liverpool. It’s not by chance that their ascent from the foot of the Women’s Super League table coincided with the arrival of O’Sullivan during the January window.

They sit a mere three points off seventh spot and have a showdown against Brighton and Hove Albion for a spot in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 31 up for grabs.

Together with Katie McCabe, in line for a second successive Champions League final with holders Arsenal, Ward’s Ireland side possess the artillery to collect the four points desired over the space of this window.

“It's my job to take care of myself,” outlines O’Sullivan. “And as a professional footballer, I do that every single day. It's my main priority to come into camp fully fit.

“It's my main focus to be at my best for Liverpool and Ireland. So for me, it's a lot of different factors that I take into consideration every single day, as far as nutrition, my sleep and recovery, all of that.

“I'm really very committed to doing that every single day. I'm in very good hands at Liverpool, with the staff there and obviously with the Ireland medical team as well. It's just about managing my minutes”.

It’s clear from her demeanour how content the Leesider is. A decade in the USA served a purpose but professionally she’s thriving and has a wedding with fiancé James in the summer to look forward to.

“Part of the reason why I wanted to move back to play in England was to avoid the jetlag with Ireland and be close to family,” she elaborates.

“That could extend my career but I take care of my body either way. So even if I played in America or in England, then it is what it is.“ 

Liverpool, though, has invigorated O’Sullivan.

“It's been a massive change for me,” she adds. “I was in America for 10 years, so the change has been quite big.

“It's a new challenge for me; a new environment. I would say it's a really different league as well. The club is absolutely fantastic.

“At Melwood, the facilities are something you want as a professional football player. It's absolutely unbelievable there.

“So the games are challenging. It's challenging me as a player now and as a person.” 

Poland’s only defeats in their last 15 games have been against Sweden, Germany and France – three heavyweights of the women’s game.

They’ll unleash Barcelona star Ewa Pajor and Bayern Munich’s emerging star Natalia Padilla in a bid to put blue water between them and Ireland but O’Sullivan feels there’s reason to be optimistic.

“I was really proud of how girls did against the Netherlands,” she noted. “Sitting in the stand was really hard because I love playing for my country but they were excellent, organised defensively and really strong in possession and attack.

“The next step is turning those performances into points.”