Carla Ward: 'This is some of the best football we’ve seen from an Ireland team'

Chloe Mustaki has called on Ireland to keep their standards high ahead of the return fixture with Poland on Saturday.

THE CARLA WARD WAY: Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward and performance analyst Rhianna Farr during their flight to Dublin from Gdansk. Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

From the sloppiness in Slovenia to the professionalism in Poland, 14 months and 14 games of the Carla Ward reign befit that description of work in progress.

Two games into her tenure, a 4-0 defeat against the lower-ranked Slovenians hinted at the need for the squad that reached the World Cup in 2023 to be overhauled.

Ward wasn’t buying that cynicism.

The team that dominated the Poles in Tuesday’s 3-2 win in Gdansk mirrored that in personnel from Slovenia. Nine of the players involved were the same.

Depth remains a concern – illustrated by again only two subs, one with three minutes left, being used – but the core group she leans heavily upon will be the backbone of the team which continues on their solid journey towards back-to-back World Cups in Brazil next year.

Developmental shifts are parked while Ward goes about delivering on the mandate of the FAI – major tournament qualification.

She inherited a squad crestfallen from botching the opportunity of a first Euros by losing to Wales. When the playoff repeat arrives in December, the intention is to equip her team tactically and mentally to meet the challenge.

Amidst talk, from herself, of the Carla Ward way, what we do know is it doesn’t include draws.

Eight wins and six defeats denote her record, with Slovenia being the outlier in the latter side of the ledger.

USA, in two friendlies, France, Netherlands and Belgium were the big guns Ireland fell to.

They sparred with them all, pointedly beating the Belgians by a larger margin in the first leg of the playoff to earn company among the top 16 nations for this campaign.

Claiming her first draw in Saturday’s rematch against the Poles at Lansdowne Road would suffice to keep the negotiability of their playoff route within their control.

Barcelona’s clinical attacker Ewa Pajor seems the only obstacle to avoiding defeat, but it would require the Irish defence to slip in standard from their levels of Tuesday.

“You look back to Slovenia when we tried to play football and got badly hurt,” rationalises Ward, referencing an abandoned experiment entailing captain Katie McCabe in an advanced role.

“But we had to keep going; to keep probing. We still believed in embedding our principles, but it takes time to develop.

“I'm going to throw it out there that I genuinely think feel that this is some of the best football we’ve seen from an Ireland team.

“I think that we're showing that now we can really dominate the ball. We can look after the ball.

“When I came in, I think everybody criticised me for asking if they could play the Carla Ward way.

“People are seeing that we haven't shut up shop and changed the way we play because we're playing three top teams: France, Netherlands and Poland.

“We've actually progressed and wanted to continue playing with the ball.

“That comes down to the players listening, taking it in and delivering.”

Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward with Denise O’Sullivan during their flight to Dublin from Gdansk. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Chloe Mustaki has been a beneficiary of the team’s progression, slotting into the three-unit central defensive system alongside Caitlin Hayes and Anna Patten.

Injuries and illness cost her continuity over her career, but the Nottingham Forest defender is clear about how duelling with the best in the world, not just Europe, is solidifying their cohesion.

Narrow 2-1 defeats in the opening matches were tolerable when the fruits of that pain were translated into such a powerful performance to gain the upper hand for the pole position of third in the pool.

“I think for anyone watching against Poland, you could see the composure on the ball even in the moments when they pressed us,” she noted.

“To find our way out of that press, I thought it was unbelievable and so encouraging.

“Against France and Netherlands, we showed we are there or thereabouts.

“We should be beating teams like Poland, and I think we were the dominant team in an away World Cup qualifier.

“It’s now about maintaining that for a big game back in Dublin on Saturday.”

Ward will have striker Kyra Carusa available after she overcame illness, while Ruesha Littlejohn becomes a midfield option through her return to fitness.

“Some of the football over recent months has been exceptional,” Ward highlighted. “Everybody knows what they’re doing. I expect Poland will come at us on Saturday, but we’ll be ready.”