WHEN IRELAND FEATURED at the World Cup last summer, Caitlin Hayes and Anna Patten had yet to pull on the green jersey.
Now, the English-born duo are central pillars in defence as the Girls In Green stand one game away from their first European Championships.
Celtic centre-back Hayes made her debut in Eileen Gleeson’s first game in interim charge last September, and has played every minute since.
Aston Villa’s Patten declared before the Euro 2025 qualifying campaign in April, and has started all but one of her nine caps to date.
A changing of the guard has been in motion in defence of late, with another English-born player, Aoife Mannion, generally preferred.
Patten and Hayes high five during Friday's 1-1 draw. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Louise Quinn (34), Diane Caldwell (36) and Niamh Fahey (37) have been stalwarts through the years, but much has been made of Ireland’s ‘ageing backline’. Gleeson recently spoke of “huge concern around the centre-half position” when she first took the job, but she is now pleased with the depth, and blend of experience and youth.
Patten (25), Hayes (29) and Mannion (29) appear to be her favoured trio, with Jessie Stapleton (19) previously singled out as “potentially your core starting centre-back in Euro 2025″. Versatile Megan Connolly and Megan Campbell are among other options in the current squad.
With Mannion and Quinn ruled out through injury, one big question before Ireland’s Euro 2025 play-off against Wales was who would join Patten and Hayes?
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Gleeson opted for experience, and Fahey got the nod despite her limited club minutes.
The Liverpool captain started well, but was among several Irish players at fault for Wales’ 20th minute opener. She swiped at Jess Fishlock’s spinning delivery, and her unfortunate touch set up Lily Woodham for a superb first-time finish:
GOAL WALES 20mins: WAL 1-0 IRL Lily Woodham breaks the deadlock to hand the home side the first-half lead in Cardiff.
It was a sloppy goal to concede, with Hayes letting Fishlock away from her too easily, and Patten off-kilter in the middle after Fahey’s wild swipe.
The trio recovered and generally held firm thereafter as Ireland’s equaliser — an own goal from Ruesha Littlejohn’s long-range strike — leaves the tie in the balance ahead of Tuesday’s decisive return leg.
Gleeson is likely to stick with the same back three for the Aviva Stadium showdown, though Fahey did limp to the team bus with a bag of ice on her ankle afterwards. Her recall brought the average age of the XI to 30, with Patten and Heather Payne (24) the youngest Irish players to start at Cardiff City Stadium. The rest were 29 and over.
Stapleton did feature as a second-half sub for Littlejohn in midfield, though interestingly, appeared to be preparing for a late defensive call in the warm-up. The Sunderland teenager was deployed on the right of a back four in some of the preparation drills, but it transpired to be more of a Plan B.
Connolly dropping to centre-half back is another option for Tuesday, though she was held in reserve for the first leg. Caldwell has fallen down the pecking order, while Campbell’s injury history and load management means she is more likely to be used off the bench. Her long throw-ins could be handy with the game in the melting pot.
Hayes and Patten will be nailed on. There were obvious parallels in their post-match interviews on Friday, given neither had personally qualified for a major tournament.
They won’t allow their minds to wander to Switzerland 2025, but both acknowledge that the team’s past experience is a boost.
“It’s great to have those players who have done this before, who have qualified for the World Cup,” said Patten.
“Just (talking) over dinner and lunches and stuff, there has been conversations of how they felt in those moments and how there was calm and they knew what to do and knew their roles.
Jessie Stapleton (left) and Anna Patten after the game. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“Having those players on the pitch and having that… Wales haven’t achieved that. That definitely could give us an advantage on Tuesday. I really rely on the other girls and am grateful for that. I feel at ease and calm, and yeah grateful that I have them around me and have leaders on the pitch.”
Hayes, meanwhile, emphasised the need to block out thoughts of her potential first major tournament but backed Gleeson and her staff to “steer the ship to a place of success”.
“The best thing to do is push it to the back of your head and just think you are going to play a game you play every day with a bunch of pals,” said Hayes.
“Don’t think about it, don’t talk about it, don’t allow yourself to have that conversation, it’s too far into the future. Put your focus in the here and now and that is as complicated as you need to make it.”
Play the game, not the occasion.
With over 23,000 tickets sold, Ireland are confident home advantage can propel them to more history.
Whatever happens, Caitlin Hayes and Anna Patten will be right at the heart of it all this time.
Ireland v Wales, Euro 2025 play-off final, second leg — Tuesday, 7.30pm, Aviva Stadium, RTÉ 2
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Ireland's new core defensive duo one game away from their first major tournament
WHEN IRELAND FEATURED at the World Cup last summer, Caitlin Hayes and Anna Patten had yet to pull on the green jersey.
Now, the English-born duo are central pillars in defence as the Girls In Green stand one game away from their first European Championships.
Celtic centre-back Hayes made her debut in Eileen Gleeson’s first game in interim charge last September, and has played every minute since.
Aston Villa’s Patten declared before the Euro 2025 qualifying campaign in April, and has started all but one of her nine caps to date.
A changing of the guard has been in motion in defence of late, with another English-born player, Aoife Mannion, generally preferred.
Louise Quinn (34), Diane Caldwell (36) and Niamh Fahey (37) have been stalwarts through the years, but much has been made of Ireland’s ‘ageing backline’. Gleeson recently spoke of “huge concern around the centre-half position” when she first took the job, but she is now pleased with the depth, and blend of experience and youth.
Patten (25), Hayes (29) and Mannion (29) appear to be her favoured trio, with Jessie Stapleton (19) previously singled out as “potentially your core starting centre-back in Euro 2025″. Versatile Megan Connolly and Megan Campbell are among other options in the current squad.
With Mannion and Quinn ruled out through injury, one big question before Ireland’s Euro 2025 play-off against Wales was who would join Patten and Hayes?
Gleeson opted for experience, and Fahey got the nod despite her limited club minutes.
The Liverpool captain started well, but was among several Irish players at fault for Wales’ 20th minute opener. She swiped at Jess Fishlock’s spinning delivery, and her unfortunate touch set up Lily Woodham for a superb first-time finish:
It was a sloppy goal to concede, with Hayes letting Fishlock away from her too easily, and Patten off-kilter in the middle after Fahey’s wild swipe.
The trio recovered and generally held firm thereafter as Ireland’s equaliser — an own goal from Ruesha Littlejohn’s long-range strike — leaves the tie in the balance ahead of Tuesday’s decisive return leg.
Gleeson is likely to stick with the same back three for the Aviva Stadium showdown, though Fahey did limp to the team bus with a bag of ice on her ankle afterwards. Her recall brought the average age of the XI to 30, with Patten and Heather Payne (24) the youngest Irish players to start at Cardiff City Stadium. The rest were 29 and over.
Stapleton did feature as a second-half sub for Littlejohn in midfield, though interestingly, appeared to be preparing for a late defensive call in the warm-up. The Sunderland teenager was deployed on the right of a back four in some of the preparation drills, but it transpired to be more of a Plan B.
Connolly dropping to centre-half back is another option for Tuesday, though she was held in reserve for the first leg. Caldwell has fallen down the pecking order, while Campbell’s injury history and load management means she is more likely to be used off the bench. Her long throw-ins could be handy with the game in the melting pot.
Hayes and Patten will be nailed on. There were obvious parallels in their post-match interviews on Friday, given neither had personally qualified for a major tournament.
They won’t allow their minds to wander to Switzerland 2025, but both acknowledge that the team’s past experience is a boost.
“It’s great to have those players who have done this before, who have qualified for the World Cup,” said Patten.
“Just (talking) over dinner and lunches and stuff, there has been conversations of how they felt in those moments and how there was calm and they knew what to do and knew their roles.
“Having those players on the pitch and having that… Wales haven’t achieved that. That definitely could give us an advantage on Tuesday. I really rely on the other girls and am grateful for that. I feel at ease and calm, and yeah grateful that I have them around me and have leaders on the pitch.”
Hayes, meanwhile, emphasised the need to block out thoughts of her potential first major tournament but backed Gleeson and her staff to “steer the ship to a place of success”.
“The best thing to do is push it to the back of your head and just think you are going to play a game you play every day with a bunch of pals,” said Hayes.
“Don’t think about it, don’t talk about it, don’t allow yourself to have that conversation, it’s too far into the future. Put your focus in the here and now and that is as complicated as you need to make it.”
Play the game, not the occasion.
With over 23,000 tickets sold, Ireland are confident home advantage can propel them to more history.
Whatever happens, Caitlin Hayes and Anna Patten will be right at the heart of it all this time.
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Anna Patten Caitlin Hayes Changing of the guard Football Ireland WNT Soccer