WORK DONE, MORE to do. That was the overriding message from Carla Ward after Ireland completed the Greek double and made it back-to-back wins for the first time under her watch.
Ireland followed up Friday’s 4-0 win in Crete with a patchy 2-1 victory at Tallaght Stadium tonight; Amber Barrett and Anna Patten with the goals early in each half before the lowly Greeks pulled one back to set up a nervy finish.
Slovenia remain the frontrunners in Nations League B Group 2, but Ireland are firmly in the hunt for promotion.
“Look, I think we were in complete control and then they scored that goal which probably gave us a few nervy minutes,” Ward told her post-match press conference. “I think a little bit of work (is needed) with managing moments.
“But overall, two wins from two, six goals across the two games, we’ve got to take that massive belief and confidence into the final two games.”
Ward is confident Ireland are moving in the right direction, but says improvements are needed on her front-footed, possession-based plan. The former Aston Villa boss is deploying a fluid 4-3-3 system, the team previously playing a back three/five.
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“Anyone that knows me knows I love attacking play, so there is a lot of work still to do. They’ve played a certain way for many, many years so it does take time. But that’s why the two wins are massive.
“I’m that annoying mum, big sister, call it what you want, I’m at them every day. They’re top players, elite players, I believe we can play in that way, it’s just embedding into their heads because they’ve done a lot of defending over the years and it is a little bit different.
“[My philosophy] is exciting to play and exciting to watch — yes, we’ll probably concede some along the way because of the way we play but we’ve got to keep believing, keep moving forward.
“It’s a bigger job (than I expected). It’s a great job, I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s been a challenge because I’m adapting to international football, I’ll make no bones about it. I’m very clear on what I want but it’s different to club football, so I’m adapting as well. It’s a big job. We are learning and growing together. We’re getting there for sure.”
Ward played down the absence of suspended captain and creator-in-chief Katie McCabe tonight. Her left-back replacement Megan Campbell was among the assists; her 50th minute corner headed home by Patten. The other goal was a ninth-minute penalty from Amber Barrett, fortuitously awarded for a foul outside the box.
Set-pieces have been an area of focus, Ward says, with Ireland pleased to have profited from some across the double-header.
“Against Slovenia, we were really disappointing. We had 17 attacking corners and did nothing with them. Mahony [Alan Mahon, assistant head coach] has done a lot of work in the classroom and on the pitch with them. The girls were delighted (to score). I won’t tell you what but he has made a promise to them that every time they score… he is going to be out of pocket, safe to say.”
Player of the Match Aoife Mannion revealed in her TV interview that each goal from a set-piece will lead to a donation to a charity of their choice.
Ward is still targetting automatic promotion to League A, the race for top spot set to come down to a Páirc Uí Chaoimh finale in early June, where Ireland must beat Slovenia by more than four goals.
The runners-up maintain a route to the top tier, via a two-legged play-off against a League A team, and Ward accepts could indeed be a silver lining for her side.
“That might be the case, which would be another couple of competitive games of course but what I will say is, it’s not over til it’s over.
“We have a way, this group will have a way of going out there in Cork, hopefully we get the job done in Türkiye and then hopefully we can go out in Cork and be exciting and front-footed. We’d have to beat them by four. We’ll have a go.”
Greece manager Alexandros Katikaridis, meanwhile, detailed Ward’s request ahead of the May/June window.
“We will all try to get the gift for Ireland. The gift the coach has asked for me is to beat Slovenia,” Katikaridis told his press conference, adding that his side were taken aback by the crowd and atmosphere in Tallaght.
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'They’ve played a certain way for many years so it does take time' - Ireland boss Ward
WORK DONE, MORE to do. That was the overriding message from Carla Ward after Ireland completed the Greek double and made it back-to-back wins for the first time under her watch.
Ireland followed up Friday’s 4-0 win in Crete with a patchy 2-1 victory at Tallaght Stadium tonight; Amber Barrett and Anna Patten with the goals early in each half before the lowly Greeks pulled one back to set up a nervy finish.
Slovenia remain the frontrunners in Nations League B Group 2, but Ireland are firmly in the hunt for promotion.
“Look, I think we were in complete control and then they scored that goal which probably gave us a few nervy minutes,” Ward told her post-match press conference. “I think a little bit of work (is needed) with managing moments.
“But overall, two wins from two, six goals across the two games, we’ve got to take that massive belief and confidence into the final two games.”
Ward is confident Ireland are moving in the right direction, but says improvements are needed on her front-footed, possession-based plan. The former Aston Villa boss is deploying a fluid 4-3-3 system, the team previously playing a back three/five.
“Anyone that knows me knows I love attacking play, so there is a lot of work still to do. They’ve played a certain way for many, many years so it does take time. But that’s why the two wins are massive.
“I’m that annoying mum, big sister, call it what you want, I’m at them every day. They’re top players, elite players, I believe we can play in that way, it’s just embedding into their heads because they’ve done a lot of defending over the years and it is a little bit different.
“[My philosophy] is exciting to play and exciting to watch — yes, we’ll probably concede some along the way because of the way we play but we’ve got to keep believing, keep moving forward.
“It’s a bigger job (than I expected). It’s a great job, I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s been a challenge because I’m adapting to international football, I’ll make no bones about it. I’m very clear on what I want but it’s different to club football, so I’m adapting as well. It’s a big job. We are learning and growing together. We’re getting there for sure.”
Ward played down the absence of suspended captain and creator-in-chief Katie McCabe tonight. Her left-back replacement Megan Campbell was among the assists; her 50th minute corner headed home by Patten. The other goal was a ninth-minute penalty from Amber Barrett, fortuitously awarded for a foul outside the box.
Set-pieces have been an area of focus, Ward says, with Ireland pleased to have profited from some across the double-header.
“Against Slovenia, we were really disappointing. We had 17 attacking corners and did nothing with them. Mahony [Alan Mahon, assistant head coach] has done a lot of work in the classroom and on the pitch with them. The girls were delighted (to score). I won’t tell you what but he has made a promise to them that every time they score… he is going to be out of pocket, safe to say.”
Player of the Match Aoife Mannion revealed in her TV interview that each goal from a set-piece will lead to a donation to a charity of their choice.
Ward is still targetting automatic promotion to League A, the race for top spot set to come down to a Páirc Uí Chaoimh finale in early June, where Ireland must beat Slovenia by more than four goals.
The runners-up maintain a route to the top tier, via a two-legged play-off against a League A team, and Ward accepts could indeed be a silver lining for her side.
“That might be the case, which would be another couple of competitive games of course but what I will say is, it’s not over til it’s over.
“We have a way, this group will have a way of going out there in Cork, hopefully we get the job done in Türkiye and then hopefully we can go out in Cork and be exciting and front-footed. We’d have to beat them by four. We’ll have a go.”
Greece manager Alexandros Katikaridis, meanwhile, detailed Ward’s request ahead of the May/June window.
“We will all try to get the gift for Ireland. The gift the coach has asked for me is to beat Slovenia,” Katikaridis told his press conference, adding that his side were taken aback by the crowd and atmosphere in Tallaght.
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Carla Ward Ireland WNT Reaction