COURTNEY BROSNAN HAS been rewarded for her remarkable Ireland rise with the Senior Women’s International Player of the Year award.
That she pipped captain and world-class left-sided star Katie McCabe and defensive stalwart Louise Quinn to the prize speaks volumes.
For Brosnan, it’s always about the team, but the Everton goalkeeper takes great satisfaction from winning the prestigious individual accolade at last night’s 33rd FAI International Awards.
“Really, really proud moment for me and for my family. I’m really grateful to be a part of this group and to be able to put on this shirt. It’s unbelievable for me, it’s kind of hard to describe how much it means to me.”
The US-born shot-stopper has essentially personified the Girls In Green’s recent journey.
From high-profile individual errors and failed qualification bids, to a heroic penalty save in the World Cup play-off at Hampden Park amidst a run of seven clean sheets in-a-row, it’s been a rollercoaster.
And now Brosnan and co. are preparing for their first-ever major tournament. It’s beginning to hit home, a real buzz in the air.
“Coming into camp, it’s been a bit more real than it has been,” Brosnan explains. “We’ve been waiting for so long, everyone’s starting to get that feeling that the World Cup is right around the corner.
“It’s about building on everything that we did but not dwelling on it. That should give us confidence to continue to build and put in performances for the summer. We know what we’re capable of, but we’re not going to be satisfied with that. We obviously want to do well this summer and continue to build. That’s really important for us.”
With an extended group training away, the serious business begins against Zambia tomorrow [KO 7.30pm, live on RTÉ 2].
It’s the first of two sold-out friendlies at Tallaght Stadium across two weeks, Vera Pauw naming her final squad (23 plus three training players) at the mid-point next Thursday.
Speaking at last Friday’s open training session at the UCD Bowl, Brosnan addressed the nervous excitement within the squad as the countdown to Australia continues.
“You can see the support and the fans here and to have that also at the games before we go off to the World Cup will be really special for us. It’s important prep. The country is really proud of us and we want to show them some good football and get ready to play this summer.
“We know how strong of a squad we have here and how fierce the competition is. Everyone knows that’s part of this top sport in international football, so it’s something that we deal with.”
The 27-year-old New Jersey native is constantly doing just that, forced to fight for consistent club gametime as she shares the Toffees’ goalkeeping duties with England U23 star Emily Ramsey.
It’s understood Brosnan is out of contract this summer, but she insists all of that is parked with full focus on the World Cup, and she’s pleased with her club exploits through the build-up.
“I think it was a great season for me personally and for the team obviously,” she concludes. “A bit up and down, but I think it was great for me to get the minutes that I wanted coming into this summer.
“Training with Emily, she’s a great goalkeeper and I think that’s been pushing me as well to be on the top of my game, whether I was playing or whether I wasn’t. I was happy to get some minutes, we did pretty well in the league as well so it was great prep for the summer for sure.”
Onwards and upwards.
The rise continues.
