IT’S MORE than a decade since a 17-year-old Denise O’Sullivan announced herself on the international scene with aplomb.
The teenage Corkonian was thrown into the deep end by then-Ireland manager Sue Ronan, who was amply rewarded for the faith shown in the youngster.
O’Sullivan, starting on the right-hand side of midfield on her debut, hit a brace as Ireland got their Euro 2013 qualifying campaign off to the perfect start, beating Wales 2-0 at Newport Stadium on 17 September 2011 in front of a reported attendance of 440 people.
It was a sign of things to come for the prodigious O’Sullivan, who is now 29 and set to win her 100th cap against USA this evening.
Yet while the midfielder has continued to excel for Ireland in the decade-plus since, much has changed around her, on the field and particularly off it, where interest in the Irish women’s team has intensified considerably nearly 12 years on, thanks to greater support from both the media and the FAI, as well as a higher degree of professionalism within the setup.
In addition to Megan Campbell who came off the bench, just three other players who started in Newport that day — Louise Quinn, Diane Caldwell, and Niamh Fahey — remain regulars in Vera Pauw’s squad, though O’Sullivan credits the more experienced players at the time like Ciara Grant, Emma Byrne, and Yvonne Tracy for taking her under their wing.
Despite the impressive showing, O’Sullivan was benched for the next qualifier against France, as Ireland were beaten 3-1 at Turner’s Cross.
“It was only my second game, I was a young kid,” she recalls. “I know I scored two goals [against Wales] but I remember having the conversation with Sue and her saying to me: ‘Look they’re the best team in the world, we don’t want to put you into that kind of high-intensity game yet.’ I was fine hearing that. I did get brought on and she told me I would be brought on. Whatever I needed to do for the team at that moment I was going to do so I wasn’t at all disappointed.”
There is almost no chance of a repeat scenario nowadays.
Since that first unsuccessful campaign, there were four more occasions when O’Sullivan and co fell short in their bid to qualify for a major tournament. So for years, she watched on enviously as clubmates continuously reached these big events while the Irish team were stuck watching from the sofa.
Nonetheless, together with Arsenal star Katie McCabe, arguably no player did more to ensure Ireland finally reached the promised land by booking their ticket to Australia and New Zealand this summer.
The pair were by far Ireland’s most influential players going forward in the qualifying campaign, with the combination of McCabe (7) and O’Sullivan (6) responsible for exactly half of the team’s 26 goals in the group.
In total, O’Sullivan has found the net 18 times for her country — the same number as McCabe — and the duo are crucial in this regard, while the similarly vastly experienced Louise Quinn (101 caps/15 goals) and Aine O’Gorman (115 caps/13 goals) are the only others in the current squad to have reached double figures at international level.
Yet the North Carolina Courage star does not consider this reliance on her decisive goals and outstanding performances to be a burden.
“I’ve been in a lot of pressure moments with club and country and I think it’s something I thrive on,” she told reporters this week. “Being in a World Cup, I’ll just go there with the mindset that I’m going to do everything for my country. I’m going to do everything for this team on the pitch and whether that’s assisting or scoring goals or just putting in the hard work then that’s what I’ll do. There’s not really added pressure going into it.”
Tonight, she will get the opportunity to captain the side on her 100th appearance and lead the team out at the Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.
It will be the fifth time O’Sullivan has faced USA at international level. Two of her NC Courage teammates – Emily Fox and Casey Murphy — are part of the opponents’ squad. The record against the Americans so far is not encouraging: it reads played four, and lost four, with a 15-0 aggregate score.
Yet Pauw’s Ireland are accustomed to bucking trends, with a first-ever World Cup qualification secured last October amid a 1-0 playoff win over Scotland, which O’Sullivan describes as “the best night of my life”.
Moreover, the team are unbeaten in their last nine games and have lost just one of their previous 14 fixtures.
But the US will likely be a step up from almost anything Ireland have faced in the recent past. The current holders are also the most successful team in Women’s World Cup history with four titles. Given their current status as the number-one-ranked side in the world by Fifa, they will likewise be many people’s favourites to prevail again this summer.
However, with Ireland drawn in a group to face Canada (6), hosts Australia (10) and Nigeria (42), it’s unlikely to get much easier in the future and so tonight’s encounter, along with Tuesday’s subsequent game (or the early hours of Wednesday going by Irish time) will serve as vital preparation for the World Cup fixtures.
“I think all of us will be a bit nervous, they are the best team in the world,” says O’Sullivan. “But for me, I’m nervous going into every international game because I love my country so much and I love playing for this team so much.”
Playing on women’s football’s biggest stage will consequently be just reward for one of Ireland’s greatest servants. That said, the nation briefly held its breath recently when the other half of Ireland’s dynamic duo, Katie McCabe, suffered a foot injury that forced her substitution while playing for Arsenal in the Champions League, amid fears her World Cup could be in jeopardy.
It proved a false alarm though, as McCabe was back starting and scoring for the Gunners within a few days.
Still, though, it served as a reminder that avoiding serious injury is paramount with the World Cup so close on the horizon, but O’Sullivan says she won’t be approaching this evening’s game or any other upcoming match in a precautionary manner.
“I’m going out to play for my country and I think the more you think about it, the more you can actually get an injury or pull out of tackles. So that’s not going to be the case. I’m not going to think about that. I’m just going into these games with the mindset of just giving everything for the team and preparing as best we can for the World Cup.”