EILEEN GLEESON SPRUNG a surprise in her first game as permanent Republic of Ireland women’s head coach.
When the team news landed from Florence on Friday, the usual back three/five was expected. It looked like the returning Niamh Fahey, Caitlin Hayes and Jessie Stapleton would be the centre-halves, with Katie McCabe and Heather Payne playing as wing-backs.
But Gleeson switched it up with a flat four: the “versatile” Stapleton pushed into midfield on her first start, with Fahey and Hayes forming the central defensive partnership in the absence of Louise Quinn as she returns from a shoulder injury. They were flanked by Payne on the right and world-class left-sided star McCabe in a 4-4-1-1.
Through her interim reign in the Uefa Nations League, Gleeson had stuck with the three/five her predecessor Vera Pauw was wedded to, while overseeing a more front-footed style.
At the World Cup last summer, Pauw offered reasoning for her defensive set-up:
“You do realise that we have to play five at the back? That is our biggest problem. Why? Because we have fantastic defenders but they are not the quickest.”
Gleeson’s tactical change-up worked quite well as Ireland held Italy — 10 places above them in the Fifa World Rankings — to a 0-0 draw. The Girls In Green even had a goal chalked off due to a borderline offside call on Leanne Kiernan.
Fahey, who was named Player of the Match after a solid performance, responded to her former manager’s comments afterwards, effectively saying that game intelligence beats speed.
Her team-mates also spoke positively of the formation shake-up afterwards, with Gleeson repeatedly promoting adaptability in her post-match interviews.
Wales come to Tallaght Stadium tomorrow night for another friendly, and it will be interesting to see how Ireland set up. Gleeson wasn’t willing to disclose whether she will continue with the change of formation in her pre-match press conference this morning, instead focusing on the tactical evolution of the team.
“It’s a change of formation from what we used in the Nations League but what we talk about here is about being adaptable, occupying space and not getting fixated on one particular formation. We have different squad players with different attributes, we have different opposition, we want to be able to adapt quickly.
“If we need a three, if we need a five, we can go to a four, that’s what we tested out against Italy and I felt the girls did really well in that.”
What about McCabe’s verdict? The Arsenal star’s positioning is a constant source of debate. Many argue that she is most effective higher up the pitch and more centrally for Ireland, but she generally excels anywhere on the left. She has mostly played in defence for the Gunners of late, deployed even as a right-back in recent fixtures.
Left wing-back is where McCabe spent most of the Pauw era, but in reality, she was pinned much further back than that. She spoke about feeling “regimented” in a defensive role, and her frustration was clear for all to see towards the end of the previous regime.
But today, she reflected positively on her left-back post against Italy, saying it was “refreshing”.
“As Eileen said, it’s important for us to play around with these new formations. We’ve been playing in a five back for a long time now, and Eileen has obviously looked at changing it up. We’ve new personnel coming in, different players can play in different positions.
“I was really happy going in and playing in the four back. Especially in the first half, at times I thought we pressed really well and we built up from the back really well and we got through the Italians and kind of nice spaces between the lines, with the midfielders and the 10, it was really refreshing for me to be honest — I said it at the end of the game to the girls.”
Both McCabe and Gleeson stressed the limited period of contact time in camps while trying to tactically evolve. Ireland convened in Florence last Monday, but players are generally on differing schedules so pitch time with a full complement is at a premium.
“It’s a short window,” McCabe added. “You’re learning new ways of pressing and building up and finding yourself in different spaces that we wouldn’t usually be used to but I thought the girls executed it excellently.
“We were only missing that goal that was disallowed off Leanne. It’s really positive and there is lots to build on for tomorrow.”
This is “100%” the most competitive squad McCabe has been involved in — “You see the levels have just gone up a notch each time we come into camp” — with another headache awaiting Gleeson against Wales tomorrow. Then it’s onto the Euro 2025 qualifiers in April, with the draw slated in for next Tuesday.
In all, the final third needs more work. Ireland offered little in attack in the opening half in Florence, aside from an early Kyra Carusa chance which went a-begging. There was some positive build-up play but the last pass often went astray, and with McCabe at left-back and Denise O’Sullivan out injured, Ireland lacked a real creative spark and struggled to click.
Jess Ziu and Izzy Atkinson showed flashes of promise on the flanks, while Stapleton and Megan Connolly kept a foothold in midfield in the absence of O’Sullivan, Sinéad Farrelly, Tyler Toland and Jamie Finn.
Itwas a frustrating night for Carusa, while Ruesha Littlejohn had a baptism of fire in the 10. Kiernan and Amber Barrett made their respective impacts felt as second-half substitutes, combining brilliantly for the offside goal. Meanwhile, newly-declared striker Emily Murphy will be itching for her first cap.
“A bit more quality in the final third, that would be an area we would like to focus on,” Gleeson concluded. “But a very positive performance.
“When you change a team, you always have things that you need to work on and the girls will agree. If we can be a bit more clinical up there, make sure we’re testing the goalkeeper when we do get into these attacking positions, make sure we’re getting something in the attacking third.”
“I didn’t feel like we were out of place,” McCabe added. “Italy had their chances at times, but so did we. We looked at being a bit more clinical in the final third and making Italy defend more but we’re not going to get it right, obviously, in the first game of changing formation. There’ll be stuff to improve on.
“It was really enjoyable, honestly. Just new pictures, new conversation post-game when we’re looking at where we can do better with players. For me, personally, I really enjoyed it. We’ll see how we set up tomorrow.”
