THE VENUE WAS different but the message, unequivocally and at times emotionally, was the same.
In a press conference room tucked under the grandstand of Austin’s Q2 Stadium, Vera Pauw made her first Stateside stand. As the Ireland manager again passionately refuted the allegations of body-shaming that were levelled at her in last year’s NWSL report, you sense it won’t be her last stand here either.
Pauw didn’t face the grilling that might have been expected by the US media on the eve of Ireland’s friendly against the host nation here in the Texas capital on Saturday. But she used over two-thirds of her 20-minute appearance in a country where she is effectively no longer allowed to work to send a message out.
“These allegations are absolutely ridiculous. I know I find a lot of safety in the truth,” Pauw said. “If I had been a man, who would care about something like this? People would say it’s your task as a coach. It’s absolutely nonsense.”
In hitting out at double standards applied to female and male coaches, pointing to former players who had come to her defence and signalling that she was eager to talk to the NWSL, Pauw wasn’t particularly offering anything new. Instead it was the location that was new — and important.
In perhaps the most striking moment, Pauw spoke of how the report’s findings impacted her in light of the alleged abuse she herself had suffered as a player.
“Can you imagine what that does to a person? Can you feel what it does to a person?” said Pauw. “I have been raped, I have been sexually assaulted. I was the victim of power abuse. I know that I have the power in my hands.”
Midfielder Denise O’Sullivan, who will captain Ireland on her 100th cap on Saturday, was sat alongside Pauw in the press conference. The manager was eventually keen to move the conversation on to the task at hand here in Austin, in St. Louis on Tuesday when they meet the US again — and in Australia this summer.
Arguably Friday’s most consequential news came not from Pauw but from Fifa who cleared midfielder Sinead Farrelly to make her Ireland debut here. The inclusion of the player whose whistleblowing sparked the league-wide NWSL investigation adds another twist. But it’s how it could turn out on the field for Ireland that the manager was focused on.
“Sinead is a player that, like no other in our squad, can make the ball free,” said Pauw as she confirmed Farrelly would start in Austin, where the manager may well go with her strongest XI as she juggles the hectic four days.
“Under pressure she makes the ball free and that gives us a calmness in our play that we needed. Hopefully she brings what we’re looking for to be able to bring more control in our attacking play.”
Farrelly, whose father hails from Cavan and who spent some of her childhood years in Ireland, had been out of the game for almost eight years but the Gotham playmaker has impressed her new teammates this week. O’Sullivan said Farrelly “has been the standout player, to be honest.” Farrelly herself is relishing the moment.
“I’m freaking out a little bit about it,” she said. “What an opportunity. I’m really trying to keep that lens of I really might have the opportunity to do this. It’s an honour to do this and I don’t want to take it for granted. [To] not freak out — that’s the plan.”
For so long, Austin was America’s last great sporting holdout. Soon to be the 10th biggest city in the country, it was a barren land for pro sports with no team from any of the traditional four major leagues: NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Local passions were instead channeled through the varsity teams of the University of Texas.
In 2021 when pro sports did finally arrive the place lived up to its beloved slogan — Keep Austin Weird — and became a soccer city in an instant. Austin FC have sold out Q2 Stadium in the city’s north for every MLS game they’ve played here, boasting the longest streak in the league. By Friday here there was just standing room tickets left for Saturday’s meeting.
The locals may be expecting a show, a flash of excitement after three dull dank days when relentless April storms descended on the place. Ireland’s record against the US would lead them to expect as much. The first five meetings between the sides saw the US score five times in each game, Ireland managing just one consolation.
It hasn’t got much better since: the overall record reads 13 played, 13 lost, 48 conceded, 1 scored. But US manager Vlatko Andonovski insisted Pauw’s side have a whole lot more going for them than previous incarnations.
“Obviously, this is a different Ireland team. They are very organised, very disciplined. They’re hard to score against, only one goal in nine games, which speaks to the difficulties we will have,” he said. “There’s a reason we picked a game like this. We knew it would be tough. that’s what we need.”
Whatever about Pauw’s upcoming dilemmas, Andonovski has plenty of his own. Two-time World Cup winner Julie Ertz has returned from 600 days out of the game during which she had her first child. Once she ramps up, Ertz could add much-needed steel to a midfield that looked soft last autumn when the Americans went on an unprecedented three-match losing streak.
The US players ended Friday’s training session with a penalty shoot-out session, complete with blaring crowd noise piped in. They’re leaving little to chance in pursuit of another World Cup. Andonovski though has plenty of eyes on the opposition midfield too. When asked to identify the biggest threat Ireland pose over the next four days, he didn’t miss a beat.
“That’s not hard to predict — obviously McCabe is an amazing player. Her ability to break defence and to find players in dangerous moments are tremendous,” he said before turning to the Ireland captain’s stand-in. “Then Denise, she’s an engine for the team. The way that we describe Denise is as a player that any team would love to have. They are two great individuals but a great team as a collective too.”