CHANNEL 7 VIEWERS in Australia last night would have heard the presenter ask her pundits if the Republic of Ireland women’s national team had announced themselves on the world stage.
Elise Kellond-Knight, the injured Matildas star, responded that even prior to kick-off, she believed the girls in green would be Australia’s “hardest game”.
Australians tuning in on TV were not the only people being introduced to Katie McCabe and her teammates though.
RTÉ says that, despite the commentary and other hiccups, 360,000 people streamed the game on RTÉ Player – a figure second only to the Argentina-France final in the 2022 Fifa Men’s World Cup in December.
Many of those 360,000 – along with people who switched over to ITV due to the technical issues – would have been seeing this Irish team play for the first time – and while the result didn’t go the way they’d have liked, they did receive the true version of Vera Pauw’s side, warts and all.
But if the reaction of the Australians, and the travelling Irish fans at the stadium, was reflected back home – the introduction would have gone well.
Although the brand of defensive football that Pauw’s charges play is not without its critics, the honesty of the execution is always admirable.
While trying to avoid any moral victory argument, there was plenty on display for the Irish public to fall in love with – or at least come back for a second date.
The unintended charm offensive began with the belting out of the national anthem by each and every player, culminating in a TV shot of veteran Áine O’Gorman looking deliriously happy, soaking in the atmosphere created by the 75,000-strong crowd.
She invoked memories of that other great team of women, the Hockey World Cup finalists of 2018 who delighted the country five years ago in London as their bright eyes and wide smiles replaced the steely (often boring) focus we have become accustomed to in our sports people.
But the seriousness did come once the whistle blew and one of the first questions dispelled was whether Ireland’s supposed physicality had been overblown given the abandoned game against Colombia and Pauw’s ‘fear in their eyes’ comment.
Viewers at home would have been engrossed in the battle between McCabe and Hayley Raso which was described as ‘spicy’ in the Australian commentary boxes. Although Ruesha Littlejohn’s tackles were well timed and within the rules, they still made the press box flinch, while Niamh Fahey played like someone who wanted to make clear she was no whipping girl for nobody.
Of course most football fans like to see pretty play, but if that’s not consistently in the arsenal, good ol’ fashioned battling is a decent second best.
Pauw likes to call Denise O’Sullivan a ‘tough cookie’ and the moniker suits most days. There was no hint of the shin injury which had her in a boot last week and her play – particularly in the first half – spotlighted why we were all so anxious about that same boot.
It’s hard to know which of the two now-household names are more important – McCabe or O’Sullivan. All that should be said on the matter is to hope there is never going to be any way to find out.
Although there has never been much chat of silky play by Ireland, an O’Sullivan flick and a deft backheel on her own line by Sinéad Farrelly offered glimpses of magic for the purists out there.
But there were two other standouts if we widen our lens to the big picture of public sentiment.
On Wednesday — or Match Day-1 as they say in Fifa parlance — Australian coach Tony Gustavsson told reporters that he had an ‘in-game plan’ to target behaviours and weaknesses in a couple of specific Irish players to ensure goals came his team’s way.
It was oddly specific despite the fact he didn’t name names.
Within three minutes of kick-off, a hunch that he meant Heather Payne in her right-back position was confirmed.
It will be impossible to ever know if Payne identified herself in his comments, but either way she stepped up to the challenge.
She survived the onslaught – with excellent support from Farrelly in front and Fahey alongside her – by keeping calm, recovering even if the ball bypassed her and getting at least a toe on absolutely everything.
It was a performance that showed strength of character, mind and body – what more can you ask of your sporting representatives?
While Payne had to struggle with demons past, Abbie Larkin was only looking to the future.
The 18-year-old Dubliner was the brightest Irish spark of the evening, entering the fray after 63 minutes. While she stood on the sideline awaiting her World Cup debut, she beamed up at Lucy Quinn and then Farrelly who was making way for her.
The Shamrock Rovers player’s relaxed disposition carried her through a wonderful 35 minutes or so of play, during which she won corners, created chances and, we’d wager, impressed some foreign clubs.
Larkin, a star in the making, in a team that is pushing for beloved status back home.
Let’s return to Kellond-Knight’s summation of Ireland. “When we got the draw, I thought, ‘Ireland are going to be our most difficult challenge’,” she told Channel 7 viewers.
“They are so hard to break down… the way that we play our football, it’s a really challenging game for us. I think Nigeria will have a hard time against it. I think Canada will have a hard time against it. So yeah, they may end up finishing second [in Group B].”
Plenty of more opportunities to fall in love with this group.
