2023 HAS been very kind to both Isibeal Atkinson and Eileen Gleeson.
Atkinson made her Ireland debut back in 2018 during the Colin Bell era.
However, this feels like the year the 22-year-old properly came of age on the international scene.
Of her 12 caps to date, eight were won in the last 12 months.
She was very much a bolter for the World Cup having initially been put on the standby list before making the extended squad and ultimately getting the nod to provide left-sided cover in place of the injured Megan Campbell.
The former Shelbourne player subsequently enjoyed game time at the tournament, coming off the bench against Australia and Canada.
Since former boss Vera Pauw’s departure, Atkinson has remained an important squad member.
She has featured in all five of Ireland’s Nations League games, appearing as a substitute against Hungary away, Northern Ireland home and Albania away, while starting last night at Tallaght and the home fixture against Albania.
In the Women’s Super League too, Atkinson has been making decent progress. Although still invariably used as an impact sub for West Ham, she is well on course to eclipse her total minutes played last season (346 minutes) after featuring in six of their eight games so far (148 minutes).
While not everything came off, there was a real positivity to Atkinson’s play last night, as she regularly tried to take on her opponent.
Speaking afterwards, the Rush native credited interim manager Eileen Gleeson for inspiring this bold approach.
“She just drives us and believes in us,” she told reporters. “We play a lot braver now, we’re a lot more attacking, high press and she just backs us all the way. She’s really helpful, as a player. You know you’re being backed and believed in, so I’ve just had that support. She never doubts us.”
Asked about Gleeson’s biggest strength as a coach, Atkinson continued on a similar theme.
“I would just say her confidence in us,” she replied. “There’s nothing worse than when you make a mistake and get given out to. Especially the type of player I am who loves to take on players. I’m not going to get by them every time even if you want to. So if I don’t get by them, I still get told: ‘Keep going, keep going, keep going.’ It just helps. Instead of getting hauled off or whatever.”
At the World Cup, Atkinson was perceived by some as the backup for Katie McCabe, perhaps including Pauw, who started the Arsenal player at left wing-back in all three games at the tournament.
Last night, admittedly against far inferior opposition than the teams Ireland faced in the summer, Gleeson managed to accommodate both players into the starting XI, with McCabe occupying a more central attacking role not for the first time under the interim manager.
Nevertheless, Atkinson is still relatively inexperienced at this level — a point made by Gleeson afterwards.
“We have to transition different players in, we have to have balance and consistency as well. You might see faces that you’re very familiar with like Izzy who has been around a very long time. But she’s only 22. She’s only joined her first professional club.”
That relative lack of experience perhaps partially explains why it didn’t quite click for the Dubliner against the Hungarians and she has yet to develop a seamless understanding with McCabe.
“I was a bit disappointed with my link-up with her, to be honest, but playing with her is just a dream,” Atkinson added.
“In training, I feel like I’ve been doing really well. Hopefully, on Tuesday, if I get some minutes, I link up better with her.
“I was a bit disappointed personally. Attacking is my best trait and I didn’t feel like I committed too much going forward but I’m just happy for the team that we got the three points.”
In the end, Atkinson was replaced by Lucy Quinn in the 56th minute, prompting McCabe to revert to her role on the left as the Birmingham City player joined Kyra Carusa up top.
Gleeson succinctly explained afterwards: “Katie was central in the two [initially] with the objective of [the team] being higher, and her in a central role. But because we were so deep we didn’t see the benefits of that.
“We had Izzy out wide left, another young player, but when we pulled Katie wide and brought on another centre forward, Lucy, I thought we got better.”
Nonetheless, despite some frustration with her performance, the West Ham starlet was upbeat afterwards and emphasised Gleeson’s relentless positivity.
“I didn’t have a good first half and at half-time, I was still told ‘keep going’. It helps to go back out and to feel confident in the next game even though I didn’t have a good first half.
“I’m just happy that I have the belief behind me here that gives me confidence every time I come into camp.”
For the interim manager, meanwhile, the outlook continues to be very positive.
Whether Ireland can excel against stronger opposition remains an unanswered question, but Gleeson has convincingly passed every test thus far and will be aiming to end 2023 with her 100% record intact, as the Republic play their final match of the campaign away to Northern Ireland on Tuesday.
There is a palpable feel-good factor in the camp — Atkinson is far from the only player in the squad to speak glowingly about the current regime.
But Gleeson has continually played down her aspirations of landing the manager’s job permanently and previously suggested she intends to return to a full-time role as Head of Women and Girls’ Football for the FAI.
Others are sceptical about this stance, such as former Ireland boss Sue Ronan, who recently told RTÉ she would be “surprised” if Gleeson did not want the permanent job.
With a squad who have grown in confidence and developed significantly over the last 12 months — epitomised by the rise of youngsters like Atkinson — if Tuesday does prove to be Gleeson’s last match in the hotseat, she has certainly left the next person in charge in a rather enviable position.
On the other hand, if the former Peamount manager does perform a U-turn on previous implications and stay on in her current role, there are unlikely to be many who quibble with the decision given how swiftly a new, exciting and (most importantly) successful culture has been created within the evolving setup.
