LAST NIGHT WAS The Katie McCabe Show at Tallaght Stadium.
Three goals, two assists and another sublime Player of the Match performance in Ireland’s 5-1 Uefa Women’s Nations League Group B1 win over Albania.
Kyra Carusa bagged a brilliant brace and Diane Caldwell won her 100th cap — but McCabe’s wand of a left foot grabbed the headlines.
Her right arm did come in for some attention afterwards, having worn a sleeve all week.
LeBron James inspired or something else?
“Can I say about me injury?” McCabe asked her FAI media handler.
“I tore me tricep basically so it’s not great.
“I couldn’t take throw-ins. Pretty sore yeah, it’s a big tear.”
She sustained the injury in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Bristol City in the Women’s Super League on Sunday. McCabe scored both goals, the 2023 Ballon d’Or Féminin nominee enjoying a rich vein of form for club and country.
The Ireland captain handed Caldwell the armband for the night as she hit the century, but she wasn’t leaving Tallaght without the match ball.
Her brace lit up a sub-par first half from Eileen Gleeson’s side, and she relentlessly chased her hat-trick through a much-improved second period.
That mission was accomplished in the 81st minute, with two assists to boot.
Not a bad night at the office.
The chant that rang out in the closing minutes said it all, the Arsenal fan favourite finding its way to Dublin.
We’ve got McCabe
(Who?)
Katie McCabe.
I just don’t think you understand.
She plays out on the wing.
She hits it with a zing.
We’ve got Katie McCabe!
Different class.
But always about the team.
special night in tallaght ☘️☘️☘️ pic.twitter.com/sbAuYFEydf
— Katie McCabe (@Katie_McCabe11) October 27, 2023
“I love playing in Tallaght, it’s my hometown,” McCabe beamed, her second international hat-trick bringing her tally to 25 goals in 79 caps.
“I’d my family in the crowd, walked out with my niece tonight. To score a hat-trick is terrific, but just to score a goal for your country is an unbelievable feeling, so I’m very lucky to have scored three tonight.
“I can’t do any of those things without the girls at the back winning balls back and doing the hard yards. I obviously played a lot higher today so I was able to get shots away.
“It took me three attempts [for the hat-trick]. I was getting annoyed! Sometimes when you try too hard it never comes, I tried to relax a bit.”
Through the Vera Pauw Era, McCabe generally played left-wing back. Towards the end of her tenure, her frustration at being regimented was clear for all to see and she has enjoyed a new lease of life in the green jersey of late.
In last month’s wins over Northern Ireland and Hungary, the 28-year-old Kilnamanagh native was deployed as a wide player, but she was more central and advanced against Albania, released by Izzy Atkinson to join Carusa in the front two.
McCabe typically hit the ground running. Having threatened from a corner early doors, it took just four minutes for her to open her account. Her first touch almost got away from her as she got on the end of Abbie Larkin’s cross, before she lifted the ball over Viona Rexhepi to get her side off the mark.
The second goal came amidst the second phase of a Megan Connolly corner and was a mixture of skill and strength as she shook off Albanian equaliser Megi Doci, set herself up on the edge of the box and fired home with the aid of a wicked deflection.
The third? “A banger,” Gleeson grinned afterwards, referencing the well-worn phrase associated with her skipper. It was a beautifully-curled free-kick from 25 yards.
Ireland 5-1 Albania: Katie McCabe completes her hat-trick with a wonderfully struck free-kick. Three goals, two assists, just another day at the office for the Ireland captain. #IRLALB
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 27, 2023
📱 Updates: https://t.co/Sv9MTe8Bdn
📺 Watch live: https://t.co/JYf06csaIG pic.twitter.com/TgMXRNsgFV
“Katie McCabe scores bangers, but we will take them whatever way they come. Great performance. Three goals, two assists, you have to be happy with that.”
“She just had a complete performance in everything she did,” Caldwell added, “in scoring, combining the play and finishing the play, leading the team… even though she didn’t have the armband on, she still had a captain’s performance. She’s fantastic and a key, world-class player. It lifts us all.”
The assists were delicious. McCabe was delighted with them too, eventually deciding the first one was better than the second.
The cream of the crop was a remarkable breakaway run from right-back; the ball stolen and hapless Albanian players ghosted past before Carusa was sent on her way. Three minutes later, the ball was put on the US-born striker’s head after a trademark cross from the left.
Ireland 3-1 Albania: Katie McCabe is involved once again, leading a fine counter-attack before playing the ball in for Kyra Carusa to add the third goal. . #IRLALB
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 27, 2023
📱 Updates: https://t.co/pHFgp6djwx
📺 Watch live: https://t.co/JYf06csaIG pic.twitter.com/bQD6TcOW9e
The pair linked up well, and McCabe had some kind words for her partner-in-crime on the scoresheet afterwards.
“Kyra brings so much energy, she’s a fantastic person and a fantastic player. She’s got such a good attitude off the ball, so confident and kind of breeds confidence throughout the team. I’m really happy for her, because that No. 9 role, it could have been anyone’s over the last few years but I really feel she’s made it her own.
“She loves to come in short, even tonight, I can go deep and make the runs and try and work off each other. She’s a fantastic player and she’s done really well over in San Diego Wave. elighted for her two goals, we want our No. 9 scoring goals.”
The No. 11 will continue to do that anyway, the squad’s top-scorer now six clear of Denise O’Sullivan.
Her focus will be on scoring more bangers away to Albania on Halloween Night and helping her team to promotion to League A — and eventually Euro 2025.
That even supersedes the Ballon d’Or ceremony, which takes place in Paris on Monday.
One of 30 nominated for the prestigious accolade, McCabe won’t dwell on it too much with pre-match preparation the focal point, but she does acknowledge this glittering period in her career.
“It’s really nice. For me, I’m really enjoying my football at the minute.
“I want to put Irish football on the map and I feel we’ve done that, we’ve got girls playing all over the world, which is a fantastic thing. The Irish are able to take part.
“But the main goal is obviously the Euros in 2025 and these games are building momentum towards that and really trying to build a structure and a way of playing, just continuing to build towards that.”
Again, it always comes back to the team.
But the Katie McCabe Show returns in three days’ time. Watch this space.