STEPHANIE ROCHE INSISTS there should be no fears about Katie McCabe losing her cool when Ireland’s vital World Cup play-off comes around next month.
Vera Pauw’s side have been handed a tough away tie against either Scotland or Austria, who meet on 6 October, as they attempt to create history with a first qualification for a major tournament.
The Ireland captain admitted she had been “kicked up and down the pitch” during the recent 1-0 win away to Slovakia which secured safe passage to the second round of the play-off system.
And while Roche believes the Arsenal star has no issue dealing with such rough treatment at this stage of her career, she still needs to remain vigilant to the dark arts.
“Katie is obviously used to it in terms of playing for Arsenal or Ireland. She is one of the better players on the pitch and you are always going to try and stop them playing well.
“Slovakia did well against Denise [O’Sullivan] as well to try and stop her getting any space in the midfield. There is no denying that Denise and Katie have been excellent for Ireland so they are going to just have to get used to dealing with that.
“My worry against Slovakia was Katie getting injured and maybe getting involved in something that she didn’t have to get involved in. She could try and protect herself a little bit, particularly in a game where you’re winning, not to get involved in certain things.
“But she’s a good enough player to know how to handle herself and hopefully against Austria or Scotland she can produce the magic again.
“Katie is never going to shy away from getting on the ball, she’s one of our main players and she showed in that game that she constantly wanted to get on the ball and looked to make things happen.
“I think it’s more so the afters not to get involved in, if someone wants to wind you up. The last thing you need is getting cards so it’s just handling that.
“I don’t think Katie will ever shy away from getting on the ball and wanting to show what she can do. It’s just the other stuff and I think she handled herself quite well against Slovakia.”
While are Ireland ranked 26th in FIFA’s world rankings, below both Austria (20) and Scotland (23), Roche reckons the form of Pauw’s side means they will be feared in the play-off.
“I don’t think anybody would really want to get Ireland. Look at the way they’ve performed in the group, they played well against the big teams like Sweden and Finland, they beat Finland twice wand to go to Sweden and play the way they did is great too.
“So look, I don’t think many teams will want to play Ireland. They know we’re a tough team to play against and that there is always that resilience and pride and not wanting to concede goals, and we have those players capable of producing a bit of magic as well.
“Any team looking forward to the next round probably wouldn’t want Ireland so that’s a positive as well. That shows how far we’ve come as a team.”
Pauw’s preparations are already underway and Roche doesn’t believe the Ireland boss will stray too far from a successful formula.
“If you look at how Ireland have played throughout the campaign, in the Slovakia game recently we tried to play the same way we did against Finland and it was maybe a different kind of game,” she explained.
“I think we’re a better team when we try and stay compact and play on the break. That seems to be the way Vera has wanted to play throughout the campaign; we have players with pace up top and it’s kind and of that long ball into space to get us up the pitch quickly.
“I think that would suit us against Austria or Scotland. It’s good to have loads of possession and look to try and play but at times I don’t know if that suits the way we play.
“Particularly when the game plan seems to be to get if forward as quickly as possible and get bodies in the box to try and create something.
“So maybe against Scotland or Austria that could be a good tactic that might work for us.”
Just Eat ambassador and Irish international footballer Stephanie Roche pictured at the launch of Just Eats Hits the Spot Challenge in Dublin City University. Just Eat are a proud partner of the UEFA Champions League. For further information and dates of the Just Eat Hits the Spot Challenge College Roadshow, visit please visit just-eat.ie/info/terms-and-conditions.
