LUCY QUINN AGAIN trumped her partner Rebecca Holloway as the Republic of Ireland beat Northern Ireland 6-1 at Windsor Park.
Quinn became the first Irishwoman to score an international goal at the Aviva Stadium when Ireland won 3-0 in September, and she repeated a trick by opening the scoring in Belfast this evening.
The visitors ultimately powered to a clean sweep of Group B1 of the Uefa Nations League, ending 2023 – and Eileen Gleeson’s reign as interim head coach – on a high.
Birmingham City attacker Quinn and Holloway, who plays her football with Racing Louisville in the NWSL Stateside, spoke publicly of their relationship in an interview with the BBC this week.
“It’s a competitive game and you want each other to go out and do well,” Quinn said after Tuesday’s game, which both players started.
“She’s probably annoyed with me but that’s football and that’s what we signed up for.
“She’s back now, [Racing Louisville] are in their off-season, so I’m hoping it won’t be too hostile at home.
“We’ll just have to celebrate the small wins when we get them.”
It was an historic occasion in Belfast as Amhrán na bhFiann was played at Windsor Stadium for the very first time. A respectful affair unfolded, with six different Irish players scoring and Kerry Beattie on target for the North.
“In my opinion, football is football, we all love it and it brings people together,” Quinn said.
“You want to have those little rivalries because it makes things exciting. Both teams have gone out there and made their fans proud which is what you always want to do so I just really enjoyed that.”
The 30-year-old, who also assisted Heather Payne on the night, returned to the starting XI following a substitute appearance against Hungary on Friday.
After seeing her prospects hampered by injury in the previous camp, and amidst growing competition for places, Quinn was pleased to take her chance when it arrived.
“I’m really proud of myself for being able to find the back of the net and starting a little bit of run and momentum that helped us get a second goal quite quickly.
“You want it to be competitive because you want to get the best out of yourself each and every time. There’s no room for complacency in this squad. All the girls are so amazing and so important.
“We miss it when people aren’t there but when you are given an opportunity like I was today, you have to do the best you can with it because it’s competitive and you never know how many times you’ll get to put on the shirt.”
Quinn also had a word for Eileen Gleeson and her staff, with the interim head coach set to make way for Vera Pauw’s permanent successor this side of Christmas.
“The campaign has just really been enjoyable. We came back from the World Cup and there’s a bit of a comedown, you can’t lie, you’ve come from one of the best experiences of your life and you have to find a way to go again. And I think all of the staff, no matter what job it is, we pulled together, we wanted to progress and that’s what we’ve done.
“I’m looking forward to a Christmas break, sit down and think about the campaign, probaly watch the matches back and think about what I could have done better. Football is football, it moves quickly, and I have to see what’s next really.”