SAVANNAH MCCARTHY’S TWEET following the Republic of Ireland’s international friendly win over Australia on Tuesday night said it all:
“Been a long five years but delighted to be back involved with the girls,” the Galway WFC defender wrote. “Great performance all round, big thanks to our fans amazing from start to finish.”
McCarthy ended a lengthy wait for a sixth senior international cap by starting for the Vera Pauw’s side and putting in a massive shift in defence.
One particular highlight was a double-block on the goal-line, denying two big chances; that cameo highlighting her strength and tenacity.
“The last time I played was in 2016 so it was good to be back in,” she said afterwards. “It was a long time, the main thing for me was to work hard at my club, train hard every week and wait for the opportunity and thankfully Vera trusted me.
“I was always hopeful I could get back in, I felt if you were playing well for your club Vera would be watching and your chance would come and that’s what happened.”
Been a long 5 years but delighted to be back involved with the girls . Great performance all round big thanks to our fans amazing from start to finish 🇮🇪☘️💚 pic.twitter.com/FQgxpoa4GP
— Savannah McCarthy (@SavannaMc3) September 22, 2021
The Kerry native, who returned to the Women’s National League [WNL] in 2018 after a short stint with Glasgow City, was delighted to play a central role in ending a seven-game winless streak.
And they did so in style against the Matildas in their final run-out before their 2023 World Cup qualifying campaign belatedly opens next month and against top-class opposition.
“It was brilliant, the most important thing was the win,” 24-year-old McCarthy, who has also played for Cork City recently, added.
We were just concentrating on our own game, going out there to put on a good performance, especially with the fans back, they were our 12th man and really pushed us all the way.
“We conceded two and we could have done better but to score three was brilliant. We will look back and see where we can do better and bring that into the qualifiers.”
The victory over high-flying Australia, ranked 22 places above them in the Fifa World Rankings, comes as a massive shot in the arm and confidence boost before the Road to Australia and New Zealand 2023 begins.
The Girls In Green are in Group A, and open their qualifying bid against heavyweights Sweden, who are ranked second in the world, on 21 October. They then face second seeds Finland in a hugely important clash a few short days later, with Slovakia and Georgia also in their pool.
“It’s amazing but we needed that, we knew we needed a win to take into the qualifiers. Australia are unbelievable, you could see the other night they are a very good team, but we showed we can compete with anyone once we put our minds to it.
They are a brilliant side, you can see why they are 11th ranked, they’re not there for no reason. Sweden next will be tough but this was as good a test as you can get. We got the win and [if] we take that confidence into the next month, we won’t fear anyone.”
Listowel star McCarthy hailed the “younger players” in the squad who are really making their mark and their newest star, Lucy Quinn, who was “exceptional” on her debut after declaring for Ireland.
English-born Quinn, likewise, was pleased to play her part in snapping the losing streak.
“That’s something that I was aware of. I know the girls have been working really hard and haven’t necessarily got what they deserved out of those games. It’s definitely a run that we wanted to end tonight. The win was the most important thing, so just over the moon that we got that as a team.”
