AFTER THEIR WORLD Cup opener against Australia, Ireland’s players grew in confidence, given they went toe-to-toe with one of the contenders for the tournament on home soil.
Although there are hints they might throw the shackles off a little in their upcoming matches against Canada and Nigeria, they haven’t completely disowned the tactics that got them to their first major tournament.
“Maybe it’s not the prettiest of football that people have seen, they might be chatting about that, but for me it was exciting, it was end-to-end, it was transitional,” Louise Quinn told reporters in Sydney post-game.
“There is so much for us to take into Canada,” she added. “They need to hopefully watch out for us.”
As the stalwart centre back, Quinn is arguably as important to Ireland as Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan, particularly for the tactics that Vera Pauw asks her team to deploy.
But within the system, even the more offensive minded players become defenders.
After McCabe and O’Sullivan, Sinead Farrelly – a footballer’s footballer – is perhaps the next best example. Playing on the right in midfield, she was more often seen providing a supporting role to Heather Payne at right back. (Payne was fruitlessly targeted as a potential weak spot by the Australians.)
“In my position, I want to be on the ball,” explains Farrelly in an interview with travelling reporters in Brisbane, where the team returned to base the day after the game in Sydney.
“I want to be more offensive but we are all playing selfless roles and we need to do what we are told and what the team needs.”
There were glimpses of that creative flair, despite the job at hand.
RTÉ Soccer / Twitter
RTÉ Soccer / Twitter / Twitter
“I don’t respect where I am on the field,” she laughs when asked about a first-half move where she backheeled the ball to Payne on her own line.
“I am just going to play how I am – even in our own box. To me, it was problem solving. Cortnee Vine, I think, was on me so I backheeled because Heather was there and I knew she could clear it out.
“We got the ball out, so that worked. It could have backfired but my brain does not think that way.
That is me playing instinctively and that is when I play my best.”
She said the game was one of two halves, with the first evidently being more defensive. Once Australia scored through a penalty in the 52nd minute, Ireland had to “go at them”, she said.
Farrelly though was substituted at about 63 minutes, so her replacement Abbie Larkin was central to that attack and the myriad chances created.
But there was little sign of frustration from Farrelly – just hints at taking the game to Canada more than they did with Australia.
“We have come out of it with more confidence and more belief in ourselves. We are going after wins in the next two games,” she says during the interview in the team’s hotel.
“I believe in this team so much and I know if we all come together, we can beat and face any opponent,” she adds, looking forward to their next game in Perth on Wednesday.
“Canada is a great team. I know some of the individuals but that does not correlate [to being a better team], everyone has to play as a team together.
“The best team can win and will win. I trust we have to come together. We are going for the win. I am excited about that.”
90-minute player?
Farrelly returned to professional football after a seven-year hiatus in April this year so her minutes on the field have been limited with both Ireland and her club NY/NJ Gotham.
But she feels she is ready to play a full 90 minutes again.
“I’m definitely ready,” she responds when asked the question about her ability to play for longer than 50/60 minutes. “My heart is in it to give my all whatever that means. As a player, you always want to play as many minutes as you can. But it’s not like my decision at the end of the day. So I just have to surrender to that.”
She notes that she did play a full game with her club in the US before joining the camp in Dublin back in June.
But she concedes, it does depend on the game.
“I think I’m there honestly… Sometimes you’re doing so much more running and sometimes when you’re more defensive you’re holding more. You can never say but I feel ready.”
Farrelly’s journey back to the sport is well documented. After retiring early, aged just 27 in 2016, she disappeared entirely from the game. Then in September 2021, her name was everywhere – as one of two original whistleblowers which would lead to systemic problems, misconduct and abuse in US women’s soccer being exposed.
Farrelly alleged that her long-time coach Paul Riley had sexually coerced her. Although he denied the allegations, an independent review found patterns of behaviour which had been reported to various officials over the years of his involvement in the sport. The NWSL has permanently banned him from coaching in the league.
In the aftermath, Farrelly is in a constant battle with her feelings around football. And the World Cup has not changed that.
“I am enjoying it as much as I can,” she says. “I know this is a special moment and it means a lot and I just feel really grateful to be here and to have the opportunity.
“There were so many years where this did not feel possible. I am in awe of that. Again it is a lot of emotions. It cannot be one at a time, it comes in little pieces.”
But she is candid about the darker side of her reaction to returning to the game.
“I was so nervous and filled with a lot of fear and had a lot of anxiety so I think that clouds [the enjoyment] sometimes,” she says of the build-up to the first game.
“I was trying my best to be present. I really want to enjoy every moment of this. There are a lot of layers to this and a lot of emotions. It is not as easy as that sometimes – although I wish it was.
“When the game started I was fine but for 24 hours before it I was physically ill. I did not feel good. I was just trusting when the whistle blew I would be ok. That is all I could hope for.”
She says that writing in her journal, praying and reading the Bible are among “every technique under the sun” she’s tried to make herself feel better.
“After the [Australia] game I wrote in the journal for a long time,” she explains. “It’s really helpful for me to do – almost affirmation – at times. Because my mind will lie to me and tell me, ‘You know it’s your fault the team lost’ or something. So I just have to write over and over again. It’s not your fault we lost! It’s not your fault we lost!
“It’s almost like I’m in a constant battle with myself… And I’ve made a lot of progress but when you’re fighting against the way your brain has worked for decades, it just takes a little bit of time.
“I know by now that I can’t give those thoughts space. I have to immediately contrast them with a positive, or the opposite of them. Sometimes I will just write the same thing over and over again. And it will just relieve that illusion I have and that will help.”
The dynamics of the squad is also something she is leaning on.
Despite only joining the national team in April for the first time, she feels part of the Republic of Ireland mission.
“The biggest thing for me is the team, the girls. And they’re so amazing, and so welcoming. I want to play for them and make them proud. Those are the people that are like on the field and on the pitch doing that work. And those are the most important relationships to me. And so the fact that those are strong, and that I feel so supported there, just trumps everything else.”
Her midfield partner Denise O’Sullivan is someone she can look to not just for that support, but also inspiration as a player who deals with pressure in an entirely different manner.
“Before the game, I checked in with her and asked her how she was feeling, and she was like ‘I’m so excited!’ I’m like, ‘That’s so awesome. Give me some of that!’ It helps so much and team sport is amazing like that. I would crumble if I was out there on my own.
“I’ve said this before, that the only reason I am here is because of other people. And so to have the people around me who are so strong and so excited, who are going to fight for you, and you know Denise will just call for the ball. And even if she makes a mistake, she will call for it again. It is so inspiring.
And it’s also a very stable force to have around when you’re feeling fragile and so yeah she’s just amazing.”
During her time at Portland Thorns, Farrelly played with Canada’s captain Christine Sinclair, who at age 40 is playing in her sixth World Cup, but she would not be drawn too much on Ireland’s next opponents.
“I haven’t been focusing too much on them, we’re just going to show up and go at it,” she said.
Returning to her words about last Thursday’s opener, she said: “The game was incredible. The fans were amazing. It was like a movie walking out of the tunnel into the whole crowd. It is a bummer to lose. We could have got a result out of that game.”
The message since last Thursday is consistent – we could have and should have got at least a point from Australia; we need a win against Canada and we’re going for it; there are no more moral victories.
Ireland take on Canada in the second Group B game on Wednesday at 8pm local time, 1pm Irish time. Sinéad O’Carroll and Emma Duffy are in Australia reporting for The Journal and The 42.
