Colin Bell’s Republic of Ireland side go into this evening’s World Cup qualifier in Tallaght full of confidence.
Unbeaten in their three away fixtures to date, a tally of seven points leaves them joint-top of Group 3 with the highly-fancied Netherlands. Their last run out, the 0-0 draw against the European champions in Nijmegen, has further fuelled the belief that a place in next year’s World Cup finals in France is very much achievable.
A win over a Slovakia team ranked 47th in the world (Ireland are currently 18 places above their opponents) would illustrate just how far this team has come over the past 12 months.
This time last year there were fears that the upcoming friendly with the Slovaks would be boycotted. More than a dozen members of the team went public, angered at their treatment by the FAI.
Eventually a deal was thrashed out for basic entitlements, including tracksuits, gym membership and match success fees and the squad has gone from strength to strength.
In the eight games since the debacle with the FAI, they have tasted defeat just twice, friendly defeats to Scotland (ranked ahead of Ireland) and Portugal. The performances have impressed many along the way.
"It has made the group stronger and I think we've shown that on the pitch," winger Katie McCabe (below) said earlier this week.
The road to France has been on the road thus far. Successive 2-0 wins away to Northern Ireland and Slovakia was followed by one of the most impressive performances ever put in by the women in green in the goalless draw against the Dutch.
The Netherlands form the second part of the upcoming international double header, but before next Tuesday’s qualifier, there are three points at stake against struggling Slovakia.
Zsolt Pakusza’s side travel to Dublin looking to avoid their fifth successive defeat of the campaign having conceded 16 goals and mustered just two of their own.
With the seven group winners qualifying directly and the four best group runners-up advancing to the play-offs, a win is crucial and the evidence from last October’s encounter would suggest that the home side should be confident of taking all three points.
First-half goals from Denise O’Sullivan and captain McCabe set the Irish on their way in Senec in a game that 16-year-old Tyler Toland and Peamount United striker Amber Barrett make their first starts for their country.
Despite their poor sequence of results, the Slovaks cannot be totally discounted. They dominated large portions of possession against Ireland, but failed to create clear cut openings.
Their last outing, a 3-1 reversal against Northern Ireland, saw Slovakia register 25 attempts on goal and hit the woodwork as they again enjoyed the lion’s share of possession without being able to translate that onto the scoreboard.
Bell has instilled a steeliness to the team and this has been helped in part by a settled defensive rearguard.
Goalkeeper Marie Hourihan is yet to concede a goal and has been a ever present along with defenders Louise Quinn, Diane Caldwell, Bordeaux's Niamh Fahey and current Player of the Year Harriet Scott.
Unfortunately for Bell, Scott has been ruled out of the double header, along with long-throw expert Megan Campbell and Stephanie Roche. A further blow this week was the fractured wrist suffered by Toland in training.
The responsibility of Ireland's attacking gameplan will rest largely on McCabe and NC Courage midfielder Denise O'Sullivan. The Arsenal winger possesses star quality and a poacher's instinct, while 24-year-old O'Sullivan is a vital cog in midfield and one of the most experienced players with 51 caps.
A decent crowd is expected at Tallaght and even allowing for changes in personnel, the home side should be heading into Tuesday’s clash with the Dutch with 10 points on the board.
