The job is only half done, but this was a night to savour for Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward.
Belgium were fancied to prevail in the first leg of the Nations League promotion/relegation play-off at Aviva Stadium. Instead, they were fortunate to get out of Dublin with a 4-2 loss.
Ward identified weaknesses in the Red Flames' armour and then picked an aggressive team to exploit them, the Girls in Green swamping the visitors with a sustained, organised press. The big frustration is that Ireland coughed up two goals, but Ward was effusive in her praise for the players in the aftermath.
"When we arrived in camp last Sunday, I spoke a lot about the Irish mentality and how we were going to need all of that, and what it means," she said.
"It was only last week I was talking to someone about it - when they put on that shirt, it means something more than I've seen other countries’ players when they put on their shirt.
"We tapped into that a lot, and we tapped into what it means to play for Ireland, the heart and the desire and the fight; to be honest every reason why I took the job in the first place because it’s a country that’s so proud, they wear their heart on their sleeves. I love that about them.
"We tapped into that quite early in the week and even just before they went out tonight I said, 'just remember, against Slovenia we won our first and second balls, we won our battles, we looked after each other, if we miss a tackle your teammate backs you up’. We talked about all of that and I think you saw that tonight."
Ward made key tactical tweaks that paid rich dividends. The selection of Chloe Mustaki - who offered crucial balance as a left-footer in a central defensive three - was inspired, emboldening Katie McCabe to do maximum damage as a left wing-back.
McCabe scored two, made one and was a general nuisance all night, delivering what Ward described as the captain's "best performance in a very long time".
On Mustaki, the boss added: "It's interesting because when we left the US and the way Chloe played (in two June friendlies), I thought, 'I have to get her and Katie in the team' and it kind of did tap into my thinking around a back five.
"She can play in those channels which allows us to release Katie. It gives us a lot of balance. And she did really well. She put herself in a position where there was no question whatsoever she was going to be involved. That's a credit to her, and I think she started this season tremendously well. It's been a positive for us for sure."
Elaborating on how exactly Ireland set up to unsettle the world's 20th-ranked side, she went on: "It's funny because obviously you've known me a long time and all my teams were quite aggressive higher up. When we looked at them through the summer and even this week we discussed, 'well let’s be aggressive but from a lot lower’.
"I think that threw them a little bit because they wanted the space. We made sure from front to back we tried to press, from 30 yards front to back, and go after them in an area where they probably wanted the space but they didn’t get it.
"When we were way closer together, it allowed us to be more aggressive. Some people might look at it as a mid to low block, but actually it allowed us to be really front-footed and aggressive."
Republic of Ireland manager Carla Ward hailed an excellent performance against Belgium but stressed it was only half-time in the tie
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The performance of that entire defensive unit has given Ward a welcome headache because Anna Patten returns from suspension for Tuesday's second leg in Leuven. Then again, Ireland came up against a Belgian outfit that were well under par, and they do have it their locker to cut loose if they're in the groove.
Last April they were hammered 5-0 by England in the Nations League. Four days later, they scalped the Lionesses 3-2.
"Massively different," Ward replied when asked what the return match might be like.
"They adapted their shape at half-time. I imagine they might start like that. I think (Belgium manager Elisabet Gunnarsdottir) is going to want to see a complete reaction from them, and we’ve got to be ready for that.
"I actually think we can be better as well, I think there’s areas we can improve, and certainly things we will look at and tweak. We’ve got to probably adapt a couple of bits and pieces. But, yeah, it sets us up for, hopefully, a good Tuesday night."
