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Carla Ward delighted with 'proper Irish performance' after win over Poland

Updated / Saturday, 18 Apr 2026 18:08
18 April 2026; Chloe Mustaki, left, and Marissa Sheva of Republic of Ireland celebrate after the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and Poland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
Chloe Mustaki (l) and Marissa Sheva celebrate at the final whistle

Carla Ward was left extremely proud of her Republic of Ireland team following their World Cup qualifier win over Poland at Aviva Stadium.

The Girls in Green recorded a second victory over their Polish counterparts in the space of a week thanks to Marissa Sheva's tap-in before half-time.

The hosts hit the crossbar twice and were fully deserving winners as they moved to six points and an almost guaranteed third-place finish in Group A2, a placing that would ensure a more favourable World Cup play-off place.

The target at the start of the camp was six points but Ward, speaking to RTÉ Sport, was adamant there's more to come.

"Of course we want to keep building," she said.

"I'm incredibly proud of this group, this camp.

"I spoke to them this morning because it's always difficult to play the same opponent twice.

"But the work that's gone in the last couple of days since we've gone back, we've adapted to what we believe they might do, how we might have to adapt ourselves.

"This group, honestly, they are an absolute joy to work with, first and foremost. And that tonight was a proper Irish performance.

"We talked a lot about different scenarios, different momentum changes, different shifts in the game, how we might cope with them, what we might do.

"And that was the most impressive thing. The last 20 minutes, we've been conceding opportunities and we wanted to make sure that didn't happen."

The Irish defence was solid throughout, largely restricting the Poles to half-chances, although they did survive a second-half penalty shout when Aoife Mannion got on the wrong side of Weronika Zawistowska inside the box.

"I asked my analyst, I said, 'got away with one, did we?' And she was like, 'no, it was a good tackle'," said Ward.

"So I don't know, I need to watch it back and then I'll give you an answer.

"But listen, maybe we need a little bit of luck. Against France in the first game at Tallaght, their winning goal was two handballs in the build-up.

"The winning goal against the Netherlands is a handball. So maybe we needed that little bit of luck."

Ireland will be without the influential Denise O'Sullivan, named player of the match, and Emily Murphy, player of the match in their previous three games, for their next tie against Netherlands after the duo were booked against Poland.

"Yeah, big loss, both of them have been outstanding," said Ward.

"But look, we've got a good squad here, we've got players that will come in, and it's a good opportunity for them.

"But naturally, of course, they're going to be missed, they've been really important players, but they'll be back for France and the end of the campaign."

Player of the match O'Sullivan almost scored a goal of the season contender but saw her effort hit the underside of the crossbar after two flicks had bamboozled the Polish defence.

"I wish it went in but look, it is what it is," said the Cork woman.

"The most important thing is three points. I do what I can for the team."

Ireland next face Netherlands in Cork and France away in July and can still break into the top two.

"I think we have a lot more to give," said the Liverpool midfielder.

"This team has really, really improved. We're improving every single camp.

"We're going to go into the Netherlands game, we're going to look for points out of that game and also the France game. We'll be looking to get points on the board.

"Look, I'm of course very disappointed not to be able to play in my hometown but I look at the positives and I'll go back to the win again here tonight, and I'm sure I'll be there supporting the girls in Cork."

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