The feel-good factor around women’s football in Ireland has coincided with one of the lowest ebbs the men’s side has ever experienced.
The contrast is so stark that perhaps it isn’t so coincidental. Either way, Eileen Gleeson’s tenure has seen the ‘girls in green’ continue to ride the crest of a wave that has taken them to Australia and back. Still it’s unbroken.
Georgia were by far second best in Tbilisi. But sometimes the second best can dig their heels in, confess to inferior quality and sneak a draw.
Coming up to half-time, that wasn’t out of the question. A Katie McCabe penalty came at just the right time. It broke the tension, eased frustration. It gave Ireland license to play, and play they did.
But as satisfying as McCabe’s delicious second was, Ireland’s ability to play any which way would have really appeased Gleeson.
Chips from 40 yards, bundled efforts from two. Class, quality, physicality, pace. Youth and experience. Dominance.
The fact the sixth goal was right on the final whistle was testament to the refusal to let the foot off the gas. It was ruthless.
After all, this was a side beaten 11-0 and 9-0 while Ireland were under the stewardship of Vera Pauw.
Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw thanked the fans at the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup homecoming.
Now they come to Tallaght. A mountain to climb would be an understatement. It’s Everest in rollerskates. Ruthlessness was very much the main takeaway from Gleeson’s press conference this week:
“It has been repeated several times. It is to come out here, be ruthless with this game, and kill it off.
“This is the second part of this playoff, and we will respect it as such. We need to start strong, hopefully score goals early, and really enjoy the night.”
Ireland will be expected to win comfortably again, and in doing so would head into a play-off final against Wales or Slovakia in a rich vein of form following on from a tricky Nations League campaign – where they overturned France but lost every other match.
McCabe’s comments with RTÉ Sport post-match reflected how far this side have come in recent times:
“We’ve beaten them in the past. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, they’ve matured a lot as a team, it was just about being cleaner in our play.
“We came out second-half a lot more clinical. I still feel we weren’t really at our best today, but job done tonight and onto Tuesday.”
The tie between Slovakia and Wales has proven one of the more competitive affairs, with the Welsh facing a 2-1 deficit but they will have the benefit of home advantage as they seek to overturn a first-leg defeat.
Gleeson and co undoubtedly have put the feelers out, and with Tallaght Stadium sold out yet again, the next objective in a golden age of women’s soccer in Ireland is to qualify for a first ever European Championships.