Friendly
10.05.2014 at 15:00 -
Experienced defender Yvonne Tracy will captain the Ireland XI that takes on the Basque Country at 5pm Irish time tomorrow in Garmendipe Stadium in Azpeitia, a town 16 miles south of San Sebastian.
Although the game will not be classified as a full international it will certainly have all the trappings and the locals have certainly rolled out the red carpet for their Irish guests since their arrival in Bilbao yesterday.
The Basque team is also impressive and will contain several current Spanish internationals so Womens National Team Manager Sue Ronan will have her strongest XI on the pitch from the opening whistle.
“They have a very good team with a lot of excellent and experienced players so we will have our strongest team on from the start and see how it goes from there. I would like to give everybody in the squad some game-time and hopefully we will get the opportunity to do that.
“We had a great training session this morning and it was great for those who played against Russia on Wednesday to get back on the pitch and get it out of their system. It was was great too to see Niamh Fahey back involved and we hope to get her on in the second-half for a run. She is making good progress from her injury and hopefully we she will be ready to play her part in next months games against Croatia and Russia.”
Tracy, who recently finished up with Arsenal after a glittering 13-year career with the Gunners, will be handed the captains armband with Aine O Gorman as vice-captain.
“Yvonne has 78 caps so she has all the experience and with so many young players in this squad her presence will be vital. It is a big opportunity for many of them and I will be looking to the senior players to help them through it,” said Ronan who also confirmed that goalkeepers Eve Badana and Grace Moloney would get a half each.
The two of them and Raheny Uniteds Niamh Reid-Burke are involved in a three-way battle for the understudy role to Womens National Team captain and record-caps holder Emma Byrne and tomorrow will give them a chance to stake their claim for a place as the World Cup qualifying campaign heads into the final five games.
“There are a lot of girls who are very talented and I am very happy to be working alongside them and learning as much as I can,” said Badana. “Emma is a huge role model. She is immense and I look up to her in every sense, on the pitch and off the pitch. She has an air of confidence that you cannot describe. She does it very well. It is all the experience and all the confidence in her ability. It is very inspiring.”
The 20-year-old, who was born in Canada and qualifies for Ireland through her Tyrone-born mother, is relishing the opportunity after missing the start of the World Cup qualifying campaign.
“It is definitely a great honour to be asked back and I am very excited. I do not take any opportunity lightly, even in training, because you are always learning and to get game time is quite special,” said Badana who plays in the USA for Drexel University.
IRELAND XI SQUAD: Eve Badana (Drexel University), Grace Moloney (Reading), Yvonne Tracy (Unattached), Karen Duggan (Peamount United), Ciara McCormack (Unattached), Savannah McCarthy (Listowel Celtic), Lauren Dwyer (Wexford Youths), Keeva Keenan (Shelbourne), Niamh Fahey (Arsenal), Julie-Ann Russell (Peamount United), Aine O Gorman (Peamount United), Emma Hansberry (Castlebar Celtic), Aileen Gilroy (Castlebar Celtic), Rachel Graham (Raheny United), Emma Beckett (Watford), Sarah Rowe (Castlebar Celtic), Stephanie Roche (Peamount United), Noelle Murray (Raheny United), Lillie Fenlon-Billson (Millwall), Megan Connolly (College Corinthians)
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