Dave Connell’s side took a comprehensive win in their first match of Round 2 in the UEFA WU19 European Championship Qualifiers. It was Sligo Rovers’ Emma Doherty who scored both goals with notable performances from several players. They will look to continue this high standard of play as they approach Saturday’s game.
Vice-Captain and SSE Airtricity Women’s National League champion, Jessie Stapleton, gave her thoughts on the game: “We got the result in the end and it wasn’t a pretty match but the girls stuck to the game plan and Emma Doherty obviously put two good finishes away.”
Young Player of the Year Aoibheann Clancy followed: “Any time you come out with three points you’re happy, especially in tournament football. I think it was maybe turned into a battle at times, a bit scrappy,but we just had to win our battles and take our chances when they came and I think we did that.”
The two are not naive to the standard they have set and the challenge ahead taking on France. Stapleton weighed in on the upcoming game by saying: “France are a tough opposition, obviously they won in the past couple of years and they’re the holders of it but I have every belief in all the girls and with the coaches and the game plan we have going into it we’ll just stick by that and hopefully get the results we got against Czech Republic.”
Clancy followed suit: “They’ll definitely be a challenge, France are a great side. They have top players but I think if we implement the game plan that we’re trying to stick to and come out with a good performance then the result will hopefully take care of itself."
Republic of Ireland Women's Under-19 Squad
Goalkeepers: Rugile Auskalnyte (DLR Waves), Ciara Glackin (Athlone Town)
Defenders: Abbey Tuthill (Shamrock Rovers), Therese Kinnevey (Galway WFC), Jessie Stapleton (Shelbourne), Della Doherty (Wexford Youths), Emma Bucci (South Carolina State), Shauna Brennan (Galway WFC)
Midfielders: Aoibheann Clancy (Wexford Youths), Maria Reynolds (Shamrock Rovers), Kate Slevin (Galway WFC), Eva Mangan (Cork City), Muireann Devaney (Athlone Town), Jenna Slattery (Galway WFC), Emily Corbet (Athlone Town)
Forwards: Emma Doherty (Sligo Rovers), Erin McLaughlin (Peamount United), Kerryanne Brown (Derry City), Rebecca Watkins (Wexford Youths), Michelle Doonan (Peamount United)
UEFA WOMEN'S UNDER-19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
ROUND 2 - GROUP A7
France v Republic of Ireland
Saturday, April 9th
Bazaly Stadium, Ostrava
KO 14:00 (15:00 local time)