The sides last met 12 months ago at the Istria Cup in Croatia when Austria emerged as 2-0 winners and the Irish come into this game looking to bounce back from the 5-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of world champions USA in San Diego in January.
“Despite that defeat, we took a lot of positives from our performance against the Americans. But basic defensive errors let us down, particularly in the first half and at this level you get punished for those mistakes. However, since that game, most of the squad have more games under their belts with their clubs, so I will be expecting us to be a lot sharper as a team and our concentration levels to be much higher.” said Sue Ronan.
“Playing Austria in the first game of this tournament will be a tough start as they are a top ranked nation who beat us 2-0 at the Istria Cup this time last year. They’ve also been together for the past five days, while we’ve only had one training session in preparation for the game, so that’s obviously a big challenge. However the girls know what is expected of them and the mood in the camp is very positive, so we intend to make it very difficult for our opponents,” added Ronan who will be taking charge of the Women’s National Team for the 50th time.
Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team Squad
Goalkeepers: Emma Byrne (Arsenal), Niamh Reid-Burke (Shelbourne), Grace Moloney (Reading)
Defenders: Louise Quinn (Eskilstuna United), Jessica Gleeson (Wexford Youths), Megan Campbell Manchester City), Niamh Fahey (Chelsea), Savannah McCarthy (Glasgow City), Sophie Perry (Brighton & Hove Albion), Meabh De Burca (Galway).
Midfielders: Karen Duggan (UCD Waves), Denise O’Sullivan (Glasgow City), Diane Caldwell (Kóln), Ruesha Littlejohn (Glasgow City), Julie-Ann Russell (UCD Waves), Megan Connolly (Florida State University), Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Emma Hansberry (Wexford Youths), Rachel Graham (Shelbourne).
Strikers: Clare Shine (Glasgow City); Rianna Jarrett (Wexford Youths), Aine O’Gorman (UCD Waves), Claire O’Riordan (Wexford Youths).
Ireland’s Cyprus Cup Schedule is as follows:
Wednesday, March 2: Republic of Ireland v Austria, Paralimni, 12:30 (Irish time)
Friday, March 4: Republic of Ireland v Italy, Larnaca, 15:30 (Irish time)
Monday, March 7: Republic of Ireland v Hungary, Paralimni, 15:30 (Irish time).
Wednesday, March 9: Positional Play-Offs