Pauw ‘so proud’ of O’Riordan after impressive display against Zambia
Republic of Ireland women’s national team manager Vera Pauw heaped praise on Claire O’Riordan after the Limerick native bolstered her World Cup prospects with an impressive display against Zambia at Tallaght Stadium last night.
A native of Newcastle West, O’Riordan recently found the net for Celtic in a 2-0 victory over Rangers in the Scottish Women’s Cup final at Hampden Park. She was also amongst the goals in the Dublin venue last night as she powerfully headed home a free-kick delivery by Cork’s Megan Connolly on 63 minutes to move Ireland into a 2-1 lead.
This saw O’Riordan opening her international account and with Amber Barrett also on target either side of this effort, Rachael Kundananji’s 79th-minute finish was a mere consolation for visitors Zambia.
“Claire has come from so far. She had a major injury this season. Came back and was first not in the core group and as a result of her last two games, we brought her in because she just convinced us that she had to be part of it and look what she’s done today,” Pauw said when speaking to RTÉ in the aftermath of the game.
“I’m so proud of her. It was because of the Scottish Cup final that I decided that we needed an extra player in, because we couldn’t miss her out.”
Although there is another friendly against France on July 6 before they embark on an historic World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand, this was the final chance for players to force their way into the final squad for the tournament.
While it would have been a surprise if the aforementioned Barrett was left out in the cold – given it was her goal in last October’s play-off against Scotland that got them this far – her brace in Tallaght has all but ensured that she will be on the plane to the southern hemisphere.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Tony O’Donoghue in a post-match interview, she expressed her relief at being able to add to her international haul with a penalty four minutes after the resumption and a superb looping finish on 71 minutes following a neat knock-down from fellow Donegal native Ciara Grant.
“When I got the ball in my hand [for the penalty] I put it down and honestly, I really backed myself. It has been a long time, I haven’t scored since the game in Scotland. It has been a long time coming, but Jesus it feels so bloody good,” Barrett remarked.
“The first half was difficult. We knew that when Zambia were coming here they were going to be difficult, the African nations are always a difficult team. I think we definitely gave them the respect that they deserved and they definitely proved it.
“They probably deserved to go 1-0 up because they were on top of us a little bit, but we knew when we came in and reset ourselves and if we stuck to our game plan [it would come together]. When we do that, we always have a chance of scoring. Thankfully we did in the second half.”