Celtic’s Claire O’Riordan made a massive stake for the plane to the 2023 Australia and New Zealand World Cup last night, showcasing her versatility during Ireland’s 3-2 triumph over Zambia at Tallaght Stadium.
A number of fringe players were on audition during the game, but O’Riordan was one of those who rose the highest (quite literally) to head home a deft header at the end of a Megan Connolly freekick, hitting the back of the net in between Amber Barrett’s brace.
Riordoooo 💚@claireor17 #COYGIG | #WeAreOne | #OUTBELIEVE pic.twitter.com/Ilel5Pe17o
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) June 22, 2023
Reflecting on the delivery as a “peach of a ball” in, the defender, who was originally a striker earlier in her career, is remaining cool, calm, collected and modest in the midst of all the excitement.
“Thankfully it landed on the top of my head and went into the goal” she says.
“I'm thrilled to be able to contribute tonight but ultimately it is all about the team performance and the work that every single player put into that game was magnificent.
We worked, stuck together and ground it out till the very end.”
Ireland WNT's Claire O'Riordan celebrates scoring her side’s second goal in a 3-2 win against Zambia.
🇮🇪🇿🇲 pic.twitter.com/kTEijhRJgu— Ryan Byrne (@RyanByrnePhoto) June 22, 2023
Claire O’Riordan, the utility dynamo
Manager Vera Pauw praised the 28-year-old for her adaptability in position, as well as her determination to keep going despite some cramp concerns towards the end of the game. Having made all of her substitutions already, Pauw found herself facing the possibility of going down to 10 players, but that was never an option in Claire O’Riordan’s mind.
“Coming to the end of the game I wasn't the only one who was suffering with a few cramps. I did not want to leave the team down to ten players so I thought it was a great decision to put me up top” she says, on her return to her positional roots in yesterday evening’s game.
"Ultimately at least we had another player on the pitch. I'm grateful that I was part of the starting XI and I could see out the game.
“Obviously I had a magnificent time with Wexford Youths as a striker and I hold it very close to my heart. I keep it as confidence, especially when I go for set pieces that I can be that danger with my head at the very least.”
Recognising that she can “be a little bit of a problem” to any opposition while in attack the former MSV Duisburg woman says her experience in those different positions gives her a unique insight.
“Going from a striker to a defender I learned an awful lot about strikers. That has helped me as a defender and vice versa. You can see what you can do about imposing a threat on them as well.
“Vera is the one who helped set me up for this game. I’m thankful to the staff that are around me to give me that boost and confidence. Even at half time, you can never stop learning, they gave me some info that I was able to bring into the second half.”
That flexibility could be seen as a very valuable trait come the selection of the tight 23 woman squad that is to be named next Thursday the 29th, but O’Riordan isn’t getting carried away just yet.
“I'm going to be going home with my family now back to Limerick and Newcastle West… I'm going to spend some time with them as I haven't seen them in quite a while” she says.
“I'm going to enjoy the time with them and my feet are firmly on the ground so whatever comes in the next few days I'm prepared for."
🇮🇪 Ireland 3-2 Zambia 🇿🇲 FT
A shaky start to the 1st warm up game but they grew into it! Important to remember there’s a lot of experimentation going on, exemplified by McLaughlin’s first cap & O’Riordan’s first goal!
Two from the Hampden hero Barrett too ⚽️ 👇@ballsdotie pic.twitter.com/zPGdnrAiqz— Alanna Cunnane (@acunnane10) June 22, 2023
