Eileen Gleeson and Ireland have plenty of breathing space in their Euro 2025 qualifying semi-final, after cruising to a 6-0 victory in Georgia on Friday night.
It was always expected that the Girls in Green would be comfortable on the night and, though they laboured somewhat in the first half, that was ultimately what transpired.
To their credit, Georgia were resolute in defence in the first half but, after conceding a penalty shortly before half-time, things began to fall apart for the hosts.
Katie McCabe dispatched that spot-kick and added a spectacular second of her own in the second half after Kyra Carusa had made it 2-0 for Ireland with a neat backheeled finish.
The closing stages of the game saw a flurry of goals, as Jessie Stapleton, Marissa Sheva, and Aoife Mannion all got their first senior goals for Ireland to put a more dominant look on the scoreboard.
Three new goalscorers and a big scoreline all with a few big names missing will be big positives, and Eileen Gleeson identified the depth in the squad as a major development in this Irish squad post-match.
Ireland took to the field without the services of experienced duo Megan Connolly and Louise Quinn, while Diane Caldwell was ruled out late in the day on Friday. Though the loss of such stalwarts would one day have instilled panic, Ireland's ever-growing depth is a luxury for Gleeson and her coaching staff.
Speaking to Balls.ie and the Irish media immediately after Friday's game, Gleeson said:
It’s great. When I came in initially, [there was a] huge concern about centre-halves and ironically, we could have had seven centre-halves for this game.
It is really positive – we have Caitlin [Hayes], we have Aoife [Mannion], Anna [Patten], Jessie Stapleton, Megan Connolly who can play as central defender, Megan Campbell, Niamh [Fahey], Diane [Caldwell]. We have great depth there now.
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Eileen Gleeson reacts after Ireland destroy Georgia in Tbilisi
25 October 2024; The Republic of Ireland team line-up as Republic of Ireland head coach Eileen Gleeson looks on before the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Play-Off Round 1 first leg match between Georgia and Republic of Ireland at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium II in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
It could scarcely have gone better for Eileen Gleeson's Ireland in Tbilisi on Friday night, as they took another big step towards UEFA Euro 2025.
Though Ireland were perhaps not as far ahead at half-time as their dominance deserved, Gleeson never had too much fear that they would be able to get the job done.
I wasn’t getting concerned. We would have liked an early goal, of course, but you just have to be patient in these games. And you have to trust that we can score.
It is not concern, you just have to trust that it will come and we knew in the second half, they would get more tired and we would move the ball quicker, we will tire them out again and create more opportunities for ourselves.
There were several changes to the Irish team we have become accustomed to seeing, with regulars like Courtney Brosnan, Louise Quinn, and Megan Connolly out of the frame.
One of the most impressive aspects of Friday's performance was how their replacements performed, with Abbie Larkin a particular standout on her first start in almost a year.
Gleeson praised the impact of those players and said that there may be room for more rotation for Tuesday's second leg.
It is a good opportunity for us to see those players and [I was] encouraged with what I saw tonight from those players.
I don't think we'll relax. We'll aim to definitely not be complacent and make sure we do a good job on Tuesday, but it opens up opportunities for some of the younger players that we've brought in to maybe get them some minutes.
The aim is to win the game again on Tuesday, with a good performance but it does open up opportunities to see some of the younger, less experienced players and give them some experience.
The message from the Ireland camp will be that there is still a job to be finished in Tallaght on Tuesday but, in reality, the Girls in Green are all but through to the final.
In that playoff final, they will face the winners of Slovakia and Wales - with Slovakia taking a surprise 2-1 win in Friday's first leg.
Though Gleeson and Ireland are not getting ahead of themselves, she confirmed that they will have one eye on the second leg of that tie on Tuesday.
"My backroom staff will watch it," said Gleeson. "I know it was 2-1, always expected it to be a tight game, Slovakia are tough, so it will be interesting to see what happens in the second leg."
