Eileen Gleeson began her permanent reign as Ireland's head coach with an impressive draw away to Italy on Friday night.
The friendly was Ireland's first test against top-class opposition since last summer's World Cup, after a Nations League campaign which saw them comfortably dispatch of teams significantly lower in the World Rankings.
Gleeson's side put in an encouraging performance, pressing from the off and snuffing out most of the Italian attacking threat throughout. The returning Leanne Kiernan had the ball in the net late on but the goal was ruled out for offside, and Ireland were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw.
Kiernan was one of four players returning to the squad after a significant spell away from the setup, alongside Niamh Fahey, Jess Ziu, and Aoife Mannion. Fahey was player of the match, and the returning players were certainly a huge boost on a positive night for Ireland.
It was Ireland's adaptability in switching formation, however, which most impressed head coach Gleeson.
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Eileen Gleeson satisfied with Ireland's encouraging draw in Italy
23 February 2024; Republic of Ireland head coach Eileen Gleeson, right, before the international women's friendly match between Italy and Republic of Ireland at Viola Park in Florence, Italy. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Speaking to Balls.ie and the Irish media post-match on Friday, Gleeson commented on her decision to switch Ireland's formation to a 4-2-3-1.
For the past few years, fans have grown accustomed to seeing Ireland play with three players at the back, so to make such a switch against high-calibre opposition was a bold call. Gleeson was especially encouraged by the fact that the players adapted so well to the new system:
I’m proud of the girls, we adapted a lot, we changed to a back four tonight to see how we looked in that. We changed people’s positioning and I think it was a really solid performance, we adapted really well. We went toe-to-toe.
The big thing for us is that we want to be adaptable. We don’t want to be tied to any one system or formation, we more talk about how we occupy space.
Tonight we wanted to have a back four, potentially they could push up as three but we didn’t really want to be three v three, we wanted to be four v three - we always talk about having numbers up.
We made the decision to try out the back four…that doesn’t mean we’re extra defensive. As you can see, we still pushed up higher, we were still aggressive in our pressing, we still had outballs that would at times put us into a back three and be able to push up a full-back higher and a wide player inside.
We want to be able to adapt, we want to be able to play a three, four, five. Whatever we need to do, whatever suits us, whatever suits the attributes of the team and whoever the opposition are.
Gleeson was also keen to point out that, had Leanne Kiernan been "a millisecond slower," Ireland would have claimed a memorable victory at Viola Park.
Nonetheless, Friday's result was a hugely positive sign that Ireland are ready for their imminent debut in Nations League A, with the draw for the upcoming EURO 2025 qualifiers taking place early next month.
First up, though, Ireland return to action on home soil in another friendly against Wales on Tuesday evening. Kick-off in Tallaght is at 7:30pm and the game is live on RTÉ 2.
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