Tuesday's game against Georgia was a historic occasion for Ireland.
Entering the fixture knowing that three points were required if they had genuine ambitions of qualifying for the World Cup, few could have predicted just how dominant their victory would be.
While Georgia were the lowest ranked team in the group, they had performed admirably in the first three fixtures of the campaign. Their largest defeat was 4-0 and even that came away to Sweden, who are currently second place in the FIFA world rankings.
Ireland's 11 goal margin of victory was a sight to behold, with Denise O'Sullivan grabbing a hat-trick and Katie McCabe putting in yet another astounding performance.
Few would have been more pleased with their contribution than Lucy Quinn. Earning only her fifth Ireland cap, she would score the team's third goal of the night with a brilliantly taken effort.
Ireland 3-0 Georgia
That is a delightful goal. Denise O'Sullivan finds Katie McCabe with a first touch pass, McCabe drills a ball across the goal and Lucy Quinn fires low to the net#IRLGEO #RTEsoccer
📺https://t.co/2W5kFtUgZE
📻https://t.co/QHSJNYlfx8
📱https://t.co/s4K86Eg3Fi pic.twitter.com/hHiaWrNleI— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) November 30, 2021
It was a special moment for Quinn, who recently lost her grandfather. The forward was away with Ireland when he passed away.
Speaking to the media after the game, the English-born Birmingham City player said she was proud that he got to see her pull on an Ireland jersey.
I was really looking to get on the scoresheet. I lost my grandad quite recently so that will be a nice one for the family, to dedicate that goal to him. I felt really happy and it was nice to see that one go in...
His parents were Irish, so it was a nice little touch...
Obviously there was the recent death, so [her family] are all together back in England in the Isle of Wight. But they’re all desperate to get over, when they can they definitely will.
I know they’re all huddled around some sort of screen watching that tonight and definitely going crazy. It will be great to get back in and talk to them straight away...
Obviously it’s tough. I was actually away from the family when we lost him and everyone else was together. We were away in Finland, so it was difficult.
I know how proud he was of me and what I was doing, he was watching every game and stuff like that.
It will be good now to get home and get back with the family and celebrate the goal and the win. It’s not always as glamorous as it looks (being a footballer), you sacrifice a lot.
I’m just glad that he saw me in an Ireland shirt, which is ultimately what I wanted to achieve.
Quinn only made her Ireland debut in September, having jumped through a number of hoops in order to attain the Irish passport that made the switch possible.
She has quickly become an important member of the team and is grateful that manager Vera Pauw has given her the opportunity to impress.
It’s never a given that you’re going to start, especially in such a talented squad. Obviously it’s nice that the manager has shown so much faith in me so far and you never want to let a manager down when they’ve done that.
I’m new and I’m still learning all about the girls. Hopefully with time I will keep growing into the squad and become part of the furniture...
We’ve set the standard tonight, we played some really good football and scored some really good goals. We've proven that we’re more than capable.
Ireland's next qualifier will not take place until April when they travel to take on Sweden.
They will certainly be underdogs for that game, but the performance against Georgia will give them the confidence that they can pull off a shock result and take another step towards the World Cup.
SEE ALSO: Vera Pauw Calls For UEFA Intervention After Ireland's Demolition Of Georgia
