Ireland and Wales played out an entertaining 1-1 draw on Friday night. The result means that a place at the European Championships in Switzerland this Summer is still very much on the line for either side. Ireland now look ahead to hosting Wales in an all important second leg at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Tuesday night. After the match The Halfway Line got the opportunity to sit down and speak to Ireland head coach Eileen Gleeson.
Eileen Gleeson reflects on a ‘very tight battle’ in Cardiff
Firstly Gleeson was asked for her assessment of the game, after predicting pre-match a cagey and tight game she responded, “I think it’s, you know, turned down exactly what we thought, a very tight battle. We knew Wales would be strong, physical, aggressive on first and counter attacks, and that’s exactly what they were. So yeah, you know, we spoke about coming away from here and being well in the game for Tuesday, and that’s where we are right now.”
Gleeson continued, assessing how the momentum of the match swung back and forth, noting, “you know, I thought overall the game, we probably started a little bit better, then Wales took control of the game for maybe 15 minutes, and it ebbed and flowed. So, yeah, I think a draw is probably fair overall.”
‘We have to tidy in some areas’ says Gleeson despite positive result
Despite Gleeson confirming that while she would have preferred to come away with a win she noted that “I feel like we have to tidy in some areas.” As far as which parts of the pitch required this tidy, Gleeson reported, “where Wales were more dominant than us, and that’s what we need to work on. You know, they won a lot first and second balls. We need to tidy that up. We need to tidy up decision making, around how we build from the back, and decisions in areas that we didn’t use that were open.”
Home ‘advantage’ a factor for Gleeson
On Friday night Wales were able to welcome a record crowd to the Cardiff City Stadium for a game with the National team and Gleeson was keen to not she hopes for a similar advantage to come when the two sides meet at the Aviva on Tuesday night. When asked if it was an advantage she stated:
“Well, we’d like to think we have the advantage at home. You know, Wales had a lovely atmosphere here tonight, lots of lovely singing, you know, the national anthem, the stadium full of Welsh supporters. That helps, and it’ll help us on on Tuesday with when we get to our home and the Aviva, and we have over 20,000 people supporting us. So yeah, we would think that that is an advantage, and that’s where we wanted to come out here, still in the game, which we are, and then take a home on Tuesday.”
Gleeson praises ‘passionate’ Ruesha Littlejohn
Friday night’s match saw Ireland midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn return to the Ireland first team and put in a player of the match performance. In the post match press conference Gleeson was asked whether Littlejohn had been substituted because she was managing her minutes or because she was on a yellow card. As a knowing smile drew across her face Gleeson responded:
“Little bit both? Ruesha had a great game tonight, you know, and we knew what she give us. She’s passionate, she’s you know good on the ball, she was very good in our build up, she picked up great positions. But we have to manage her load as well. And obviously she’s she’s been out injured, and she’s been on a return to play protocol and modified load. So you know, she did well for all of the time that she was on the pitch, and it gets a bit heated and it’s yellow, so yeah, bit of both.”
When asked about the decision to start Littlejohn despite her lacking minutes Gleeson responded, “Well, I mean, once Ruesha’s fit, she’s always, you know, in a good place for a starting position.”
Gleeson delighted with ‘relentless’ Russell
One of Ireland’s stand out performers on the night was Julie-Ann Russell, the striker has been a revelation since Gleeson called her back into the squad this year and she put in a characteristically determined display on Friday night. When asked for comment on the Galway United striker, Gleeson smiled, “Well, to be honest, Julie hasn’t stopped running since she was born. So it’s nothing new that we see, she’s relentless, you know, she’s willing to run the channels when she presses. Yeah, we didn’t get the service that we wanted to get to her tonight. You know, Wales were dominant from the first minute in winning those first balls. But, yeah, Julie is always full of energy, and we’d expect her to be ready again for Tuesday.”
‘It’s in our soul’ Gleeson looks ahead to a special night at the Aviva
Eileen Gleeson spoke passionately about the match on Tuesday night and whether there is pressure on her side’s shoulders as there was for Wales on Friday. Gleeson rebuked this claim, extolling, “I don’t feel like it’s [the pressure is] on our shoulders, I feel like it’s in our soul. This is our home. Like, we love playing in the Aviva we love the crowd, it’s magical. You walk out, they sing, there’s nothing like being at home in Ireland, for us, so for us, as they were coming home. And we’re, you know, we are trying to inspire the nation and do the nation proud. And that’s, you know, that’s nothing but a boost. You know, we’re a passionate country. We’ve lots of pride in the team. And, you know, that’s really what we’re looking forward to on Tuesday.”
Ireland and Wales face each other in the second leg of their play off tie on Tuesday night with a place at EURO 2025 to be decided on the night.
