Katie McCabe says that she has ‘a lot of respect’ for Poland captain Ewa Pajor and that Ireland ‘need to be ready’ for Poland’s all time top scorer tomorrow at the Aviva Stadium.
The Ireland captain was speaking ahead of Ireland’s second match against Poland within a week having beaten Poland 3-2 in Gdańsk on Tuesday night. The Halfway Line was among the media present to hear from McCabe at the Aviva Stadium.
Ireland need to be aware of Pajor ‘at all times’ says Katie McCabe
Katie McCabe and Ewa Pajor have a lot in common. Both are their nation’s captain, both are the only women’s nominated for the Ballon d’Or from their nations and both are hoping to bring their team to the FIFA Women’s World Cup next summer. McCabe was asked about the star on the opposition colours, Ewa Pajor,
“Yeah look, Pajor showed how much she is a world-class striker” McCabe said. “We kept her quiet for 77 minutes but she pops up with a goal like that, it just shows her quality.
“By no means can we switch off at any point for 90 minutes, 95 minutes plus. We need to be aware of her at all times because of the threat she poses. She’s quick, she’s direct, she can run and she can score goals. She’s been pretty important for Barcelona.
“I remember the first time I played against her was a few years back with Ireland, under Colin Bell. That was my introduction to Pajor. I have a lot of respect for her, she’s doing great things for Barcelona as well so we need to be ready but again they’ve got a lot of threats across the team as well.”
Katie McCabe says she ‘loves’ playing at the AVIVA
The early ticket sales indicate that there will be close to 20,000 in attendance at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. McCabe, who was fielding questions alongside Carla Ward was asked about how she feels about playing at the Aviva,
“For me, I love playing here” McCabe smiled. “Any game we’ve played it’s always a massive occasion, I love the fans coming in in their numbers, it’s like a different sort of noise when they’re cheering you on.
“For me as a little girl, coming here when it was Lansdowne Road, before the Aviva took over, it was such a special thing coming to watch the men’s team playing, seeing Robbie Keane and Damien Duff representing Ireland.
“I’ve always wanted to do that so it’s an absolute privilege to be able to do that and lead the girls out here, especially going into such a big game tomorrow night.”
McCabe looking forward to playing on AVIVA ‘carpet’
In Gdańsk on Tuesday night, the pitch was a sorry sight but the surface at the AVIVA looks in immaculate condition ahead of tomorrow’s match. McCabe was asked how much of a difference that might make the game,
“Very different” McCabe said. “I haven’t seen a pitch like that in quite a long time, to be honest. And I think even up until the warm-up, the groundsman was still digging up holes and putting fresh grass in and stuff like that.
“But look, they were the conditions that were in front of us. It was for them as well, so we can’t use any excuses or anything like that. We knew it was going to be difficult in terms of playing out from the back as well.
“It’s going to be very different here tomorrow evening. I’ve not actually seen the pitch yet but I’m sure it’s like a carpet, it always is. We’ll be really looking forward to getting out and training on it, see how it feels, so we know what we’re going into tomorrow.”
