Carla Ward has said that she was ‘delighted’ by a ‘proper Irish performance’ on Saturday after Ireland secured a 1-0 victory over Poland.
The result means that Ireland sit just two points off the top of the League A2 table, knowing that two victories in their last games would be enough to see them qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Importantly back to back victories mean that Ireland are in an exceptional position to confirm at least third place in the group, and with it, a seeded play off route. Ward spoke to the media following victory and The Halfway Line was there to hear from her.
Ward delights in ‘proper Irish’ performance
Ward was speaking after a particularly good week for her Ireland side who beat opposition ranked above them twice in a row. Victory meant that for the first time ever a team seeded in pot four has won two matches in League A. The Halfway Line asked Ward what message recent progress sends to the world,
“I believe that we’ve progressing really well in the last 15 months” Ward said. “The players feel that. We’ve a great environment, a strong tight culture where we look after each other and run through brick walls. We execute what we want for each other.
“People should look at Ireland and say ‘you know what, they’re not just resilient but a bloody good footballing team as well’.
“I think tonight was what you’d call a proper Irish performance; you have to dig deep, you have to defend in a slightly different way. We knew they’d be slightly different and what was quite pleasing was, what we believed they would change they did, so we prepared for that and we adapted for that.
“That was important, how the girls executed the game plan in the last two games has been nothing short of sensational. They take messages on and they deliver it in a way like no group I’ve ever worked with.”
Carla Ward is ‘obsessed’ with qualifying for the World Cup
The pair of victories against Poland mean Ireland are just a point away from guaranteeing survival in League A for the first time. If Poland fail to beat France and Netherlands in their final two matches Ireland will survive regardless. But just how important is survival to Carla Ward?
“That’s [survival’s] huge because everyone we did is comparing to the top 10 in the world. That’s how we try to level so want to level up.
“We want to compete with the best teams in the world. A big goal of mine is maintaining that status. That result puts in a really strong position, which is massively important for me.”
In an interview post match with RTÉ’s Tony O’Donoghue, Ward said ‘when’ we qualify for the World Cup as opposed to ‘if’. She was asked to speak on that subtle but telling use of language,
“I took the job on the basis that there was something to build for us to get to major tournaments” Ward frankly declared. “I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t believe we had the potential to get there. So we have to believe that we have to get there, and I am obsessed with it, that is what we work for.”
Carla Ward heaps praise on ‘joy to work with’ Marissa Sheva
Marissa Sheva is one of the many players now flourishing under Carla Ward’s guidance. Sheva has goals in back to back matches and has goals in back to back matches at the Aviva. On Saturday she scored her fifth goal in 24 games for Ireland, an impressive tally. Ward was asked about Sheva’s recent hard fought for, upturn in fortunes for Ireland,
“When I came in, I liked what I saw with Maz [Marissa Sheva]” Ward explained. “I really did. Loads of energy. We had to do a lot of work with her, just holding spaces. Sounds daft but standing still at times, as the play continues, to try and find those little pockets of space.
“And she called me the other day to say, I wish I knew that. I wish I knew that before last year, because it’s really helping my game. And I think it is as well. I think that when she manages just to go and hold those spaces, she finds pockets, she picks it up.
“She finds edges on the edge of the box and naturally that produces opportunities, which she is converting. So I’m delighted for her. She’s a joy to work with.
“Even tonight, she was saying in the first-half that she couldn’t quite get away from the central midfielder and I said there is one way of doing that.
“And when we got her to start following the line of pressure, when Katie receives pressure, she started following that player and she started to separate and then we are on the ball, because Poland aren’t going to double-press. And I thought she was excellent in that second half.”
