Denise O’Sullivan has said that she ‘absolutely loves’ playing in Cork ahead of her homecoming tomorrow evening against Kazakhstan.

O’Sullivan was speaking alongside her head coach Carla Ward as Ireland take an 8-0 lead into the second leg of their FIFA Women’s World Cup play off tie against Kazakhstan. The Halfway Line was there to hear from the Irish legend, now just two caps away from being the most caps Irish WNT player of all time.

Denise O’Sullivan says she ‘really loves’ this Ireland team

Carla Ward, who was sat next to O’Sullivan had just labelled the Gotham midfielder one of Ireland’s ‘greatest’ ever players, that prompted the question to O’Sullivan, how great is it to have that backing from your manager?

“Yeah, for sure. Of course, it’s great to hear that from Carla” Ward explained. “I’m a very professional player, I’ll always back the team no matter what.

“I’m a team player at the end of the day and I really love this team. I’m excited to be back in Cork, it’s a very special place for me to play. It’s a big game, regardless of if we’re going into it and it’s 8-0, it’s an opportunity for us to build on the momentum going into November.

“We’re all very excited and looking to go out and put on a great performance and urging everyone to come out and watch as well tomorrow night.”

Denise O’Sullivan looking forward to ‘special’ night in Cork

Last June, Ireland completed a special 3-2 victory over Netherlands in Cork, perhaps the greatest result in the history of the Ireland WNT, never mind the Carla Ward tenure. The only thing missing was Denise O’Sullivan who was suspended on the night, however after being rested in the first leg in Astana, O’Sullivan is back and in line to start for Ireland.

The Irish legend was asked to describe how it feels to be playing in Cork,

“I can’t really describe it” O’Sullivan smiled. “I absolutely love playing here. It’s really, really special, my family being here. A lot of people that I’ve obviously grown up with and who have supported me. The whole of Cork have supported me throughout my career.

“In particular, people from Knocknaheeney who always come down and watch the game. It’s great to be back here and the team, Carla, everyone absolutely loves playing in Cork. There’s a really good atmosphere, everyone comes out and doesn’t stop from minute one to 90.

“It’s really special, I’m looking forward to it.”

O’Sullivan says she ‘wasn’t happy’ to miss Astana trip

O’Sullivan was spared the 10 and a half hour flight to Astana after a string of persistent knee injuries led Ward to manage one of her star player’s loads. O’Sullivan was asked if it was frustrating to miss the first leg,

“I definitely wasn’t happy, I really wanted to.” O’Sullivan stated.

When asked whose decision it was Carla Ward interjected,

“Mine” she stated. “She wasn’t happy. She wants to play for her country, but we have to look after her as well because Denise would play every minute of every game and train every minute and more but sometimes she just needs protecting.”

O’Sullivan chimed in agreement, “Yeah, of course. I think like for me, I want to put the Ireland jersey on every opportunity I can” she explained. “But I also appreciate Carla and the staff for putting their foot down and not allowing me to do it because I have been, you know, [in] the past year been having some issues with injuries with my knees.

“I appreciate them stepping in and saying, ‘Look, it’s not good for you to do that.’ So I had to take it in the end, and look, we have a really fantastic team who went out there and put on a very special performance, a really good performance, and they got the job done. So at the end of the day, when the team wins and puts in a good performance, I’m happy.”

Ireland face Kazakhstan on Tuesday night with kick off at 19:30, the match will be live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.