Ireland are going to the World Cup. Feel it. Taste it. Imagine it. Actually, don’t – it’s real. For the first time in the history of women’s football in Ireland, they will take their place among the nations of the earth in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
They go there on the back of a 1-0 win over Scotland in Hampden Park that typified their campaign. An early penalty save from heroic goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan kept their noses above the waterline and it fell to Donegal’s Amber Barrett to score the winner with 20 minutes to go. At the end of a dark black week, she went down on one knee and dedicated the goal to the victims of the Creeslough tragedy.
“I can’t believe it,” said manager Vera Pauw afterwards. “I just can’t believe it. How is this possible – I don’t know? Preparation is everything but the saved penalty was not luck. We trained for everything. We were ready for every scenario. The way we executed was not beautiful – we need to work on a lot. But it’s fantastic.
“It’s amazing. We were missing so many players from injuries. But this commitment – completely buying into the gameplan and doing it for the country because that’s what they have done. It’s not that we were the better team on the pitch but we wanted it more, I think.”
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Pauw, who earlier this year said that she had been raped and sexually abused by Dutch football figures in the 1980s, had a word for the people of Ireland and the support she received in the wake of it all.
“I want to say thank you for everybody who supported me through my difficult times,” she said. “I wanted this so much for everybody who not only supported me in an incredible way. I want to thank everybody – the FAI, the players, the clubs the coaches, the crowd who came here and to all the games. I’m sorry I can’t say more.”
In the end, it fell to a girl from Milford, whose grandparents are both from Creeslough, to add the grace note. Barrett ran onto a brilliant through ball from Denise O’Sullivan and toe-poked Ireland to a place unknown.
“This is for Creeslough, this is for Donegal,” she said.
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