As we entered injury time of Ireland’s opening game of this Women’s World Cup, Vera Pauw’s side trailed by a goal to Australia after Steph Catley’s penalty early in the second half.
Ireland had been awarded a shot at redemption with a free kick on the edge of the area, affording Megan Connolly to opportunity to salvage a point.
“I always practise free kicks. For years now, you know,” says Connolly. “I probably do about 100 and about three or four would go in. But that’s the thing, it’s just practise, practise, practise, knowing that if there is that moment in the game, that this could be the one that goes in.
“I think Denise [O’Sullivan] said to me going up, ‘this is you.’ Katie [McCabe] was saying the same. So I think it’s nice when, you know, you’re going up for a free kick and your team-mates are telling you, like, ‘this is your spot, like; this is where you usually do it,’ and you kind of know yourself then, like, ‘yeah, this is it.’
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“Even with the free kick the other night, I think I’ve thought about that even beforehand. I visualise that I might get a chance to have a free kick on the edge of the box. And that is your moment to try to put it in. And as I said, it’s something that we always talk about with the Irish team is the set pieces and the quality of the delivery. So for me, it’s just taking the time and knowing that this could be a potential goal because of the quality that we have in the box. And obviously we just need to get deliveries right.”
She stepped up, took a quick run at it but the shot was deflected and narrowly missed the target. There was immediate doubt about whether it had gone in, some players celebrating while others looked on doubtfully.
“That’s something that I pride myself on is set pieces and, yeah, I thought it was going in and obviously it got a knock off someone’s head and went over for a corner but, yeah, I thought it was going in,” says Connolly.
“It was a tough one to see but...”
It was almost exactly the same position where she’d taken a free kick in one of Ireland’s – successful – qualifying games against Finland.
“Yeah, I think I’ve done hundreds of free kicks at home doing that exact one over and over and over again. So I know in a game that I’m ready to do my best and try to put it in. Yeah, obviously the other night, it was almost in but...”
If there’s something vaguely familiar about how Connolly approaches a free kick, it’s likely due to her appreciation for David Beckham as a role model. “Beckham would have been a big one – his technique and how he manipulated the ball on set-piece free kicks was massive. So yeah, for me, I try to do that but in my own way.”
Connolly isn’t currently attached to a club, having finished with Brighton & Hove Albion before the World Cup, but she’s fully “focused on the tournament. Coming into the camps back in June, I think I just put that to the side, and just focused fully on this. I’m 100 per cent in here and can’t be trying to focus on two things at once so just fully focused on the team.”
That focus has got her here, and while getting this far is a huge personal achievement, it’s not far enough.
“You’re playing in the opening game but at the end of the day, it’s just a game of football. So even after the game the other night, it was quite a mixed emotions. Because you know, you’re living your dream, you’re walking out on the biggest stage, but you lost the game, you know. So at the end of the day, we’re here to play football, we’re here to get wins. We’re here to get out of the group. But yes, obviously, I’m mostly trying to just take in the experience and kind of not let it pass by. But yeah, so today, it’s been great. But obviously, we’re here to do a job. As amazing as it is to be in the World Cup, we’re here to win games and try to get out of the group.”
Despite being underdogs and debutants, Ireland are adamant that they can get out of Group B, which features co-hosts Australia, Olympic champions Canada and Nigeria.
“We want to get a result. And we want to go as far as we can in this tournament. So we’re just going to take the positives from the last game and try and learn from some of the things we can do better: be braver; step a bit higher; and try create more chances and put them away.
“I mean, the best result will be a win. But, you know, we’ll take what we get. But we’re going to go out there to get a win. And you know, we want to get out of the group. So I think the best result for us will be a win. We’ll see what happens on the night. But, for us, of course, we want to go and win the game.”
