Uefa Nations League: Republic of Ireland 5 (McCabe 4, 26, 81; Carusa 57, 60) Albania 1 (Doci 7)
Katie McCabe in full flight with a broken wing. Scoring as clean a hat-trick as any Tallaght crowd has witnessed, while creating two goals for Kyra Carusa was, truth be told, a typical performance from the Ballon d’Or nominee.
Until we learned that it was done despite a recently torn muscle in her right arm.
“Can I say about me injury?” McCabe asked her FAI media handler. “I tore me tricep basically so it’s not great. I couldn’t take throw ins”
Which meant you had to play up front? “Yeah!” The damage occurred last Sunday in between two special strikes for Arsenal against Bristol City. “Pretty sore yeah, it’s a big tear.”
Not enough to slow her down. 2023 has been the 28-year-old’s annus mirabilis, for club and country, and on this evening a pair of assists had McCabe smiling as much as her 23rd, 24th and 25th international strikes.
Ireland’s third goal offers a textbook example of transition football. McCabe scrapped for the ball, operating as an auxiliary right back outside her own box, before bursting through two Albanians on 60 metre charge that allowed her to pick out Carusa’s run through the middle. The San Diego Wave striker finished over diminutive Albania goalkeeper Viona Rexhepi.
That made it 3-1. The fourth goal was better again. McCabe, being marked on the left by Lucie Gjini, recycled play to Sinead Farrelly but the wily American feinted to go right before a pass back to McCabe invited a pinpoint cross on to Carusa’s forehead.
The accuracy was world class. The opposition was not.
On the pitch, it was business as usual for the Republic of Ireland’s Nations League campaign. Three wins from three outings, McCabe bagged a brace before half time in between a defensive malfunction that gifted Megi Doci a rare Albania goal.
Off pitch, the FAI continue to struggle with ticket distribution. Not for the first time, the venue was branded a sell-out. It’s a known fact that Whitestown Way is extremely difficult to reach in the middle of Friday rush hour, and that situation played out but at least 2,000 ticket holders stayed away. 5,752 had shuffled to their seats a few minutes after the 5.45pm kick-off so hundreds missed Diane Caldwell leading out Ireland on the occasion of her 100th cap.
Interim Ireland manager Eileen Gleeson had declared a fully fit squad, yet Lucy Quinn, Amber Barrett and Heather Payne were notably absent from the match day 23. Turns out Saoirse Noonan and Emily Whelan were preferred as forward cover ahead of Barrett while Quinn and Payne had “niggles.”
This gave the management a chance to run Izzy Atkinson and Abbie Larkin as wing backs. The young duo showed plenty of pace and potential.
McCabe took advantage of her promotion to second striker, floating behind the play as she does so effectively for Arsenal. It took three minutes to nab the first goal. There was a subtle genius to how she controlled and dinked Larkin’s centre beyond Rexhepi.
At least the Doci goal, after seven minutes, can be used as an example of how not to defend ahead of the return fixture in Albania on Tuesday. It started with an innocuous throw-in. Gresa Berisha was allowed take possession unmarked on the right and switch play for left back Arbenita Curraj, who lofted a ball behind Caldwell. With the Irish back five lopsided, Doci ghosted into the box, again unmarked, to finish first time past Courtney Brosnan.
Ireland huffed and puffed but the early attacks felt prescribed. Caldwell made a logical decision before the break by shooting from 30 metres as it looked like Rexhepi could be lobbed on her goal line. In fairness, the goalie made some decent saves, including a point blank catch from Louise Quinn’s header.
McCabe had Ireland back in front after 25 minutes. When Megan Connolly’s corner was half cleared by Mikaela Metalla, number 11 shrugged off Doci and let fly. The ball took a wicked deflection off Berisha before bouncing past Rexhepi.
It was fitting that the coup de grâce came from a dead ball. The most dangerous place to position McCabe is right of goal, where her left boot can sing. Farrelly, again, wrong footed the Albanians by rolling the free kick half a yard infield to allow McCabe curl the ball into the top corner.
“I love playing in Tallaght, it is my hometown. I’d my family in the crowd, walked out with my niece tonight. To score a hat-trick is terrific, but to score a goal for your country is an unbelievable feeling, so I am very lucky to have scored three tonight.
“I can’t do any of those things without the girls at the back winning balls back and doing the hard yards. I obviously played a lot higher today so I was able to get shots away.”
Different class.
Republic of Ireland: Brosnan (Everton); Hayes (Glasgow Celtic), Quinn (Birmingham City), Caldwell (FC Zurich); Larkin (Glasgow City), Connolly (Bristol City), Toland (Blackburn Rovers), O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Atkinson (West Ham United); McCabe (Arsenal), Carusa (San Diego Wave).
Substitutions: McLaughlin (Peamount United) for Atkinson, Farrelly (NJ/NY Gotham) for Connolly (both 57), Finn (Birminham City) for Larkin (79), Whelan (Glasgow City) for Carusa, Mustaki (Bristol City) for Caldwell (both 82).
Albania: Rexhepi; Metalla, Maliqi, Curraj, Gjini; Berisha, Krasniqi, Franja; Doci, Maksuti, Hila.
Substitutions: Hamidi for Metalla (55), Tukaj for Curraj, Gjergji for Krasniqi (both 89)
Referee: Lizzy van der Helm (The Netherlands).
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