SOCCER Noel King names women's squad for Italian showdown
Republic of Ireland Senior Women’s manager, Noel King has named an 18 strong squad for the UEFA Championship, Group 2 qualifier against Italy in Sardinia on Saturday February 16th.
Included in the squad is Women’s Under 19 FAI/eircom International Soccer Award winner, goalkeeper, Lynn Bradley. She is rewarded for her fine form at under 19 level where she guided Susan Ronan’s side to the UEFA Championships Elite Qualifying Phase.
The Irish are currently tied for 1st place in the group alongside Sweden and Italy and victory over the Italians, ranked 14th in the world would represent a huge scalp for the Irish women.
Irish manager Noel King knows that a victory over the Italians on Saturday would be a massive boost for their campaign but he emphasised that victory isn’t essential for his side, “Saturday’s game is a big test for this team, we have had seven weeks of intense preparation with four friendly games which I think will benefit us enormously. However, we all know that this preparation does not guarantee us anything and while we are aiming for victory in Sardinia on Saturday, it is not essential if we want to reach the play-off spots.”
King added, “The results over the past few weeks have been fantastic, we drew 1-1 with Holland while victory over Northern Ireland, Poland and UEFA Cup Champions, Arsenal has caused confidence in the whole squad to soar. This is a very important period of development for Irish women’s football, we aim to break into the top 20 nations of the FIFA World rankings and I believe that with the youth structure we have in place, we will be amongst the top teams in the world within a couple of years.”
Republic Of Ireland Squad
Emma Byrne - Arsenal
Niamh Fahey - Salthill Devon
Alisha Moran – New York Athletic
Sharon Boyle - Raheny United
Marie Curtin - Hofstra University
Michele O Brien - Watford Ladies
Ciara Grant - Arsenal
Sonya Hughes - Tolka Rovers
Stefanie Curtis - Bristol Academy
Aine O Gorman - Stella Maris
Noelle Murray - Raheny United
Olivia O Toole - Raheny United
Katie Taylor - St.Catherines
Yvonne Tracy - Arsenal
Lynn Bradley - Raheny
Edel Malone - Hofstra University
Meabh De Burca - Salthill Devon
For more info:Fran Whearty