Off the back of finishing up with a goal and a player of the match performance with Celtic in their Scottish Women’s Cup final win, Claire O’Riordan was flying high coming into the Irish women’s national team camp this month.
“Honestly I don’t think there was a better way to finish up the season and come in here. For me, it was just the most important thing to come in and pick that [momentum] back up and try to take up where I left off.”
“My mindset was, coming off the season with Celtic, to make sure I was fit and healthy, that I had a good rhythm and confidence finishing up my season after playing games and to put myself in the best position possible to be selected for this camp.”
And having been selected to start in the World Cup warm-up against Zambia, O’Riordan added to her footballing resumé with her first international goal. “It was really special, it’s difficult to even put it into words but to be at home, in front of our fans, having my family there ... but to be part of this group, it’s so special. It’s so difficult to put into words, it’s a moment I’m forever going to cherish.
“I’m very happy that we were able to get a result, it’s an important win and a big performance for players tonight to get it under our belts for the next weeks and months to come.”
The weeks to come promise a certain amount of pressure for the squad. “Well pressure is a privilege,” says O’Riordan. “We are here in this position, cause we’re selected to be part of the national team. So we’re honoured to be here, myself included, and that comes with a lot of responsibilities and a little bit of pressure added. Being part of this squad and what we’ve achieved together in recent times, you almost get prepared for these type of situations.
“Of course there’s going to be a little bit of pressure but that can bring a little bit of spice to you and have that fire within you to go and implement that game and to be focused and concentrated to go and do the task at hand.”
Pauw, in the dressingroom at halftime, told O’Riordan to have the guts to make mistakes, because otherwise “we don’t get anywhere”. It was advice that had an impact going out for the second half. “Every game is a big game, every result is a big result. Ultimately, it’s about having a team ready with a good balance and being able to perform and implement the tasks in hand and I’m really grateful that I got that opportunity. Vera gave me a lot of confidence coming into the game and also at half time, which I was able to push on then in the second half.”
Towards the end of the game, O’Riordan was put up top. “I did get a few cramps there but yeah, I didn’t want to come off. I didn’t want to leave the team down to 10 players so they made a tactical decision to put me up top so at least we had 11 players on the pitch.”
There are only days before the squad is announced and now, the players have done all they can do to convince Pauw of why they should be in Australia. “I would imagine it’s in everybody’s mind, that’s what we’re working towards: to be in contention to be selected. For me the most important thing was to put my focus on training, it’s a cliche but to control the controllables – that’s how I play, how I prepare myself.”
