With Eileen Gleeson due to name her Republic of Ireland squad on Thursday for the Euro 2025 playoff against Wales, she has had some encouraging news since last month’s games against Georgia which a number of her players missed through injury.
Most notably Megan Connolly played her fourth consecutive game for Lazio on Sunday after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Megan Campbell (London City Lionesses) and Chloe Mustaki (Bristol City) both got more minutes under their belts after missing the start of the season.
And while midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn was an unused substitute for London City, her appearance on the bench again at least suggests she is making progress in her return from yet another Achilles issue.
On the downside Aoife Mannion was absent for Manchester United on Sunday with an unspecified injury, fellow defender Diane Caldwell also still out for FC Zurich with the back problem that forced her out of the squad for the Georgia games. And having limped out of Sheffield United’s game a week ago Ellen Molloy wasn’t in their squad for their weekend meeting with Sunderland.
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Lucy Quinn was left out of Gleeson’s last squad, and she won’t be back for Wales after having to have surgery on an ankle injury. The Championship player of the month for September expects to be out of action until February.
But Courtney Brosnan and Heather Payne completed a nigh on perfect week when they were part of the Everton side that picked up its first win of the WSL season by beating Liverpool 1-0 at Goodison Park.
The win was not without its controversy, though, the referee incorrectly awarding the penalty that decided the game when Liverpool’s Fuka Nagano clearly clipped Honoka Hayashi outside the box. For all the grumbling about VAR in the men’s game, the WSL is in desperate need of it being brought into theirs.
Brosnan was excellent again, making a fine double save from Nagano, capping a week that saw her named the FAI’s international player of the year for the second successive year. And Payne also made it a two-in-a-row when she was chosen as the young player of the year.
Up in Scotland Caitlin Hayes and Saoirse Noonan had a mixed bag of a day in the Glasgow derby. Both players scored, Hayes getting her first of the season, Noonan her 13th with a free from the edge of the box, but Rangers won 3-2. It was the first time in 2½ years that Celtic conceded three goals in a league game.
It’s been a strange old spell for Hayes who has been at the centre of a heap of speculation after Celtic manager Elena Sadiku left her out of their games against Queen’s Park and Glasgow City, and on the bench for the Champions League meeting with Chelsea.
The rumour machine revved up when Hayes wasn’t spotted at training, and didn’t attend either game for which she was dropped, leading to claims that she had been suspended by the club. Sadiku denied this, insisting Hayes had just been rested, an explanation that didn’t convince the Scottish press.
“As rumours circulated of a fallout between Hayes and Sadiku there was a swift move inside the club to pour cold water on the speculation,” said the Herald. “But Sadiku’s discomfort at being pressed on the matter was palpable. She maintained that Hayes had simply been rested, although the reasons for that remain baffling. If she was resting it would be intriguing to know what she was being rested for.” A thickening plot.
