Sip of water, touch the crossbar, walk the line, trust the data. Sports psychologists call it the ‘mind gym’. Athlete’s know it as ‘flow state’. For Courtney Brosnan, her internal journey begins whenever a penalty is given against Everton or the Republic of Ireland.
The New Jersey-born goalkeeper’s quiet preparation proved the difference between Ireland going and not going to the 2023 World Cup.
At Hampden Park on October 11th, 2022, Scottish players looked as shocked as the Irish when, after just 11 minutes, Swiss referee Esther Staubli flashed Niamh Fahey a yellow card and pointed to the spot.
Martha Thomas and Fahey had arrived at the front post together, where the Scottish forward’s shot caught the Irish defender’s arm before the ball glanced the crossbar and bounced up for Brosnan.
Protests were led by Louise Quinn, Katie McCabe and Brosnan until Caroline Weir plucked the ball from the goalkeeper’s grasp. That is the moment Brosnan turned and calmly walked into her nets for a drink.
“Oh, good question,” she beamed, in typically good spirits before training in Abbottstown on Monday morning. “I feel, now, with penalties, it takes a while for the decision to be given or for whoever is getting the ball to get ready, so usually I take that chance to go over, get some water and get my thoughts together.
“Typically, I’ve already watched some clips or been given some information about who is most likely to take the penalty, and which is their favourite side. So I have a think about it, and then I have a little bit of a routine – touching the crossbar, walking along the line and getting myself ready for the moment.
“I see the kicker line up and [I] kind of just go off a bit of gut instinct and a bit of how they are lining up, and the data you’ve been given. Then I just go from there.”
Weir looked nervous. Brosnan repeatedly waved her right arm to invite a shot to that side, which would suit the left footed Real Madrid midfielder. But Brosnan’s mind was made up, the data told her to dive left early, where both her gloves met Weir’s placed effort.
It was not a good save, it was a great save.
“In that moment I am [saying]: ‘Okay, everything I am seeing is either lining up towards what I’ve been told or not.’ In that moment, that’s when I make my decision – if I’m going to go with all the information I’ve been given or if I’m seeing something else, then you kind of just trust that and go with your gut.”
After chest bumps from Fahey and Megan Campbell, she roared at everyone to get ready for the incoming corner.
“When I look back, you’re 100 per cent in the moment. For me personally, you don’t realise until after the game is over, until after you’ve qualified that that just happened. You make a penalty save in the game, you’re like, ‘well that feels nice’, but you’re like, ‘okay, we’re only 20 minutes into the game or whatever it is, we still have this amount of time to go’.
[ Eileen Gleeson names Ireland squad for Euro 2025 playoff against WalesOpens in new window ]
“So, I feel like as footballers, especially as goalkeepers, I’ve always been taught you have to focus on the task and what you’re doing in that moment. You’re not really thinking too far in advance. You’re trying to focus on what you’re doing to accomplish the goal, I would say.”
Brosnan remembered denying Jamaican superstar Bunny Shaw against Manchester City last year, but she lacked the ego to bring up her three shoot-out saves that knocked Newcastle out of the cup last month.
“I’ve definitely saved a few penalties,” she replied. “Obviously the Scotland game is a big occasion so that’s the one that gets remembered ... but I don’t know [my record] to be honest.”
Brosnan, now 29, has become as important to Ireland as McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan. To reach Euro 2025 at the expense of Wales over a two-legged play-off, this Friday in Cardiff and Tuesday at the Aviva Stadium, all three must produce outstanding performances.
If featuring at last year’s World Cup signalled a breakthrough for women’s soccer in Ireland, competing at the Euros in Switzerland next summer would allow this team to reach its full potential.
“Qualifying for the World Cup, you can see the legacy we have built within Ireland in terms of football for young girls,” said Brosnan.
“You don’t want to be the team that just qualifies for one major tournament. I don’t think anyone wants that. You want to be doing that consistently. So there is always that thing where you are continuing to push forward and continuing to write stories into your legacy.”
Sip of water, touch the crossbar, walk the line, trust the data.
