Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward has had a mixed bag of news as she counts down to the Nations League play-off against Belgium later this month. Goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan is now a major doubt for those games but hopes are rising that Denise O’Sullivan will be fit.
Only once in Ireland’s last 42 games have they started without Brosnan in goal, when suspension ruled her out against Georgia a year ago, but a knee injury saw her miss her fourth game in a row for Everton in their first appearance at the club’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday, losing 4-1 to Manchester United.
Everton’s loan signing of an emergency goalkeeper was a fair indication of their concern about the length of Brosnan’s lay-off, which is now expected to last another fortnight, leaving Ward to hope the 29-year-old’s recovery proves much speedier.
In better news, O’Sullivan finally returned to North Carolina Courage’s match-day squad on Saturday for the first time since she suffered a knee injury in August. While she didn’t come on in the NWSL draw with Washington Spirit she is clearly nearing match fitness.
RM Block
Megan Connolly, though, missed her second successive Lazio game, with no news yet from the club over her status, while Leanne Kiernan was sidelined again for Liverpool with a foot injury.
One young player pushing for a senior call-up, under-19 international Joy Ralph, will have to park those ambitions until the new year after requiring surgery on a dislocated shoulder. Ralph had been impressing at Sheffield United since joining them from Shamrock Rovers during the summer.
Meanwhile, Amber Barrett and Saoirse Noonan remain Ward’s in-form strikers, both maintaining their scoring streaks at the weekend for Standard Liege and Celtic respectively.
On the home front, Saturday saw a slew of the league’s biggest names play their final games for their clubs having announced their retirements, among them former internationals Áine O’Gorman (Shamrock Rovers), Karen Duggan (Peamount United) and Rianna Jarrett (Wexford), as well as Wexford’s long-serving captain Kylie Murphy and Shelbourne’s Jemma Quinn.
Athlone Town wrapped up their title-winning season in style with a 4-0 win over Sligo Rovers, a margin of victory that would have been at least double if it were not for a remarkable performance by Sligo’s young goalkeeper Bonnie McKiernan.
Athlone, who announced last week that interim manager John Sullivan has signed a two-year contract with the club, now have their eyes set on the double, facing Bohemians in the FAI Cup final next Sunday.
