On the eve of a crucial World Cup game in Poland this evening, Ireland boss Carla Ward has hailed the appointment of Marie-Louise Eta as head coach at Union Berlin as the Bundesliga side break down barriers.
John Fallon reports in the Irish Examiner on Ward’s reaction as Union became the first club across the top five European leagues to appoint a female manager with Eta promoted from assistant manager to take charge until the end of the season.
“It’s unbelievably important,” said Ward as Ireland prepare for the first of two back-to-back games with Poland, at the 41,000-capacity Polsat Plus Arena this evening and at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
“I’m doing a Fifa independent study on the lack of females in the women’s game so will be talking to Marie-Louise next week. That’s perfect timing. I say it a lot that the men’s game is very different to women’s in terms of how it’s coached.
“The level of maturity in the men’s game goes back a lot longer and there’s far more participation in the male game. Us women, and I hope that I’m not speaking out of turn here, but we want to know the answer to everything, the details and the why behind it. I think lads are less so. Female coaches are arguably more process and detail driven. I think the men’s game could do with more women, let’s put it that way.”
Ward has confirmed that Crystal Palace midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn will miss today’s game with an Achilles injury but should be fit for Saturday’s return fixture in Dublin. Liverpool’s Denise O’Sullivan will return after missing the defeat in Holland last month.
Shamrock Rovers midfielder Gary O’Neill has been lauded for his honesty after an inspirational interview with his club’s media team when he revealed the full extent of his cancer diagnosis and his return to health.
A five-time League of Ireland winner with the Hoops, O’Neill hasn’t played since last October after tests at Tallaght Hospital discovered a form of testicular cancer that required 28 chemotherapy sessions before he recently received the all-clear.
“Now I’ve got the all-clear, I’m back doing some running, back doing a lot of individual training,” he said. “I’m a footballer again now. This is my job. I want to get back on the pitch. I think it’s important that people know that. This isn’t going to define me,” said O’Neill.
“I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. I’ve won the battle with the cancer and I’m back to my job now. I’m not naive that I’m ready to play against Pat’s or against Bohs next week. I’m not ready. My body is not ready. I still have a few weeks, a couple of months to go.
“But my goal is now and has been, since I was diagnosed, to get back on the pitch. That hasn’t changed and I’m in a really good place now mentally.”
Scotland’s ‘other’ Irish club HIbernian will celebrate their 150th anniversary with a game against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght Stadium on June 30th and a Fanzone party in Temple Bar.
Mark McCadden reports in the Irish Mirror that Hibs will undertake the visit to Dublin to celebrate their Irish origins and heritage.
The Fanzone celebrations will include a complimentary first pint of Guinness at the Buskers pub for all Hibees according to the report.
Liverpool will give PSG a run for their money when they chase a 2-0 Champions League deficit in tonight’s quarter-final at Anfield, manager Arne Slot has told the BBC.
Home rule will definitely be the only rule for Slot tonight if his team is to overcome a two-goal deficit from an away leg in Europe for only the third time in 14 attempts.
“In the last 50 home games we have played, 36 times we were able to score two goals or more. Yes, we don’t play PSG in all of those home games but the opponents we have had across the Premier League and Champions League are very strong,” said Slot.
“Yes, there is a belief we can do special things but we also need to be very, very, very special because we are playing against the champions of Europe, so that makes the task more complicated but not impossible.”
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was outraged by the performance of referee Paul Tierney as Leeds United won 2-1 on Monday night in their first Old Trafford victory since 1981.
Tierney sent Lizandro Martinez off for a hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin with Reds boss Michael Carrick also fuming with the match official as he suffered the first home defeat of his spell as interim manager.
“I’m not talking about the referee, if I talk about the referee I’m going to get in very big trouble because the rules are different for everyone and applied differently for everyone. The difference in the yellow cards, you can also see it, so it’s better that I don’t say anything,” Fernandes is quoted as saying by the Daily Express.
