Bullish Hayes insists Ireland team 'can go wherever it wants to go'
On the back of overcoming water hazards in Albania, Caitlin Hayes feels Ireland can make a splash in the deep end of the Euro qualifiers.
Vera Pauw’s outburst against UEFA last year for establishing what she deemed a system of inequality has vanished from the conversation as Ireland used the League B campaign to restore stability and confidence.
Scotland and Wales, by contrast, have been pummelled in League A.
The first two-thirds of the year was consumed by Ireland’s World Cup odyssey, the long goodbye to Pauw and the consequential recriminations.
Since September, however, it’s all been upbeat.
Caretaker boss Eileen Gleeson, alongside her assistants Colin Healy and Emma Byrne, has imbued a sense of calmness.
Additionally, a first-ever women’s game was held at Aviva Stadium and, most importantly, that marked the start of a four-match winning run.
Celtic defender Hayes has only known the good times.
She declared through her Offaly-born granddad in time for that opener against Northern Ireland and hasn’t missed a minute of action since.
Drama was dodged in the matches against lower-seeded opposition, most recently in the Shkodër downpour on Tuesday when they brushed off a 90-minute half-time delay to nick the win through Denise O’Sullivan’s 88th-minute finish.
From the thunderstorm has emerged the clarity of realising Ireland will be where they want to be for the Euro 2025 draw to be held in January.
Promotion to League A – with games against Hungary and Northern Ireland to spare – secures their place in the new qualifying format.
Entry to the playoffs for the Switzerland showpiece is assured if they don’t manage to book a direct place by finishing among the top two of their four-nation pool.
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