Carla Ward’s half-time message as Ireland produce stunning second-half performance in Greece

The message at half-time was, ‘stay calm’.

A raggedy first-half performance had raised fears that the Slovenia nightmare hadn’t been flushed from the system and that more valuable points would be left behind.

But two changes later - with the introductions of Katie McCabe and Marissa Sheva - and Ireland were playing with a swagger once again.

It’s been a while since they’ve been as dominant as they were in the second 45 minutes on Friday in Crete.

Sheva was only four minutes on the pitch when she scored, via a deflection.

Kyra Carusa’s 11th senior Ireland goal, just after the hour, came from brilliant play and a world-class delivery from McCabe.

Centre-half Jessie Stapleton, the official player of the match, scored off another pin-point McCabe cross, while Amber Barrett came off the bench to mark her 50th cap with her eighth goal for Ireland.

In between, Denise O’Sullivan ran the second-half show and came close to finding the net herself, as Ireland put their hosts to the sword.

McCabe started on the bench because of a calf strain that she picked up playing in the Champions League for Arsenal against Real Madrid.

The Gunners were keen for her to manage her minutes - so they’ll be relieved to know that the booking she picked up 10 minutes into the second-half, her second of the campaign, will rule her out of next Tuesday’s Tallaght clash with Greece.

There is little point now in dwelling on the poor first-half display, so good was Ireland’s football after the break.

Naturally, though, people will be curious about what was said during the break to help affect such a turnaround.

Manager Carla Ward responded, saying: “I think at half-time it was actually a really calm message. It was, just remember what we are going after.

“We probably weren’t looking at the spaces we wanted to. We probably weren’t looking to stretch them, and I think stretching them earns you the right to play, it drops them off.

“We did need to do that a little bit more, and when we did that it increased the tempo on the ball and we started to engage them a little bit more.

“When we did that I thought it was much better.”

Ward has now been in charge for three games, and has not had a lot of time yet on the training pitch to get her demands across to the players.

So she paid tribute to them for their second-half implementation on Friday of her desired style of play.

I think they deserve an awful lot of credit,” said the former Aston Villa boss. “We’ve had seven tactical sessions with the group and you’ve got to take your hat off to the players because they are delivering, they are listening, they are putting into practice, and the second-half was superb.”

The goals weren’t long in coming.

First up on 49 minutes, Sheva benefitted from fortuitous spill of the ball, as O’Sullivan was dispossessed on the edge of the area.

She took aim from 20 yards and her effort clipped off the leg of Greece captain Eleni Markou on its way into the back of the net.

With 61 minutes on the clock, McCabe showed a delightful bit of footwork to ghost past two dazed and confused Greek opponents, before racing forward and delivering a sensational ball onto the boot of Leanne Kiernan at the back post.

The Liverpool striker’s first-time effort drew a spectacular save from goalkeeper Zoi Nasi, but Carusa was on hand to stab the rebound home.

McCabe was key again in the 74th minute, moments after O’Sullivan had intercepted a Nasi clearance, burst into the box and drew a save from the netminder.

The Arsenal ace placed the resulting corner right on the head of Stapleton at the near post, and she steered the ball high into the far corner.

Barrett had the final say when fellow substitute Abbie Larkin passed the ball up the right flank and into her path.

She still had a good 40 yards to run, with a tired defender on her heels, but she showed great composure to drill her shot low across Nasi and inside the left-hand upright.

On Sheva, a recent Sunderland signing, Ward said: “She is a little livewire in there, she links the play and she causes problems. I thought she did tremendously well.”

Stapleton’s performance had Ward purring, and she said: “I think she has got huge, huge potential. She is somebody I think is going to be a top, top player for this country.

“Once she got the goal I was delighted, but her overall play today was very, very good.

“The first time starting in a back-four with Patsie (Anna Patton) and she has done herself a world of good.”

And as for Barrett, the Ireland boss added: “What an individual, what a great human being to work with.

“She said to me afterwards, ‘Thank you for giving me the opportunity’, but actually, ‘Thank you for getting that final goal’.

“That’s what she’s capable of, she comes on, she’s a big-moment player, but let me tell you now, what a wonderful character to work with.”

No one will be basking for long in the glory of this win, however, with another big game coming up against the same opponents next Tuesday night in Tallaght.

“It’s a massive game again on Tuesday. We have to start the way we finished this game and we have to go there and get three points again,” concluded Ward.

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