Ireland full prepared for Dutch challenge

If there was any pressure on the Republic of Ireland Women’s Under 19 team ahead of their UEFA European Championship semi-final on Thursday night, it doesn’t show.

Dave Connell’s team takes on the Netherlands at the Nedre Eiker in Mjondalen, Norway with a place in Sunday’s final against either the host nation or Spain. The stakes have never been higher.

Yet, the mood within the camp is upbeat with midfielder Jessica Gargan insisting that they have worked hard on the training pitch and trawled through video footage, but it’s all about one big performance.

According to the Peamount United player, the focus for Ireland has to be on putting the Netherlands on the back foot by playing their own game – essentially repeating the formula that has got them this far.

“We know what to expect from the Netherlands because we played them in the Elite Phase of qualifying and we’ve done a lot of video analysis on them, so we know their strengths and weaknesses,” said Gargan.

“But we have to play to our strengths and play our own game. We are confident in our own ability and we’ve showed already in this tournament that we are a good team; we just have to do it again.

“It’s going to be a massive game for us, but everyone is excited about it. Nobody has been talking about the final, it’s simply about beating the Netherlands because we know how tough that will be.”

Connell has no injury concerns going into the game, so that leaves him with a selection headache to outwit the Netherlands, who kept five clean sheets from six qualifying games.

Ireland held the Dutch to a scoreless draw back in April, although they have improved since then and confidence is sky high following their wins over Spain, England, and Sweden in Group B.

“We’ve got a lot of very good players and what we do have that other countries would love to have is a great team spirit. They get on well together and work together on and off the pitch, which is great,” said Connell.

“I took over three years ago and we set about building a team that would challenge for the European Championships within four years. So we did that a year early and we’ve really progressed with this group of girls, who come from around the entire country.

“It has been a great start for us at these finals, but we’re fully focused on the Netherlands now. We played them in the Elite Phase qualifiers in the Netherlands, so we know all about them and will be fully prepared going into the game.

“While it’s been great so far, we’re not ready to go home just yet. We want to reach the final and win the tournament, but looking past the Netherlands would be foolish. They are a very good team and they will know they are in a game when we take them on.”