The events at Tallaght Stadium on Friday night were akin to a snapshot of Megan Campbell’s Republic of Ireland career.
There was her specialised subject, the long throw-in, which almost led to an Irish goal. That was followed deep into the second half by an athletic headed clearance off the line which protected Ireland’s lead as Turkey sniffed a late leveller in the Nations League.
And finally, there was a niggly injury that led to her substitution in the final moments and may prevent her from being involved against Slovenia in Koper on Tuesday.
Ireland’s Megan Campbell. Pic: INPHO/Tommy Dickson
Since her debut in August 2011, Campbell’s front-line career has been decorated by titanic throw-ins, heroic defending and spells out with injury. First capped a month before Denise O’Sullivan in 2011, Campbell is the longest-serving player in the squad, yet her tally of 53 appearances is dwarfed by O’Sullivan’s 120.
Recognised primarily as a leftback or left wing-back for Ireland, the 31-year-old was switched to centre-half, alongside Anna Patten, as Carla Ward opted for a flat back four in her first game as head coach.
Campbell couldn’t recall playing there in a green shirt before but she is not unfamiliar with the demands of the role.
‘As I’m getting older, I prefer the more central role than the fullback. I enjoyed it. I play there for my club (London City) and I’m comfortable in that position,’ said Campbell after Ireland’s patchy 1-0 win.
‘Having the support and backing of the staff to step in and start that game was a comfort for me and a confidence booster. It’s a new system, a new formation and it’s positive. It’s nice to be on the ball a lot more than usual. My understanding of the game, the ability to read the game, suits me better at centre-back.’
Like many, Campbell found conditions underfoot difficult. A second game in Tallaght in 24 hours, coupled with heavy rain on Friday, left the pitch in a poor state.
Shamrock Rovers players after the defeat to Molde. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
There were pockets akin to a bog and the ground staff deserved credit for ensuring the game could go ahead. Across the city at Belfield, the men’s First Division game between UCD and Bray Wanderers was called off.
‘It’s never easy to play on a pitch like that,’ Campbell said. ‘(Shamrock) Rovers would have felt that as well in the legs and they went 120 minutes on it, I don’t envy them in that respect. For us it was very soft, when you planted your foot to pass, things were bobbling.’
Under a new manager, there was a new system and a new approach, although implementing the latter wasn’t easy with the ball being held up by both mud and wind. ‘We changed from a 3-5-2 to a 4-3-3 [it looked more like 4-1-4-1] so you have one less in the backline which creates an extra one up front.
‘We needed to move them and at times we didn’t, even if the pitch didn’t help. Passes into pockets and stuff were maybe coming up short. But it was positive, and we were trying things.
‘We’re trying to keep possession higher up. If we have to turn them, we have to turn them. We didn’t expect them to press as high.’ Campbell approves of what Ward is looking to do in terms of keeping the ball that bit more and she called for patience, as it’s very early days under the new head coach.
‘Football is about having possession and creating opportunities. And we haven’t done that in a long time in terms of possession-based football with the national team. So we’re changing that up now.
Ireland head coach Carla Ward. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
‘It’s not going to be perfect overnight. It’s a process we’re going through with new staff and it’s about building the confidence to enjoy having the football a lot more. We know we are good enough to be on the ball and good enough to create more chances than previously.
‘We have the quality to do that. But the confidence is something we have maybe lacked in ourselves as a group. Now we need to put that right in terms of our confidence. Because everyone is technically good enough.’
The game was no classic. There were just seven attempts on goal between the teams, three on target, two to Ireland and one to plucky Turkey, who got stuck in and were in the game right to the final whistle.
By the end, the general feeling was one of relief at moving on from the Euro play-off loss with a win that puts a building block in place for the remainder of the Nations League.
‘We could have been a lot smarter, maybe taking an extra touch, or moving the ball a little quicker so we could create that space for ourselves,’ said Campbell. ‘In those conditions, I think a clean sheet and three points are really positive. That’s what we wanted and what we got.’
Former Ireland managers Eileen Gleeson and Vera Pauw both got off to winning starts with the national side. Pic: INPHO/Bryan Keane
The night revived memories of Mick McCarthy’s first game back in his second spell as men’s manager, away to Gibraltar in March 2019.
On a plastic pitch, battered by winds, and with jet engines as a noisy backdrop, Ireland eked out a 1-0 win on The Rock in their opening European Championship qualifier. Afterwards McCarthy said he’d enjoyed the national anthem, Jeff Hendrick’s goal, and the final whistle. The rest he hated. Ward would have understood what McCarthy meant.
In September 2019, Vera Pauw began with a 2-0 home win in the Euros; four years later Eileen Gleeson oversaw a 3-0 home win over Northern Ireland in the Nations League.
For Ward, the winning start on Friday, courtesy of Kyra Carusa’s fine header in stoppage time at the end of the first half, mattered more than anything else.
The challenge now is to follow it up in Slovenia on Tuesday where another positive result would put Ireland in a strong position to win instant promotion back to League A.