Marissa Sheva helping fellow American Erin Healy settle into Ireland setup
Courtney Brosnan and Kyra Carusa had declared before qualification was secured in 2022, Sinéad Farrelly and Marissa Sheva pledged their allegiance in time for the trip to Australia, while Erin Healy became the latest convert.
US-born players pursuing international exposure through ancestry is more prevalent in the women's game due to the status of the national team as Fifa's top ranked nation.
Farrelly has since retired and Sheva was omitted from the squad for a period when Eileen Gleeson succeeded Vera Pauw as boss but she's back in favour under Carla Ward.
The attacking midfielder has moved closer by joining Sunderland towards the end of the season and is pushing for a start in Friday's penultimate Uefa Nations League fixture against Turkey at the Esenler Stadium in Istanbul (6pm, Irish time).
Healy could make her debut in attack and Sheva has been mindful about ensuring the newcomer feels at home in her new habitat.
Ward last week flagged a move to England for the striker but her club Adelaide United yesterday announced a contract extension.
'I definitely remember my first camp in Spain,' said 28-year-old Sheva, resonating with Healy's experience this week.
'That always changes things and it's not a home camp in Dublin where everybody feels a little bit more at ease and comfortable.
'I'm trying to just make sure she feels comfortable and is able to perform the way she can and not feel any unnecessary stress outside of being on the pitch.'
Turkey may be bottom seeds in the four-team pool that also includes Slovenia and Greece but they almost embarrassed Ireland in Ward's first game at the helm.
Sheva is adamant progress has been made since that unconvincing 1-0 win at Tallaght in February.
'Hopefully we can beat Turkey by more than one goal,' said the Pennsylvania native.
'I think this will be a better camp than the first camp against the same opponents.
'There was almost an overhaul of tactics of what we were previously playing. It's really tough to implement that in one, two, or even three camps.
'We're being encouraged to build out from the back more, to be a little bit more aggressive from the getgo, trying to utilise our midfield more. You can't change that overnight.'
Once Turkey is done, the squad travel back to Cork for the visit of Slovenia to Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Unless the group leaders drop points against Greece, then Ireland's mission will be to equal or surpass the 4-0 victory the Slovenians achieved in Ward's second match.
'We've good memories from beating France in Cork last year,' she said about returning to the home of Cork GAA.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
40 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Cameron Young eases to his first PGA Tour win in North Carolina
American Cameron Young romped to the first PGA Tour title of his career with a six-stroke victory in the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina. Ireland Seamus Power had an up and down round of 71 to finish the tournament on -4. It was Power's worst round of the tournament and featured five bogeys and four birdies and he ended up with a share of 44th place. Young, who finished runner-up at the Open in 2022, carded a two-under 68 in his final round to finish 22 under par, comfortably ahead of compatriot Mac Meissner. Resuming with a five-shot overnight lead on 20 under par for the tournament at Sedgefield Country Club, Young emphatically recovered from a bogey on hole one. The 28-year-old sunk five successive birdies and then made par on the next nine holes to remain in complete control. Despite two bogeys on the final three holes, Young became the 1,000th unique winner on the PGA Tour, as well as the 12th first-time champion this year. Runner-up Meissner finished on 16 under following a four-under 66 on day four. Fellow American Mark Hubbard and Sweden's Alex Noren came joint third on 15 under par. Aaron Rai, the defending champion, ended tied for fifth alongside Chris Kirk and amateur Jackson Koivun after finishing with a birdie in a two-under 68. Former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who carded 67 on Sunday, was among a trio of players tied for eighth place on 13 under. Colombia's Nico Echavarria, who began the day in second place, plummeted to joint 19th position following a five-over final round of 75.
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Lions star Bundee Aki reveals he missed arrival of his daughter during Australia tour after wife gave birth in a CAR
Aki admitted he played poorly in the defeat to Australia YOU'RE KIDDING Lions star Bundee Aki reveals he missed arrival of his daughter during Australia tour after wife gave birth in a CAR BUNDEE AKI has revealed he became a dad again during the Lions' series win in Australia — with his wife giving birth in a car. The Irish centre held his hands up on his shocker in Sydney on Saturday in a 22-12 defeat, which saw the tourists miss the chance of a Wallaby whitewash. 3 Bundee Aki's wife has given birth to a daughter Credit: Instagram 3 Aki now has five children Credit: Instagram After the Lions failed to clinch a series clean sweep, Aki then announced he had become a father for the fifth time two weeks ago. The 35-year-old has yet to meet new daughter Aine, who was born in the build-up to the opening Test win in Brisbane. Wife Kayla was in New Zealand with family when she got in touch to say she was ready to give birth before he helped the Lions to a 27-19 triumph. Aki recalled: 'Credit to my wife. She's a powerful woman. I was in the hotel in Brisbane and I knew we were overdue. READ MORE IN SPORT 'BEAUTIFUL' Lando Norris' girlfriend Margarida Corceiro shows off sideboob in risque outfit 'The missus calls me and she's like, 'My waters haven't broken but I'm going to the hospital, I'm feeling contractions'. 'Five minutes later, her waters broke. I was like, 'Are you almost there?' This is like 40 minutes away from the hospital, so I said, 'You'll be all right, Mum is there'. 'Ten minutes later, she video calls me and I was like, 'S**t, what's going on?' I saw a baby on the video call, so she had it in the car. 'They're both healthy. I knew it was good juju and we were going to have a good day.' BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK All of Aki's kids have first names starting with the letter A — Armani-Jane, Adrianna, Andronicus, Ailbhe and now, Aine. But their old man admitted he put in nothing close to an A-star performance in Sydney as the Lions were mauled in a monsoon. The game was suspended after half-time for 38 minutes due to lightning, with the Aussies 8-0 up through Dylan Pietsch's try and a penalty. Finn Russell was spotted in the dressing room flicking through his phone and Aki had his feet up on a bean bag before play resumed. But the Wallabies struck twice after the delay to get the victory. Aki had his worst game in an international shirt but fronted up. He said: 'I wasn't great. It was a poor game but you have those days and you have to live with it. 'We won the series and that's all we came for. 'Now, I want to enjoy my break. I haven't seen my family for eight weeks. I have a newborn child I haven't met yet.' Australia got it over the line thanks to a turbo-charged display from lock Will Skelton, who was on the wind-up all match, and second-half tries from Max Jorgensen and Tate McDermott. Jac Morgan and Will Stuart crossed to give the Lions some consolation — but Skelton had shown the Aussies the way. Wallabies scrum-half Nic White said: 'For once, someone stood up to them.'
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Cathal Doyle lands thrilling 1500m gold as stars shine at Irish Championships in Santry
Cathal Doyle delivered a brilliant finish to win a stacked 1500m final at the Irish Athletics Championships, while Sarah Lavin and Mark English celebrated their 10th national titles STAR POWER Cathal Doyle lands thrilling 1500m gold as stars shine at Irish Championships in Santry CATHAL DOYLE reigned supreme in the men's 1500m at the Irish Championships in Santry yesterday. The Clonliffe Harriers ace saw off a top-class field that included Andrew Coscoran and Nick Griggs Advertisement 3 Cathal Doyle of Clonliffe Harriers AC after winning the senior men's 1500m Irish national 3 Sarah Lavin of Emerald AC, Limerick won the 100m hurdles final at Morton Stadium in Dublin 3 Senior women's 400m champion Sophie Becker of Raheny Shamrock AC with her medal during day two of the 153rd National Track & Field Senior Championships at Morton Stadium And there was also joy for Sarah Lavin who claimed the spoils in the women's 100m hurdles showpiece. Mark English claimed gold in the men's 800m at Morton Stadium. But the race of the day was the men's 1500m — and it did not disappoint the masses. Coscoran, Griggs, Darragh McElhinney, Callum Morgan, and Shane Bracken all in contention with Doyle. But the Clonliffe man made the decisive move with 200m to go and he never relinquished the lead as he held off Coscoran in a time of 3:53.60. Advertisement Coscoran clocked 3:53.84, while Griggs was just behind them in 3:53.80. Lavin also impressed in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.92 to claim her TENTH national title. She saw off silver medallist Molly Scott in 13.61 as Sarah Quinn claimed bronze in 13.84. But Limerick sprinter Lavin was not the only one to claim a tenth title in Santry — as Mark English joined her. Advertisement The Donegal man crossed the line in the 800m decider with a time 1:48.76 after biding his time to rush home. Ian McPhillips pushed him closest but had to settle for second in 1:49.26, with Andrew Thompson claiming bronze with 1:49.93. Tragic Losses in Bodybuilding: Remembering Lorena Blanco and Other Fallen Athletes And English said: 'I felt great. I was a little bit nervous coming into the race because there's a bunch of guys that train together so I knew it was going to be a difficult race but I had a plan and I executed it.' Elsewhere, Sophie Becker won the women's 400m. Advertisement The Raheny woman crossed the line in 52.87 to make it three national titles in the last four years. Rachel McCann and Cliodhna Manning followed in 53.19 and 53.99 respectively. While Coscoran did not claim glory in the 1500m, he did at least take gold in the 5000m. The Star of the Sea AC star out-kicked defending champ Brian Fay to win in a time of 13:34.14. Fay clocked 13:34.92. Advertisement Leevale's Niamh Allen won the women's 5000m in 15:35.90 and was followed home by clubmate Anika Thompson who set the pace for much of the race, ultimately crossing in 15:40.56. Fiona Everard of Bandon AC completed the Cork 1-2-3 in 16:04.36. Bori Akinola claimed his first national senior 100m title in style, clocking 10.29 to add to his indoor 60m crown from earlier this season. Ciara Neville won the women's 100m to secure her first outdoor sprint title since 2019 — clocking 11.44. Advertisement Jack Raftery clocked a winning time of 45.71 in the men's 400m. Alex O'Neill claimed her first national senior title in a thrilling women's 800m final, crossing the line in 2:04.53. Laura Nicholson won the women's 1500m race in 4:13.32. Adam Nolan powered to victory in the men's 110m hurdles, claiming his first senior title with a time of 14.24. Cara Murphy won her first 400m hurdles title in 59.85. Advertisement Niall Carney broke through to claim his first senior 400m hurdles title, coming on the back of Thomas Barr's era of dominance that saw him win 12 of the last 14 runnings. Carney crossed for gold in 54.87. Reece Ademola became just the second Irish athlete to post a leap of eight meters or longer in the men's long jump. The Cork athlete produced a huge attempt to reach eight metres. Nicola Tuthill continued to shine by securing her fourth senior outdoor title in the women's hammer throw with an Under-23 record. The UCD athlete saw three throws go out over the 70m mark, with her best and last attempt of 71.75m breaking her own record. Advertisement Niamh Fogarty added the discus title to her shot put victory. Matthew Callinan Keenan won the men's Pole Vault, claiming his third outdoor title in just four years with a winning height of 4.80m. Sean Mockler won the men's hammer with a best throw of 65.62m. Lauren Callaghan soared to her first senior outdoor title in the women's long jump, landing a winning leap of 6.24m in doing so.
