Cork City's Saoirse Noonan: 'It’s every girl’s dream to put on the green jersey – it’s the highest you can get'
Saoirse Soonan of Cork City in action against Wexford Youths. Credit: David Ribeiro (ETPhotos)
Cup finals are a rare occasion in soccer but for one member of the Cork City side on Saturday it will be far from an unfamiliar feeling.
In eight days' time, Saoirse Noonan will line out for her county in an All-Ireland Senior Football final against an all-conquering Dublin side.
With that context in mind, the prospect of lining out for her city in an FAI Cup final against an all-conquering Dublin side won’t seem that daunting.
It will help that she has already experienced cup success as part of the Cork City side that beat UCD Waves in the final at the Aviva Stadium in 2017.
Saturday’s final will take place in the comparatively cosy venue of Tallaght Stadium, and Noonan feels the smaller setting may help her side.
“At the Aviva, the whole occasion is huge, and Tallaght is obviously big as well, but with no spectators there it’s probably better that it’s in Tallaght because it’s a smaller stadium and it’s more like a normal match,” she says.
“You don’t have these big stands around you with empty seats, which could be a big tough. No matter where we are playing, it’s a cup final, everyone wants to be there and there’s a lot of attention around it.”
“It is our home stadium and everyone would want to play there, but it does kind of take the pressure off a bit. The nerves go down a tiny bit.
“It’s still Tallaght, it’s still a stadium, it’s still a place that the Irish women play, so it’s still going to be a bit nerve-wracking for everyone.
“But it’s just a pitch at the end of the day, and it’s a team that we’ve played numerous times so we’ll have to treat it like that.”
Noonan’s versatility – she has played all across the frontline for City since breaking into the team at 17 – has attracted the interest of national coach Vera Pauw.
She was in the extended squad for the recent Euro 2022 qualifiers with Ukraine and Germany but was ultimately left out, however she has clearly caught the manager’s eye.
The success of Leanne Kiernan, Rianna Jarrett and Katie McCabe in England show professional football is a realistic goal for Irish players, but right now Noonan is trained on immediate goals.
“It’s every girl’s dream to put on the green jersey – it’s the highest you can get. This game is the best you can be involved in.
“You can win leagues but you don’t have that final game so I think that’s why it is extremely exciting for a lot of us.
“I want to push my way into that Irish team – it’s definitely a goal of mine that I’ve set this year and I’m going to aim of in the coming months, hopefully – and keep working hard.
“You look at the girls across the water doing extremely well, and you see the National League here rising every week and getting more attention as it grows.
“Even the talent coming now is phenomenal. Right now my focus is just on the cup final and Cork City. It’s the best game you can be involved in.
“As a footballer from Ireland, playing in Ireland, it’s at the top of the list. I’m just ready to get going and we’ll look at next season after that.”
