It’s been 11 months since Saoirse Noonan was last called up to the Republic of Ireland squad.
Head coach Eileen Gleeson was questioned last week about her overlooking of the Celtic striker all through that spell – although she is on the standby list for the upcoming Euro 2025 play-off against Wales.
“It is reflective of the depth that the squad is developing,” said Gleeson. “There are still levels we want Saoirse to push towards.”
After her hat-trick on Sunday against Montrose in the Scottish Premier League, bringing her tally for the season to 17 goals in 21 games, Noonan most probably feels she is indeed pushing towards the required levels for an international recall.
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It has, though, been a strange old season for the Cork woman, by some distance the highest-scoring Irish forward on foreign shores.
Before Sunday she’d helped herself to 12 goals in her first 10 appearances for Celtic, who she joined from Durham during the summer, but she managed just two in her last ten. She’s up and running again, though.
Her exclusion from the squad suggests Gleeson, who had a spell managing in Scottish football with Glasgow City, isn’t convinced that banging in the goals for Celtic is the hardest of tasks – and considering Montrose have now conceded 56 in 14 games, she has a point.
But Noonan can do no more. And the fact that her team-mate Caitlin Hayes is an ever-present for Gleeson, despite playing in the much maligned Scottish league, might just give her hope.
Eight of the 24-strong squad Gleeson named for the games against Wales had the weekend off, so they should be well rested. Among them were Denise O’Sullivan, Kyra Carusa and Marissa Sheva in the States, and Julie-Ann Russell at home, it being off-season for them all.
And after FC Zurich’s league game was postponed due to decidedly arctic weather, the back issue that ruled Diane Caldwell out of the last international window wasn’t able to be tested.
Gleeson’s chief concern, though, is Aoife Mannion’s continuing absence from Manchester United’s squad, the defender not featuring in their last three games, including Saturday’s WSL game against Chelsea. With Louise Quinn already ruled out of the play-offs through injury, Gleeson could do without another loss from her first-choice backline.
Heather Payne is a concern too. She missed Everton’s League Cup game against Manchester United last Wednesday with a “knock”, no more detail than that given by the club.
On a happier note, Niamh Fahey did at least get a rare enough start for Liverpool in their 6-1 trouncing of Newcastle in the League Cup, Leanne Kiernan wrapping up the scoring after she came on at half-time.
And Izzy Atkinson made the starting XI for Crystal Palace for the first time this season in their League Cup win over Charlton. But both she and Abbie Larkin were taken off in that game – Gleeson will hope that it was purely for tactical rather than injury reasons.
Ruesha Littlejohn’s return to fitness, after her interminable Achilles woes, stepped up when she came on for the last half-hour of London City Lionesses’ 4-1 League Cup defeat by West Ham, although the fact that she replaced Megan Campbell after 57 minutes will leave Gleeson anxiously waiting for yet another injury update.
Nervy times ahead of a couple of games that will determine who books their place in Switzerland next summer.
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