It wasn’t the most auspicious of starts to Heather Payne’s senior international career back in 2017: the then 17-year-old came on in injury time for Denise O’Sullivan in Ireland’s end-of-season friendly defeat to Scotland in Kirkcaldy.
It’s unlikely that any other of the Irish players who featured that night would list the occasion as one of their most memorable in a green shirt, but for Payne it was special.
“To even be called into the seniors at that stage was an unbelievable moment,” she says. “The debut wasn’t very long, as a young player Colin Bell just threw me on for the last few minutes. But it was a great moment. I hoped for more.”
If Carla Ward selects Payne against Turkey in Tallaght on Friday night, as is likely, it will be 49 more: the Ballinasloe woman is on the cusp of reaching the half-century mark in caps.
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“I‘m super proud,” she says. “When you’re playing under-15 for Ireland you don’t really think about 50 senior caps, you just hope that you’ll make the squad. And to have played in a World Cup in those 50 caps is amazing as well.
I didn’t know much about Carla [Ward] because I didn’t have her as a coach myself, but I’d heard good things. Everybody is excited to see what she can bring
“But I don’t want to just stop at 50, I want to keep going and get as many caps as possible. There are some players in the squad who’ve reached 100, if I could do that, that would be brilliant.”
The chances are high, not least because of the versatility that Payne offers her managers, at club and international level. Full-back, wing-back, winger, midfielder, forward: she’s played in just about every outfield position there is.
That adaptability has helped her to feature in all 14 of Everton’s WSL games this season, starting 10 of them. Of the league’s 15-strong Republic of Ireland crop, only her club-mate Courtney Brosnan, Aston’s Villa’s Anna Patten and Arsenal’s Katie McCabe have got more game-time.
It’s been a struggle, though, for Everton who have won just three of their 14 WSL games, but their form has improved of late - before last Sunday’s injury-time defeat to reigning champions Chelsea they had taken seven points from their previous four games.
“Over the past couple of months we’ve really progressed as a team,” says Payne. “I think it was a shock to people when we beat Manchester City in December and we came so close to getting a result against Chelsea. We’re getting better and better. We’ve got new owners and it’s allowed the management to bring in new players when we lacked that squad depth a bit before.”
I don’t want to just stop at 50, I want to keep going and get as many caps as possible
The highlight of their season came in November when they beat Liverpool in their last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. Payne is hoping that the club’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will host that meeting from next season. “It’s magnificent,” she says, “I can see it from where I live. We’ve always played the Merseyside derby at Goodison, so I think we’ll get opportunities in the new stadium.”
For now, her focus is on international matters and “a new era” under Ward. “Carla came to our game against Leicester City a few weeks ago, and that was my first time to meet her. I didn’t know much about her because I didn’t have her as a coach myself, but I’d heard good things. Everybody is excited to see what she can bring.”
Before joining Everton in the summer of 2023, having spent four years at Florida State University, Payne had a trial with Liverpool, so she is more familiar with Amber Whiteley, the club’s assistant manager who has joined Ward’s backroom staff. “I wasn’t there that long, but she seems a lovely coach and really invested in the women’s game.”
“Not making the Euros will make us want to qualify for the World Cup even more, and doing well in the Nations League is really important in that qualification process. It’s a fresh start for us all, we’re looking forward to it.”
