Kelly hopes to put 'great experience' of U19 European Championships to good use
Aoife Kelly had a good experience with the Ireland U19 team in Lithuania Photo: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
IRELAND'S U19’s girls had a tough time at the UEFA Women’s U19’s Championships in Lithuania recently, getting one point from a possible nine and finishing bottom of their group, with a draw against Spain their only solace in a tough tournament. However, it’s fair to say that only tells half the story. They were never comprehensively beaten by anybody in the tournament, drawing 0-0 with Spain, losing 2-1 to Germany after leading for 70 minutes, and losing 2-0 to Spain.
Aoife Kelly was part of the squad that travelled over to Lithuania for the tournament and says that it was an incredible experience at the tournament.
“It was such a good experience playing against Spain, Germany and the Netherlands, the best teams in Europe. It was just a great experience playing against these players. I think Dave [Connell, the manager] had us very well prepared going into the match. Spain we came out of with a 0-0 draw, and they went on to win the competition, so that was a really great result. Against Germany, we went 1-0 up and then conceded two goals in the 71st minute and the 77th minute. That was a bit disappointing, but the rush of going 1-0 up was a brilliant feeling. The Netherlands then beat us 2-0. The players we were playing against in the three games were just very, very good. The final was between two teams from our group (Spain beat the Netherlands) so it’s reassuring to know we did well against those teams. Our group was very tough but I think the coaching staff had us well prepared.”
She said that they were set up very defensively throughout to give the teams the respect they deserve.
“I think it’s important to respect the opponent. We knew the likes of Spain would have lots of the ball and we had to be prepared for that. But also we gave ourselves a few chances, not necessarily in the Spain game, but in the Germany game going 1-0 up and we hit the post against the Netherlands which would have brought it to 1-1. So yeah we were defensive but we also had chances. I think Spain had 29 chances to our 0 in that game but the most important stat was the 0-0 draw. It was the first European Championships for any of us and Spain had won it last year and we knew we were going into a tough game and we wanted to get a result out of it and getting a draw I think was a very good result for us as it was our first time playing against the likes of those players and so for them to be reigning champions two years in a row to come and draw against the Republic of Ireland is huge.”
“The two finalists came from our group so it’s nice knowing we weren’t too far away against them. It was a great feeling when we went 1-0 up against Germany, we believed in the team and the squad we had, and if we get chances we can take them. We had chances and believed in ourselves, we went into the tournament not just to participate, we wanted to get results. We needed to take our chances and we unfortunately didn’t. We played against very tough opposition and to have played in it was a great experience. Don’t get me wrong, we would have loved to have made the semis and see where we go from there but we were in a very tough group and the two teams who qualified from our group were in the final. Unfortunately, we don’t qualify for the World Cup because you have to make semi-finals in the Euros. There were only eight teams in the tournament so to be in the top eight was incredible. It was one of the best experiences of my life to be honest. It was surreal to be over there, we got bags and t-shirts and they’re mementos we’ll hold on to forever to be honest.” Kelly, normally a central midfielder with Shamrock Rovers, played out of position somewhat during the tournament, playing in a back three. However, she said it’s not a role she’s unfamiliar with, having played there on multiple occasions for Ireland.
“This year with the U19’s, I’ve been playing in the centre of a back three so I’m used to it. Whereas in club I play in midfield. In the Germany and Netherlands games, I pushed up to midfield for part of the second half.” Aoife was on set-piece duty for Ireland for most of the tournament and says she relished the responsibility. “When I was younger, I used to take set-pieces and I really enjoy taking set-pieces, it’s a very important aspect of the game. I didn’t really think much about it to be honest, I just tried to put in the best ball I could and hope the girls could get something on the end of it. I think they do [trust me], and I think that’s important, for a player to feel trusted by the management.”
Kelly was back in club action of the weekend and was part of the Shamrock Rovers team who won a thrilling FAI Cup tie against Wexford FC after a penalty shoot out.
