Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Katie McCabe's half-time introduction provided the spark for Ireland.Ryan Byrne/INPHO AnalysisAnalysis 'Massive impact': Katie McCabe's importance to Ireland underlined in second-half show Irish captain’s introduction key as calf strain and suspension limit her involvement in Greece double-header. 6.16am, 5 Apr 2025 Share options THE BIG PRE-MATCH news was Katie McCabe’s absence from the starting XI. The Republic of Ireland captain’s calf strain had been kept relatively quiet in the build-up to this crucial Nations League double-header against Greece. Carla Ward highlighted Heather Payne’s ankle injury, but kept schtum on McCabe. She took a limited part in training this week, which The 42 noted and enquired about. The calf issue was flagged in our match preview, along with the fact that she was available for action in Crete. McCabe picked up the niggle during Arsenal’s sensational Champions League quarter-final win over Real Madrid 10 days ago, and her load and minutes are being managed. She was named on the bench, Ireland starting without the world-class left-sided star for the first time since last summer’s Euro 2025 qualifier defeat to England, when she was ruled out through suspension. (She will miss Tuesday’s return tie at Tallaght Stadium for the same reason; shown her second yellow card of the campaign 10 minutes into her second-half cameo.) McCabe has been one of the first names on the Ireland team sheet for years, her last substitute appearance in a 1-0 defeat to Russia at the Pinatar Cup in February 2022. Indeed, it was only the fifth time in her 96 caps that she came on as a sub. Denise O’Sullivan took the armband in her wake, while Megan Campbell started at left-back. If nothing else, it might be interesting to see how Ireland would fare without one of their biggest stars. Advertisement In brief: Not very well. The first half was pretty dire. It would have been a frustrating watch for McCabe, who was heard loud and clear through TV as her side laboured and misfired. “Keep it, keep it,” she roared from the sideline at one point. McCabe on the charge.Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO Ireland were perhaps lucky to go in 0-0 at the break, fears of a Greek tragedy following the Slovenia shocker beginning to creep in. But Ward urged calm in the dressing room and made two changes in personnel: McCabe for Campbell, and Marissa Sheva for Tyler Toland. “We knew Katie had 45 in her. It was a choice: do we start her and potentially have to bring her off? I wanted to try and go the other way,” the manager explained in her post-match TV interview. “She’s made a massive impact… I think it was a squad effort.” McCabe was involved in three of the four goals, finishing with one direct assist while two other deliveries were instrumental. Along with her creativity, the energy, composure and leadership she brought was striking. By the Dubliner’s own high standards, she hasn’t exactly been at her best for Ireland of late, her club form not always translating — but last night underlined her utmost importance. She will have been disappointed not to get an early free-kick on target, but moved through the gears from there. Her long-range delivery into the box caused problems for the Greeks and eventually led to Sheva’s 49th minute opener. The Arsenal star was all-action on and off the ball, picking up a yellow card for an unnecessary foul on Stamatia Ntarzanou mid play. Over-and-back needle followed. That 55th-minute booking, combined with another against Türkiye, means she is suspended for Tuesday’s return tie. On the positive side, it’s another opportunity to see how Ireland cope without her, and more recovery time for the calf strain ahead of the Champions League semi-finals and WSL run-in. RTÉ Sport / X (Formerly Twitter) McCabe showed her class in the build-up to the second goal just after the hour mark: she evaded a couple of challenges on a progressive run before sending a pinpoint delivery to the back post for Leanne Kiernan, whose volley was stopped but the rebound turned in by Kyra Carusa. This was a real moment of quality, and Ireland were humming. The assist arrived 13 minutes later from a rehearsed corner, the excellent Jessie Stapleton heading home an inch-perfect inswinger. RTÉ Sport / X (Formerly Twitter) McCabe played no direct part in Amber Barrett’s stunning individual goal deep in stoppage time — nor come close to a 30th international goal herself, from memory — but her fingerprints were all over the second-half salvo. Other stats, via sofascore, speak for themselves: 40 touches, three tackles, 65% accurate passes (11/17), two key passes, 1/2 successful dribbles, 55% accurate crosses (5/9) and 71% ground duels won (5/7). All while nursing a niggle. She undoubtedly provided an immediate spark and was influential in Ireland’s turnaround, dominating the post-match conversation. “It’s something that is talked about for a long time, how important Katie is for us, and there’s absolutely no question that she is,” as Barrett said. Related Reads 'Stay calm' - Ireland boss Carla Ward hails 'superb' second-half surge against Greece Ireland sink Greece in second half to get Nations League campaign back on track “Her importance for the team, you can’t question it, but it also shows when she doesn’t start the game, other players need to step up, and I think the girls did that.” Debatable in some quarters, but Tuesday provides another test in that regard. Ireland need to be better in McCabe’s absence, but Ward played down any fears the Girls In Green might struggle again without the skipper. “You can write any headline you want but I tell you what, it was quite a squad effort from everybody,” as she told The Irish Independent in Crete. “Katie was superb when she came on. She’s world-class. We know that. For me, she’s the best left-back in the world. Marissa Sheva came on as well and if you add that to all the intensity, and stretching them earlier, it all came together nicely. “This isn’t a one-man band and Katie will tell you that. Everybody in the second-half deserves a lot of credit.” Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'Massive impact': Katie McCabe's importance to Ireland underlined in second-half show”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “'Massive impact': Katie McCabe's importance to Ireland underlined in second-half show”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. 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