“It does not stop now,” Savannah McCarthy, the splendid Galway WFC captain says about her welcome and most deserved return to the Republic of Ireland senior international fold.
“The fact that I was already in there, I just have to keep working hard - train hard every single weekend, play well with Galway week in, week out so hopefully I will get another chance to get back in there again to do my thing.”
Since rejoining Galway WFC at the outset of the 2020 campaign McCarthy has excelled in the maroon jersey ensuring Ireland manager Vera Pauw offered a recall to a promising squad.
The stirring 3-2 friendly success over Australia at Tallaght Stadium hinted at the potential that exists with McCarthy a key contributor.
“I was absolutely delighted, that was one of my main focuses this year to try to get in training even, to see how it went,” McCarthy says. “Obviously last week to be in the starting XI was a massive achievement for me, for my family, and my club, it was great.”
This is an exciting time for the WNL, the standard is improving, media exposure is increasing which matters too.
“I think it is a lot better, the games are being shown every single weekend, that is a massive thing,” McCarthy says. “People that cannot make it can watch it on the livestreams, even interviews, there is a lot of promotion, it is great for the league, and it is great for the club.”
Stephen Lally’s side defeated Treaty United at Eamonn Deacy Park to cap off a memorable stint for McCarthy. “It was brilliant, the main thing was to get the three points, we dug deep, we had a lot of chances, lucky enough one went in,” she says.
The October 9 FAI Cup semi-final away to Shelbourne at Tolka Park is edging closer with Galway eager to deliver on that stage.
“Definitely, I think we had a rough start to the season, but I think everything has fallen into place,” McCarthy replies. “We have got a good few results, obviously we have a cup semi-final to look forward to and that is a main focus, to try to win silverware for the club.
“I love this club, I love the players, they are fantastic to work with, a great bunch of girls on the pitch and off the pitch. We work well together.
“In the last month we know the league is gone so our main focus is the cup, we are well capable of winning it and we know it is always a tough battle when we play Shelbourne. I look forward to playing them away from home.”
**Listen to the full interview with Republic of Ireland international Savannah McCarthy on this week’s ‘Cian On Sport’ podcast available on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
