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There were two newcomers named to the expanded 30-player squad that the manager of the Republic of Ireland, Vera Pauw, announced today for next month’s Euro 2021 qualifier against Germany.
One was Wexford Youths’ precocious forward Ellen Molloy, who has had an impact on both the National Women’s League (she scored on her debut) and her scoring of goals for Ireland’s U-17s, despite turning 16 in June.
The other was Allison ‘Alli’ Murphy, a 26-year-old from Plano, Texas with Irish grandparents, who plays for the London City Lionesses of the English Championship.
Pauw received a tip that the midfielder was eligible from Irish Lionesses boss Lisa Fallon, but she was kicking herself for not remembering that fact – the Dutchwoman previously coached Murphy while in charge of the top-tier American team. Houston Dash in 2018.
“I’m a bit embarrassed,” Pauw told RTÉ Sport. “Alli Murphy was a player at Houston Dash when I was there and should have known I had an Irish passport. But I totally forgot.
“So Lisa Fallon said to me, ‘Hey, I have Alli Murphy here on my team. She has an Irish passport. ‘ And I thought ‘Oh my word, it’s true.’
“So we got in touch. We’ve seen all of his videos, you can see his featured video on YouTube, which says a lot.
“We don’t know if he will make the lineup, but he is definitely an addition to the team.”
Pauw revealed that Murphy had not made the grade in Houston, but believes that a subsequent spell in the Dutch Eredivisie with PEC Zwolle has drawn her immensely.
“In Houston I missed the technical experience, that’s why he didn’t make the professional team and we had to say goodbye.
“But she had talent, so we arranged for her to go to Holland, where the technical part of the game is the key.
“The Dutch game misses a lot in women’s football, but the technical part is very well developed, as you can see in the Dutch team.
“So he went to Zwolle and that gave him a boost to the level he’s playing now. If you compare that to when he was in Houston, when we didn’t have time for individual focus, it’s amazing what he put in and how he assumed the analysis that we did with she.
“She really got better from that, she went to Iceland (with UMF Selfoss) to get back into the fighting spirit, which is what is really lacking in the Netherlands, and her steps have made her a better player.
“Now we will be together. That is amazing, of course. But if she had stayed at the level she was in Houston, she would not have been part of the team. She made the decisions to take the necessary steps to become a better player.”
“You can do that as a player, you can take it into your own hands. She has done it and it shows.”
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