Kelly Brady called up to Irish squad for friendly against Hungary

The Republic of Ireland are, you’d imagine, the last people Hungary would want to be meeting in a football fixture any time soon, but their women face Carla Ward’s crew in a behind-closed-doors friendly in Marbella later this month.

“Positivity breeds positivity,” said the head coach on Tuesday morning when asked if the men’s success in Budapest last Sunday can have a knock-on effect on her squad as they prepare for their World Cup qualifying campaign next year. “If I walk in the room and smile at you, you’re going to smile back.”

“It was unbelievable. We probably felt the same after we beat Belgium in the [Nations League] play-offs, but it’s not just the senior teams, the under-17s are going so well too. You want to be part of all that, there’s an air around it all. It’s a really good moment for Irish football, and we want to continue that.”

Ward has given Kelly Brady her first official call-up after she trained with the squad last month. The 23-year-old, who is a free agent after her contract with Athlone expired, was named the Premier Division Player of the Year last week following a debut double-winning season in which she scored 26 goals.

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And Tara O’Hanlon is back in the squad after an injury-ravaged 2½ years, the 20-year-old finally returning to action this season with Sunderland, where she is on loan from Manchester City.

Goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan and forward Leanne Kiernan also return after missing the Belgian games through injury, but Heather Payne, Megan Connolly, Jess Ziu and Amber Barrett are all recovering from assorted knocks and have been omitted.

Republic of Ireland squad – Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Sunderland), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton)

Defenders: Aoife Mannion (Newcastle United), Jessie Stapleton (Nottingham Forest), Anna Patten (Aston Villa), Caitlin Hayes (Brighton), Hayley Nolan (Crystal Palace), Chloe Mustaki (Nottingham Forest), Tara O’Hanlon (Sunderland), Katie McCabe (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Ruesha Littlejohn (Crystal Palace), Jamie Finn (Sunderland), Tyler Toland (Durham), Marissa Sheva (Sunderland), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City)

Forwards: Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace), Emily Murphy (Newcastle United), Saoirse Noonan (Celtic), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Kelly Brady (free agent)