Offaly women make Irish U-17 soccer squad for European qualifiers

TWO Offaly women have been selected on the Irish soccer squad for the forthcoming U-17 European qualifiers.

Ballinagar woman Millie Daly and Mucklagh's Ellen Dolan were delighted to make the final squad which was announced this weekend.

It is a tremendous achievement for the talented duo who have really impressed at this level in the past year.

Ellen Dolan plays in midfield while Millie Daly is a left winger. A student at Killina Secondary School, Dolan plays with Peamount United in Dublin. Daly is a student at Tullamore College and now plays with Athlone Town in the League of Ireland.

The Irish squad will travel to Biaritz for the European qualifiers on Monday, March 20. They have been drawn in a tough group A5 alongside Italy, France and Kosovo but hope to mount a strong challenge.

The first game will be against Kosovo on Thursday, March 23. They play Italy on Sunday, March 26 and the host country, France on Wednesday, March 29. The three games take place in the Stade Jean Andre Maye, Tarnos.

There are seven groups but there is little margin for error as the group winners qualify for the finals in Estonia on May 14-26. It is a great achievement for Ireland to qualify for the top tier. Estonia are assured of a place in the finals as hosts but they are also competing in the qualifiers and if they top their group, it will open up one more qualifying spot for the best runner up.

The team finishing fourth in each group will be relegated to League B for 2023/2024. Ireland will be hoping to give a very good account of themselves and the talented Offaly girls should receive plenty of game time.

Ireland drew and lost to Switzerland in recent friendlies. They also drew and won one in a friendly against Spain in February and competing against some of the best teams in Europe will be a great experience for them. The Irish squad is currently ranked sixth in Europe, moving up from 10th in January.