'Every time she puts an Ireland shirt on, she's getting better and better'

Emma Duffy

ABBIE LARKIN PICKED up right where she left off in the Ireland jersey.

The 20-year-old Dubliner was the late goalscoring hero in Leuven last month, securing a stunning Nations League playoff success against Belgium.

And she broke the deadlock in Marbella yesterday after just eight minutes. 

Larkin’s goal — and a later assist — propelled Ireland to a 3-2 win over Belgium in their behind-closed-doors international friendly.

The Crystal Palace attacker understandably came in for huge praise from Carla Ward afterwards.

“Abbie was superb, she was sensational,” the manager said.

“And you know what? Every time she comes on the pitch and puts an Ireland shirt on, she’s getting better and better.

Advertisement

“I thought she was outstanding.”

Larkin was awarded a rare start, having generally been used off the bench, and she grabbed it with both hands. 

She hit the ground running, marking her 31st cap with her third international goal early doors. She later turned provider for Kyra Carusa in an all-round brilliant display.

“I was really lucky to get my start and just went out and wanted to prove what I could do,” Larkin says.

“I came in with a lot of confidence and was lucky enough to get a goal and an assist.

“I had a lot of confidence from the Belgian game. It’s a brilliant group of girls and they believe in me every day I’m in here. So I just took that under my wing, played with confidence and had a good game.”

The early goal would have boosted that confidence and belief further. Larkin intervened as Hungary tried to play out from the back, robbing the ball and racing clear before coolly finishing.

“We were all on a good press and I just anticipated the ball going back and she had a really bad touch, I pounced on it.

“I drove, was composed and took my shot and got it so great!”

The assist was just as good, if not better. 

The Ringsend native showed strength to hold the ball up around the middle, cleverness with her turn, and pace and energy in another surging run before releasing Carusa.

“I was driving up the pitch,” Larkin picks up. “I knew Kyra would stay in the box and I just seen her from the corner of my eye and played the ball in. She had a brilliant touch because I did fire it into her and she finished it off as she always does.”

Hungary pulled one back to leave it 2-1 at half-time, Denise O’Sullivan restored Ireland’s two-goal lead on the restart, and a late Hungary response was but a consolation goal which added gloss to the scoreline in a stop-start, experimental game.

Larkin was a clear standout for Ireland, impressive on and off the ball, and was met with a rousing reception from the bench as she was substituted for Saoirse Noonan in the 78th minute.

March’s opening World Cup qualifiers against France and Netherlands now move into full view, after a productive training camp in sunny Spain.

Related Reads

'A proud moment for me and my family - a little bit disappointing it's behind closed doors'

Abbie Larkin stars as Ireland beat Hungary in behind-closed-doors friendly

“It was a good week for us all to come together, and work on things we need to work on,” Larkin reflects.

“We proved a few things today and hopefully we can keep this up. There’s things we need to drive on and bring to our game and we did that a little bit. We really played well.”

Hands up for a starting berth in March so, after two goals in two games?

“Yeah, no,” the woman of the moment smiles. “As I said, I am really grateful to get the opportunity to prove what I can do and it will keep my confidence going.”