FAI has work to do to ensure this doesn’t leave a Saipan-like legacy

Make no mistake – Katie McCabe could easily have applied discretion in her exchanges with Vera Pauw in the second half against Nigeria in Brisbane on Monday.

Sculpted by the renowned Arsenal school of media training for the past eight years, the Dubliner measures every word enunciated.

She’s mastered that modern technique of covering her mouth during conversations with teammates and staff when the cameras are studying every image and noise.

The skipper’s protestations were audible to the sparse crowd housed on the bench side of Laing Park. Among those seats are the press box, perched midway above the lower tier.

Exchanges from the pitch to dugout are a normal feature of matchday and, had this been one of two previous games when a combined 93,000 people attended, the chants of the Green Army in Australia would’ve drowned out any chatter.

Yet this was different. McCabe’s voice cut through the Brisbane night; the pitched tone reflective of her frustration.

As the play curdled on the right side, she was hugging the left touchline and bellowing remarks – interpret them as demands, instructions or merely requests – but the one certainty was her dissatisfaction.

“I’m telling you to freshen it up,” was the clearest of all the stern sentences.

Fans discerned the disagreement, as did the media, including the television commentators overlooking the bench. Something was amiss and the national broadcaster were justified by informing the audience back home.

McCabe lamented Ireland’s lack of cutting edge in her post-match musings, confessing her regret at arrowing an early shot a yard wide of the far post.

Nigeria’s satisfaction to see out the match scoreless for the point necessary to seal a last-16 meeting with England next Monday was confirmed by their manager Randy Waldrum.

McCabe, used to winning at club level, clearly felt the African side were there for the taking if Ireland added energy from the subs in the final 20 minutes.

Pauw was the person, unprompted, who specified Sinead Farrelly as the starter McCabe wanted withdrawn – maybe for either Izzy Atkinson or Chloe Mustaki to facilitate her switch further into attack. 

“I don’t like being regimented at times,” the 27-year-old pointedly said afterwards.

It was one of her last words heard, for once Pauw’s rebuke from the subsequent press conference was relayed to her, the zipped mouth emoji was posted on her Twitter account. Judging by the timing, she may have been on the team bus with Pauw at that juncture.

What had been an undercurrent of friction between Pauw and McCabe since their joint press conference on July 5 had developed into a full-blown public show of division.

No matter what spin the FAI try to attach to this spat, if they break with the tournament tradition and actually say something, Ireland’s World Cup journey of 22 months, 12 games and 35,000 airmiles has been tarnished.

Also damaged from the episode is Pauw.

Encroaching on the manager’s decision-making sphere is sacrosanct, which has gained her a dose of sympathy in the court of public opinion, but her trademark Dutch directness in elaborating to the point of identifying Farrelly has opened her up that that well-worn accusation of throwing McCabe under the bus. Neither the players or her employers will have been impressed.

Her tenure, in truth, has been on the ropes since the squad first assembled at Belfield. The method of cutting players from the original squad didn’t go down well with anyone and the decision to bring stalwarts Jamie Finn and Harriet Scott all the way to Oz as training players was deemed odd. Players who dreamt of participating in a World Cup were there merely to replace mannequins in the 11 v 11 training format Pauw favours.

A decision to select Colombia for the final closed-doors was equally bizarre.

Pauw’s claim after the abandoned exercise that almost cost Denise O’Sullivan her tournament about research showing no signals of aggression was contradicted by her predecessor Colin Bell. In preparing his South Korea team for their opener, he could assuredly say Colombia were the most physical team of the 32 at the tournament.

Highlighting her defenders’ lack of pace and criticising the lack of cover for Canada’s equaliser drew accusations of abdication towards Pauw. Not only pundits were stung, as players didn’t take kindly either.

A leadership group of players including McCabe and Diane Caldwell are responsible for coordinating the players’ concerns and the FAI hierarchy on the trip won’t have taken the feedback lightly.

It was curious for Denise O’Sullivan to cite ‘distractions’ in her summary tweet.

While Pauw remains confident of staying on and awkward half-smiles can be expected at Thursday’s homecoming in O’Connell Street, the association has much to do to ensure this mess doesn’t leave a Saipan type of legacy instead of the intended version.