UCC’s Ciara McNamara has her eyes set on taking her opportunity to help Team Ireland advance to their first ever Summer Universiade Football Final ahead of Thursday’s semi-final against North Korea in Stadio Arechi, Salerno.
The Cork City captain has yet to feature for Dave Connell’s student side having been nursing a knock for the first two games but is keen to make her impact felt in her second Universiade.
By JOHN HUDSON
“It’s been really enjoyable this time around. When you go to the first one, you don’t think you’ll get a second one. It’s a huge achievement for me personally and I’ve been really enjoying the last week or so. This group of girls are fantastic, and we have such a bond, they are like a second family,” said the defender.
McNamara is the sole representative from UCC and Cork in the Women’s squad and is immensely proud to be representing her home county on the world stage.
“It’s fantastic, especially with the strong sporting tradition that we have in Cork so it’s great to have a representative. We have a strong presence in the Men’s team with a number of players and Greg Yelverton, their Head Coach, so the spirit of the rebel county is definitely made known.
Looking ahead to the crunch decider against the North Koreans, who have been rampant in the tournament thus far, McNamara is ready for the slog she expects to come from the Asian side.
“It will definitely be a battle but I know the squad is ready. We’ve met the likes of Brazil and South Korea head on and handled them so I believe when the going gets tough the girls will be ready.
You can watch Team Ireland’s semi-final match against North Korea, live on FISU’s streaming service FISU.tv. Registration is free for the service.
2019 FISU Summer Universiade – Semi Final Fixture
10/7 North Korea v Ireland, Stadio Arechi, 5pm (4pm Irish Time) Live on FISU.TV
2019 FISU Summer Universiade – Results
Ireland 1-0 Brazil
Ireland 2-1 South Korea
Ireland 0-0 China (Ireland win 4-1 on penalties)
