Roma McLaughlin is gearing up for next week’s Elite Qualifiers with the Republic of Ireland Under-19s in Limerick.
The Greencastle woman was with the Irish senior team for the Cyprus Cup and two weeks ago was named as the Irish International Under-19 Player of the Year for 2016.
Picture caption: Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Kieran O’Hanlon with Republic of Ireland manager Dave Connell and players, from left, Chloe Moloney, Roma Mclaughlin, Niamh Prior and Amanda McQuillan at the Women’s Under 19 Squad Announcement at the Mayor’s Office in Limerick. Photo by Matt Browne/Sportsfile
Now, the Shelbourne midfielder will look to take the Irish U19s to the European finals this summer – which are being held in Northern Ireland.
The Girls in Green have been drawn in Group 4 alongside Scotland, Ukraine and Finland. Their first game is on Tuesday evening against Scotland at Markets Field.
McLaughlin is one of a three players who were at the Cyprus Cup who’ll be back at U19 level next week with striker Leanne Kiernan and goalkeeper Amanda McQuillan also returning.
McLaughlin is now in her final year with the Under-19s and recently signed for Shelbourne after a spell at Peamount.
Irish Under-19 manager Dave Connell said: “On paper, it’s a strong team. We’re carrying a couple of niggles coming into it so hopefully all will be well on Tuesday for the first game.
“Some of the squad were able to get game-time in the Cyprus Cup which is great for them as that can be a valuable experience to have at an early age.
“We’ve always set our standards fairly high and we’ve had some fantastic results over the past year so we just need to build on that continuity.
“Our target from the word go has been to qualify for the European Championships. It’s a tough group for us, taking one game at a time, but we fully focused on the task at home.”
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