The Halfway Line

✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Tallaght Stadium

Emily Murphy praises Tallaght crowd 'they were massive for us' - The Halfway Line Emily Murphy heaped praise on the Irish crowd that 'were massive for us' after Ireland battled hard but fell to a 2-1 defeat to France.

𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝 ‘𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬’

🗣️Ireland's Emily Murphy spoke to the media after her POTM performance against France last night.

#COYGIG
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✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Tallaght Stadium

Carla Ward affirms 'we can compete with the very best' - The Halfway Line Carla Ward affirmed after Ireland pushed France all the way in Tallaght that 'we can compete with the very best.'

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐬 '𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭'

🗣️Ward spoke after a spirited performance for her Irish charges against France at Tallaght. Ward also provided updates on McCabe and O'Sullivan.

thehalfwayline.com/2026/03/03/c...
#COYGIG

✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Tallaght Stadium

Ireland 1-2 France: Player ratings as Les Bleues survive scare - The Halfway Line A magical Melvine Malard double secured all three points for France at Tallaght Stadium against Ireland in front of a crowd of 8,376.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞

FT: Ireland 1-2 France

A Melvine Malard double saw France overcome a spirited Irish showing.

#COYGIG
thehalfwayline.com/2026/03/03/i...

✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Tallaght Stadium

Carla Ward has 'no reason to believe' Canada spied on Ireland - The Halfway Line Ireland head coach Carla Ward has said she has 'no reason to believe' that Canada spied on Ireland at the 2023 World Cup.

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 '𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞' 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐩

🗣️Ward's clarification comes after hiring former Canada assistant coach Jasmine Mander to her coaching staff.

thehalfwayline.com/2026/03/03/c...

✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Tallaght Stadium

Katie McCabe warns you can never 'sit still' in international football - The Halfway Line Katie McCabe says that you can never 'sit still' in international football as her Ireland side prepare to face France on Tuesday.

𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐜𝐂𝐚𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 ‘𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥’ 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥

🗣️Ireland captain Katie McCabe spoke to the media this morning ahead of the visit of France to Tallaght on Tuesday.

#COYGIG
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🗣️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Tallaght Stadium

Carla Ward lauds Ireland camp 'this group is so hungry' - The Halfway Line Carla Ward says that her Ireland squad are 'so hungry' for success and to qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil in 2027.

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐬 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩 ‘𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲’

🗣️Carla Ward spoke to the press this morning ahead of France's visit to Tallaght tomorrow night.

#COYGIG
thehalfwayline.com/2026/03/02/c...

✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Kingsmeadow

Sonia Bompastor lauds return of 'great leader' Kadeisha Buchanan - The Halfway Line Sonia Bompastor hailed 'great leader' Kadeisha Buchanan today after the Canadian defender returned from a 469 day injury.

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 ‘𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫’ 𝐊𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧

🗣️Bompastor was speaking after Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 after extra time to make the next round of the #adobewomensfacup

#CFCW
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✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Kingsmeadow

Marc Skinner says that Chelsea 'got away with one' in FA Cup clash - The Halfway Line Marc Skinner lamented what he felt was the officials being too focused on 'trying to cull our passion' rather than addressing their concerns.

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚 '𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐧𝐞' 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐀 𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭

🗣️After United's 2-1 defeat at the hands of the holders Skinner had his say about a late penalty call.

#MUWomen
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✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Kingsmeadow

Player ratings as Girma fires Chelsea past Manchester United - The Halfway Line Chelsea defeated Manchester United 2-1 after extra time on Sunday to progress to the next round of the FA Cup.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝

FT: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United (AET)

#CFCW #MUWomen
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✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social

Maeve Williams avows '100% I do want to play for Ireland someday' - The Halfway Line Waterford captain Maeve Williams sat down with The Halfway Line to talk leadership, modern goalkeeping and representing her nation.

𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐰𝐬 ‘𝟏𝟎𝟎% 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐲’

🗣️Maeve Williams spoke to The Halfway Line ahead of her first full season as Waterford FC captain.

#COYGIG
thehalfwayline.com/2026/02/22/m...

✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Meadow Park

Renée Slegers delights in Arsenal players who are 'stepping up' - The Halfway Line Renée Slegers has praised her Arsenal charges who are 'stepping up' as a successful block nears its conclusion.

𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐞́𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 ‘𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩’

🗣️ Slegers spoke to the media last night after Arsenal secured safe passage to the quarter finals of the #UWCL where Chelsea await.

#AWFC
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✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Meadow Park

Arsenal player ratings as UWCL victory sets up Chelsea bout - The Halfway Line Arsenal qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter final after beating OH Leuven 3-1 at Meadow Park.

𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐔𝐖𝐂𝐋 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚

FT Arsenal 3-1 OH Leuven (AGG: 7-1)

#AWFC #UWCL
thehalfwayline.com/2026/02/18/a...

Matildas name squad for upcoming AFC Women's Asian Cup - The Halfway Line Mary Fowler is one of the stars named in the Matildas squad for the nation's upcoming AFC Women's Asian Cup on home soil.

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐮𝐩

Joe Montemurro has selected his Australia squad for the upcoming AFC Women's Asian Cup on home soil

Read more below 🇦🇺

thehalfwayline.com/2026/02/18/m...

✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social

Carla Ward lauds Ireland that 'thrive' when up 'against the very best' - The Halfway Line Carla Ward has praised Ireland's ability to 'thrive' as an 'underdog' ahead of two crucial World Cup qualifiers against two of Europe's best.

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐬 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 ‘𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞’ 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐩 ‘𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭’

🗣️ Ward was speaking after naming her squad for two crucial World Cup qualifiers against France and Netherlands.

#COYGIG
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✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Kingsmeadow

Gareth Taylor labels 'disappointment' at loss a 'mark of progress' - The Halfway Line Gareth Taylor has labelled his Liverpool side's 'disappointment' at their loss to league champions Chelsea a 'mark of progress.'

𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐬 '𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭' 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐚 '𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬'

🗣️ The Liverpool head coach also provided fitness updates on Alice Bergstrom, Denise O'Sullivan and Beata Olsson.

thehalfwayline.com/2026/02/15/g...

✍️ @tom-maher-tm.bsky.social reporting from Kingsmeadow