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Ward's subs give Ireland lift they need to keep summit in sight

- BY GARRY DOYLE

IT looks like Ireland have found themselves a manager.

Carla Ward gambled here. She rolled the dice when her team trailed 1-0, throwing a trio of subs on with half an hour to go, another replacement appearing with 17 minutes remaining.

And two of them came up with the key moments to turn a likely defeat into a stunning win.

It is a victory that keeps their Nations League promotion hopes alive, even if their chances of topping the group remain slim - a 5-0 victory is needed over Slovenia on Tuesday for them to return to the top tier.

Yet, even if they don’t make it there automatically, there is a route to promotion via the play-offs.

More to the point, there is clearly a future for this team, their two world class players - Katie McCabe and Denise O'Sullivan - now backed up by the deepest squad Ireland has ever had.