Peamount United striker Amber Barrett has admitted she has got one eye on an international call-up ahead of the weekend’s game against Galway WFC.
Barrett is in fine form for the current Continental Tyres Women’s National League leaders with eight goals going into the weekend’s trip to Eamonn Deacy Park.The Peas find themselves top of the table after impressive recent wins over Shelbourne Ladies at Tolka Park and a 2-0 victory over ever-improving Cork City WFC.
Peamount have a two-point lead at the summit and Barrett believes sitting at the top of the table is a huge bonus for the club.
Barrett said: “We didn’t expect it, we said at the start of the year that we’ll get out there and get over the first few games and see where we are.
“Certain results at the start gave us a real boost and we’re delighted to be where we are, it’s huge for the club. There is a long, long way to go though so there is plenty of points to be played for so we’ve got to take it one step at a time.”
The Greenogue-club lost Roma McLoughlin and Tiegan Ruddy to Shelbourne Ladies before the current season started, both key players in the Peamount side last season.
Despite losing those key players, the Peas have continued to improve this campaign and Barrett has credited the underage set-up.
She continued: “If you look at the under-age set-up in Peamount, you’ve got internationals in every age group. Even in the Under 19 and senior squad, there is always a Peamount representative which shows the club is producing players.
“Heather Payne and Chloe Moloney coming in from that system have been a huge boost for us. When we lost the players, it didn’t really get us down as we knew we had the players to step up and it’s great to see those young players getting their game-time.”
Peamount winger Heather Payne has been called up to the last two Women’s National Team squads and was given her international debut in the 1-0 defeat to Scotland. Barrett hopes that her hard work will one day pay off in an international call-up.
She admitted: “All the players in the league aspire to be involved in the international set-up and I’m no different. I know there has been a bit of talk around the striker position in the international team and I’ve just got to keep working as hard as I can for Peamount.
“If Colin was to call me in, I’d be absolutely delighted. It’s something you always have in the back of your mind. To represent your country at senior level is a huge honour and it’s something I do have my eyes on but not getting overly worked up about.”
Heading into the weekend’s game, Galway lost against Kilkenny, Kilkenny’s first-ever win in the WNL, and whilst Barrett says the win is great for the league, Peamount have got to be aware of a Galway backlash.
Barrett said: “It’s great for the league to see Kilkenny get that result. I think they’ve been unlucky not to get a result as they’ve come close on several occasions. They’ve got some fantastic young players there and if they keep going the way they are, they will definitely be able to challenge at the top sooner rather than later.
“Obviously the Galway girls are hurting at the moment so we’ve got to be at our best. With ourselves top of the league, everyone wants to beat us and Galway will be no different.”
