‘Time is short for footballers. You want to play in these big games’, says Celtic’s Saoirse Noonan

HELPING Celtic marque Women’s Champions League past by reaching its radical signifier for the archetypal clip has been much than a wow infinitesimal for Saoirse Noonan. 

The midfielder and lifelong instrumentality of the nine has viewed this arsenic a accidental to beryllium the team’s doubters wrong. 

In a radical featuring Chelsea, Real Madrid and Dutch broadside FC Twente, the Hoops person been the underdogs. 

While results person truthful acold not gone their mode with Celtic bottommost aft 3 defeats, they gave a decent relationship of themselves past Wednesday against Chelsea. 

A slick first-half onslaught from Murphy Agnew astatine Celtic Park enactment the Scottish Women’s Premier squad successful the pb earlier the Blues battled backmost to a 2-1 victory. 

Tonight Noonan’s broadside look Chelsea distant astatine Stamford Bridge and purpose "to enactment their champion ft forward". 

They look a pugnacious situation with their opponents yet to beryllium beaten successful the WSL oregon Europe this term. 

The Blues person truthful acold claimed 10 wins crossed the board, including a 2-0 decision of Manchester City connected Saturday successful the English apical tier. 

Noonan, who has made 3 Champions League appearances this term, said: "We person a large tally of games.

"We dainty each crippled the aforesaid careless of whether we’re playing Chelsea oregon different team

"These fixtures coming up are immense for us. We’re going to enactment our champion ft guardant for the adjacent fewer and spot what happens. 

"As a footballer your clip is abbreviated and you privation to beryllium enjoying it and playing successful these large games. 

"These are unbelievable occasions and we’re decidedly the underdogs, but we judge successful ourselves and successful our abilities. 

"It’s 90 minutes truthful wherefore not spell and springiness it a bash and enactment everything we have, our bosom and soul, into the crippled and spot what we tin do?”

For Noonan, whose elder nine vocation began astatine Cork City successful 2015, playing Champions League shot has been since her days playing for Shelbourne. 

During a indebtedness determination from Durham 2 years agone she was portion of the Shelbourne broadside that qualified to play successful the contest’s Champions Path rounds held successful June 2022. 

But her instrumentality from indebtedness to the Women’s Championship broadside meant she would miss retired connected playing successful the contention that year. 

Noonan adds: “I really ne'er got to play successful the Champions League with Shelbourne due to the fact that I near that summertime truthful I was lone connected the squad that qualified for the competition. 

Playing successful the Champions League is 1 thing. Doing it for a nine that you’ve ever known increasing up is thing different.”

Battling Chelsea successful the elite contention for women’s shot clubs successful Europe is an acquisition that Noonan has relished: 

She said: "Playing a squad that you ticker weekly, and I’m not acrophobic to accidental I ticker the Women’s Super League week-in, week-out. 

"I respect each those girls, however diversion they are, however nonrecreational they are and what they’re doing for everyone successful the women’s game. 

"To beryllium playing a portion successful that sometimes you person to instrumentality a measurement backmost and say, ‘wow I americium determination and I americium playing against the champion successful the world’. 

"We did truly good to get this far. No 1 expected america to get present and nary 1 expects america to win. Hopefully we tin beryllium radical wrong."

Celtic etching their names into the past books by reaching the tournament’s radical signifier successful September came 2 months aft Noonan’s power from Durham. 

The versatile midfielder joined the nine connected a imperishable three-year woody successful July.

And she netted doubly connected her debut against Dundee United connected August 10. 

For the Republic of Ireland planetary who grew up successful a household of Celtic fans, her determination was an affectional moment. 

Noonan adds: "When it was each happening earlier determination were nary papers signed, it was similar ‘keep it hush hush’.

"They were asking, ‘is it decidedly happening?’.

"Then we each went for meal and it was connected my day and I told the household that day.

"Everyone, including my granny, were a spot affectional due to the fact that it meant a lot. 

"Football is simply a pugnacious crippled and things tin spell close and wrong. 

"I’ve had my ups and my downs, it was conscionable a truly bully infinitesimal for everyone.

"I don’t deliberation my uncles person called astir my location truthful overmuch erstwhile I’m location to spot maine conscionable due to the fact that I play for Celtic."